There’s the explicit curriculum, the lessons, the assemblies, the carefully planned units on climate change and sustainability. And then there’s the hidden curriculum, the messages sent through our everyday operations, our choices, our culture. We recogn/ise this with behaviour; the culture of the school and what’s accepted. But what about when it comes to sustainabilty? Is there a hidden carbon curriculum?
And when those two curriculums contradict each other, which one gets the most attention?
The gap between what we say and what we do: the hidden carbon curriculum
Most schools aren’t deliberately hypocritical. Climate action plans are written with genuine intent. Sustainability leads are appointed because leadership cares. Lessons are taught because teachers believe this matters.
But are we seeing unintentional contradictions?
- Teaching about plastic pollution in geography while everything is served in single-use packaging
- Discussing carbon emissions in science while the school car park is full of idling engines every morning
- Running an Eco Week that generates more waste than it prevents (printed posters, single-use craft materials, decorations that go straight in the bin)
- Celebrating biodiversity while maintaining ecologically barren school grounds
- Talking about saving energy while heating systems battle against open windows
None of this is deliberate, and most of it is invisible to the adults running the school.
But pupils notice. And when the hidden curriculum contradicts the taught curriculum, it sends a loud message.
Why the hidden carbon curriculum matters more than you think
Research into school culture tells us that pupils learn as much – if not more – from what schools do than from what they say. The hidden curriculum shapes attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours in ways that formal teaching often can’t.
If we want pupils to take climate action seriously, they need to see it modelled. They need to see that the adults around them care enough to align their actions with their words.
When there’s coherence — when what we teach matches what we do — it builds trust, agency, and genuine engagement.
When there’s a gap, it builds cynicism. And cynicism is the enemy of action.
Auditing your hidden carbon curriculum
So what can schools do about this?
The first step is visibility. You can’t fix what you can’t see. And most schools have never systematically looked at the climate messages their operations are sending.
Here’s a framework for auditing your school’s hidden carbon curriculum. It’s not about achieving perfection overnight — it’s about spotting the most visible contradictions and addressing those first.
1. Energy and Buildings
Walk around your school on a cold day. What do you notice?
- Are radiators blasting while windows are open?
- Are lights left on in empty classrooms, corridors, halls?
- Is there a culture of “turn it off when you leave” or does everything just stay on?
- Do thermostats make sense or are some rooms roasting while others freeze?
- Are ICT devices left on standby overnight and through holidays?
The contradiction: Teaching about energy efficiency while wasting energy visibly, every single day.
Tip: Appoint “energy monitors” in each class. Set a school-wide expectation: last one out turns off lights. Fix the thermostat wars. Monitor useage (See this post for tips.)
2. Food and Waste
Spend a lunchtime with the students. Then check the bins at the end of the day.
- What’s being served? Highly processed, high-carbon meals or more plant-forward, seasonal, local options?
- How much food is being thrown away? Are portion sizes right or are plates routinely half-full when they hit the bin?
- Are pupils actually using recycling bins correctly or is contamination so high that it all ends up in general waste anyway?
- Is the “healthy eating” policy flying in produce from abroad when local suppliers are available?
- Single-use everything (plastic cutlery, juice cartons, individually wrapped items) or reusable where possible?
The contradiction: Teaching about food systems, carbon miles, and waste while the kitchen operates as if none of it matters.
Tip: Start with one change. Water fountains instead of single-use cartons. One meat-free day. A food waste reduction challenge. Make it visible and talk about why.
3. Transport and Travel
Stand outside the school gates at 8:50am. What do you see?
- A car park full of idling engines, some sitting there for 10+ minutes?
- Pupils being driven distances they could easily walk or cycle?
- Is there safe, accessible bike storage or is cycling actively discouraged?
- Do school trips default to coaches even for destinations within walking distance?
- Are staff car-sharing or is the staff car park near capacity every day?
The contradiction: Teaching about transport emissions while making the car the default, easiest, most convenient option.
Tip: No-idling campaign at drop-off and pick-up. Celebrate Walk to School Week and actually mean it. Install better bike storage. Make active travel the path of least resistance.
4. Purchasing and Procurement
Who makes purchasing decisions in your school? And what criteria are they using?
- Are sustainability considerations part of procurement decisions or is it purely cost-driven?
- Where do supplies come from? Could you buy more locally?
- Are you replacing things that could be repaired?
- Is there a culture of “use it up, wear it out, make it do” or do things get replaced at the first sign of wear?
- Are cleaning products, toilet paper, paper supplies chosen with environmental impact in mind?
The contradiction: Teaching about responsible consumption while procurement operates on autopilot.
Tip: Include sustainability criteria in your next big procurement decision and talk about it. Even one visible example shifts the culture.
5. Outdoor Spaces and Biodiversity
Look at your school grounds. What are pupils actually seeing when they learn about biodiversity and ecosystems?
- Ecologically barren tarmac and closely-mown grass? Or habitat that supports wildlife?
- Are there trees, wildflowers, hedgerows, log piles, bird boxes?
- Is outdoor learning happening in spaces that reflect what’s being taught?
- Could your grounds be doing more — ponds, composting areas, vegetable patches, forest school spaces?
The contradiction: Teaching about nature loss while maintaining grounds that actively exclude wildlife.
Tip: Let one area go wild. Plant wildflowers. Install a bug hotel. Involve pupils in creating the habitat they’re learning about.
6. Culture and Leadership
This one’s harder to audit, but arguably the most important.
- Does the leadership team visibly model sustainable behaviour or is it “do as I say, not as I do”?
- Are sustainability messages tokenistic (one assembly a year, Eco Week) or genuinely embedded in school culture?
- When decisions are made, is environmental impact considered or is it an afterthought?
- Are pupils empowered to take action or are their ideas dismissed as “too difficult” or “not a priority”?
The contradiction: Talking about climate action while treating it as optional, extra, or someone else’s job.
Tip: Make sustainability a standing agenda item in senior leadership meetings. Empower the eco-council to audit and report back. Celebrate progress publicly.
Where to start: the contradiction hunt
Get your eco-council, sustainability lead, or a group of staff together. Walk around the school with fresh eyes. Find out about the hidden carbon curriculum. Ask:
“If a pupil was learning about climate change in their lesson this morning, what messages are they getting from the rest of the school today? Do those messages align or contradict?”
Pick the three most visible contradictions. The ones pupils see every day. The ones that undermine your teaching most directly.
Fix those first.
Then celebrate the change. Talk about why you did it. Make the hidden curriculum visible.
Real examples from schools getting this right
I’ve seen schools make brilliant progress on this without huge budgets or massive structural changes. A few examples:
A primary in the Midlands realised their “healthy tuck shop” was selling individually-wrapped snacks shipped from across Europe. They switched to local suppliers, removed plastic wrapping, and involved Year 6 in running it as a social enterprise. Saved money. Cut waste. Taught business skills. Triple win.
A secondary in the South West discovered their heating system was fighting open windows in 60% of classrooms. They ran a staff training session on ventilation vs heating, installed CO2 monitors, and empowered pupils to manage classroom climate sensibly. Energy bills dropped. Classrooms were more comfortable. Pupils felt trusted.
A rural primary turned their unused field corner into a wildlife area — wildflowers, log piles, hedgehog houses. It’s now their outdoor classroom for science and becomes the real-world example for every biodiversity lesson. Zero cost. Massive impact.
None of these are expensive. None require structural changes to the building or the timetable. But all of them closed the gap between the taught curriculum and the hidden curriculum.
Why the hidden carbon curriculum matters now
With climate action plans becoming expected practice and with Ofsted beginning to take notice of sustainability (even if it’s not yet being directly inspected), and with pupils increasingly aware of and anxious about climate change, the hidden curriculum is becoming harder to ignore. We need school leavers who believe that we are doing all we can, and we need school communities who see themselves as experts in what they are trying to do.
The bottom line
The hidden curriculum is powerful. It’s teaching all the time whether you intend it to or not and the hidden carbon curriculum is no different.
Make sure it’s teaching what you want it to teach.
You don’t need to be perfect, just coherent.
When pupils see that adults care enough to align actions with teaching, something will start to shift and climate education will stop being abstract and start being real.
Download the Hidden Carbon Curriculum Audit Checklist to get started.
For support with climate action planning, training, or embedding sustainability across your curriculum get in touch.
