Every Student - Every Subject - Every Classroom

Providing Continuing Professional Development for teachers to embed Education for Sustainable Development in their Learning and Teaching

The Take 1 Programme is funded by the Department of Education in Ireland

The Take 1 Programme of training is promoted as a mechanism for embedding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in learning and teaching in Irish second level schools. By mapping the SDGs to the learning outcomes of subject specifications, the programme not only raises awareness for students of the SDGs themselves, but also highlights “the implications of these goals for their individual and group lives, including the responsibilities individuals and institutions have to assume to help achieve them” (UNESCO, 2020, p. 59). The Take 1 Programme demonstrates an approach which moves away  from a focus on addressing specific global challenges in isolation and uses the SDGs  to highlight the interdependent and interconnected nature of the world in which we live.  

The Take 1 Programme aims to support schools to communicate, raise awareness of, and embed Education for Sustainable Development as part of a broad curriculum, through the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Take 1 Programme objectives:
  • Provide professional learning opportunities to engage with and understand Education for Sustainable Development
  • Explore opportunities to link formal, non-formal and extra-curricular activities to the achievement of the Global Goals.
  • Support the inclusion of Education for Sustainable Development as part of school policy and wellbeing programmes

  •  09/05/2023 04:26 PM

Launching May Day for Sustainability 2023 ~ This year schools are encouraged to participate in the 'Metre of Meadow' campaign. Find a spot anywhere on the school grounds, the more unused and unfertile the better and just 'let it go'. No need to plant wildflowers or adjust the soil, just let natural biodiversity takes its course. Track the changes with photos and videos and share what you find - insects, plants, birds on the Take 1 Programme twitter account @Take1_Programme Don't forget to use the hashtags - #mayday2023 #take1programme

  •  19/01/2023 12:14 PM - 10/03/2023 12:32 PM

Expressions of interest are now being sought from second level schools who would like to participate in a pilot programme of training on embedding Education for Sustainable Development in learning and teaching. See further information in DESCRIPTION

  •  21/11/2022 08:00 AM - 02/12/2022 07:17 PM
  • Online Event

Teaching 1 Lesson, about 1 SDG, to 1 Class over 1 Week

  •  10/05/2022 12:01 AM
  • Online Event

May Day for Sustainability supports schools to showcase their engagement in teaching and learning about Education for Sustainable Development. Schools can share their activities and actions on social media using the hashtag #etb_sdgs

  •  11/05/2021 12:05 AM - 11/05/2021 11:59 PM
  •   Tipperary ETB

Tipperary Education and Training Board schools will celebrate the beginning of their collective Education for Sustainable Development Education journey with a May Day for Sustainability on May 11th, 2021. Watch our social media platforms for all the different activities. #etb_sdgs

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  •  11/12/2020 08:00 PM - 19/12/2020 10:03 PM
  • Online Event

An online TAKE 1 Programme Training Seminar is proposed for November 11th and 12th, subject to sufficient interest. This will be a half day seminar costing €25, with options to participate in any one of the sessions provided. Numbers for each session will be limited and you may be offered your alternative choice if a session is oversubscribed or cancelled. Teacher participants must be accompanied by a Principal and/or Deputy Principal. November 11th - 1:30 - 4:00pm November 12th - 10:00 - 12:30 November 12th - 1:30 - 4:00pm Further details are available from the Director of Schools in your ETB.

Take 1 Week 2023
November 20th - 24th
The Take 1 Programme promotes an Education for Sustainable Development awareness raising campaign in schools, which includes support to engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in a formal way through classroom experiences. Resource materials highlight opportunities for embedding ESD in teaching and learning in all subject areas. The Take 1 Programme methodology maps the SDGs to learning outcomes in Junior Cycle subjects, demonstrating how teaching and learning about sustainability can be aligned to existing subject syllabuses.

Using this approach, every student, in every classroom, through every subject can learn about the interconnected nature of Education for Sustainable Development. Take 1 Week elevates these teaching and learning opportunities, by creating a focus on 'whole school' engagement.

Each teacher involved is asked to teach 1 Lesson, about 1 SDG to 1 class group any time during Take 1 Week. Schools highlight their activities internally at school level and on various social media platforms, using the hashtags #take1week2023 and #take1programme on Twitter

View the Gallery to see some of the interesting activities from the campaigns in previous years


Read more about Education for Sustainability and the Take 1 Programme at the links below

  • Dublin, Leinster, Ireland