Cumbria Development Education Centre

25/08/2026

A reminder that the Youth Work Summit is coming up on Saturday 5th September - see you there!

The South Lakes Youth Work Summit is for practitioners and volunteers (18+) working with young people, or those supporting work with young people. The focus is youth work.

Booking link https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GSXP

Please note:

- Places are limited and must be booked in advance
- Car parking is limited – please could attendees make use of town centre car parks where possible. If anyone requires an accessible car parking space, please let us know in advance.

17/08/2026

World Humanitarian Day is a celebration of those who care for others - especially those who put themselves into dangerous situations to protect other people and it's this Wednesday 19th August.

If you want to talk about humanitarianism in the classroom, you could start by talking about how and why we care for our families and friends; and then about the sacrifices some people make to help people they don't know, sometimes in difficult or dangerous circumstances.

Why is it good to help others? What are the benefits for them, for us and for society? What can I do today to help or care for someone?

Take a look at these resources from our friends at Global Dimension - Ideas and resources for teachers

https://buff.ly/JqVeP6G

And get in touch with us at CDEC to find out about our upcoming Philosophy for Children (P4C) courses and to access more Global Learning resources for your classroom.

17/08/2026

As we emerge from the fifth heatwave of the summer, we need to talk about the climate crisis. Over the last few weeks, the national news has been dominated by images of straw-coloured grass and fires raging in lots of different parts of the UK; and while large parts of Cumbria are still fairly green, the buzzwords across the country over the summer holidays have been ‘drought’ and ‘tinderbox’.

In spite of all this, there still seems to be a reluctance in much of the media to talk about the weather in the context of the climate crisis.

We are very lucky at CDEC to be connected with Joe Human – he’s been a great friend to us and a campaigner on climate and sustainability issues for many years. His 'Notes from a Warming World' articles are hosted on our website and filled with precisely the kind of information and insight we all need in order to have meaningful conversations not just about the climate crisis, but what we can do about it.

The latest in the series is about the success of renewable energy projects in the Global South – https://www.cdec.org.uk/news/178/13/Notes-from-a-Warming-World/

11/08/2026

CoDEC brings together independent, not-for-profit organisations that support and deliver global learning in schools and communities across England.

07/08/2026

Delighted to share details about this summit for youth workers taking place in Kendal on Saturday 5th September - more information and booking details in the post below.

Waste Into Wellbeing
Furness Multi-Cultural Community Forum & Youth Club
Art Gene
Lakeland Arts
Abbot Hall

The South Lakes Youth Work Summit is for practitioners and volunteers (18+) working with young people, or those supporting work with young people. The focus is youth work.

Booking link https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GSXP

Please note:

- Places are limited and must be booked in advance
- Car parking is limited – please could attendees make use of town centre car parks where possible. If anyone requires an accessible car parking space, please let us know in advance.

06/08/2026

An exciting opportunity for young people to get stuck into some climate action!

Appleby Grammar School
Queen Elizabeth School and Studio School - Kirkby Lonsdale
The Queen Katherine School, Kendal
Furness Academy
Cartmel Priory School
Sandside Lodge School
The Lakes School Windermere UK
Carlisle College
Kendal College
The Lakes College
Barrow-in-Furness Sixth Form College

🥁Roll up roll up, don’t miss your chance to apply for our Roots of Change club!

If you’re aged 12-18 and looking to expand on your climate activism, meet like-minded people, and engage in fabulous future career & developmental opportunities, then we would love to hear from you!

Maybe that doesn’t sound like you- but you can picture the perfect person for the role? Send this to them!

You can click the link in our bio to apply 💚🌍

23/07/2026

Next Thursday 30th July is International Day of Friendship and it's a great opportunity to celebrate the friendships we have in our everyday lives as well as encourage international friendship, compassion, understanding and respect for diversity.

What makes someone a good friend?
How can we be a good friend to others?
Is it important to have friends who are different from us?
What does it take to maintain and sustain a good friendship?

Our friends at Global Dimension - Ideas and resources for teachers have pulled together some resources for you to use in your classroom, including The Triple Wellbeing Curriculum from ThoughtBox Education. Take a look here - https://buff.ly/SyfIKUZ

Every 30th of July. Celebrating the importance of friends and international friendship.

22/07/2026

Asalha Puja (Dharma Day) is celebrated by Theravadan Buddhists in commemoration of the Buddha’s first sermon, and this year it’s on Wednesday 29th July. Known as the ‘Sermon in the Deer Park’, it is considered to be the first time the Buddha outlined his key teachings (Dharma) including 'The Four Noble Truths’ and ‘The Eightfold Path’.

Take a look at them in the attached images and consider what they mean to you and what living The Eightfold Path might look like. In the classroom, you could ask students the same questions and also consider what the world would be like if we all followed this?

We have lots of resources to support RE in your school, including two boxes exploring Buddhism - get in touch if you’d like to find out more, and book your boxes for next year here - https://buff.ly/R3OcUbR


Global Dimension - Ideas and resources for teachers
Culham St Gabriel's
Cheltenham Zen
Lion's Roar
Namchak Community
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
The Buddhist Centre
DharmaCrafts

13/07/2026

World Youth Skills Day, launched by the UN in 2014 and celebrated on 15th July, highlights the importance of helping young people gain the skills they need to thrive and shape a better world.

It showcases a range of pathways, including technical training, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship, and invites young people to imagine the future they want.

By exploring stories of young innovators and thinking about how skills grow through real experiences, educators can guide students towards meaningful ways to develop, from volunteering and taking courses to finding local opportunities.

Take a look at Reboot the Future for more ideas on how to mark World Youth Skills Day: https://buff.ly/95wm4Rz

06/07/2026

Plastic Free July has just started and it’s a great time for young learners in Cumbria to connect global issues to local action.

Students can explore how the use of plastic links to fossil fuels and the climate crisis, and imagine what a more sustainable Cumbria could look like by considering alternatives to plastic and exploring how collective action can drive change.

At CDEC, we aim to champion global learning that helps young people to understand the systems behind the issues they see around them and feel confident taking action in their own communities.

Educators can find classroom‑ready resources from WWF, Practical Action and Think Global on Reboot the Future: https://buff.ly/IQXZEDn