This area will include answers to your most common questions. You will find lots of help in the staff toolkit as well.
For general enquiries about the Department for Children Schools and Families Sustainable Schools please go to www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools.
I cannot find my school from the list. answer
Can we make a link to the Carbon Detectives' Kit web site? answer
The food data looks complicated, how can I get all the information? answer
What are data collection phases? answer
I have forgotten my username, can I have a new one? answer
I cannot see my school's results in the 'Results from other schools' area. answer
Why does my name not appear in the Mission control box? answer
I cannot find my school from the list.
You need to know the full name of your school and the LEA you are in. Some schools start with 'The' or 'St' in which case you need to look under 'T' or 'S'. Start by finding your LEA and then searching under the first letter of your full school name. If you still cannot find your school please contact the site administrator.
Can we make a link to the Carbon Detectives' Kit web site?
Yes you can. Here is some suggested text for you to use 'Carbon emissions are rising. Find out the impact of your school and know where you are heading through using the Carbon Detectives' Kit.' If you contact us we can supply you with graphics and the Carbon Detectives' Kit logo.
The food data looks complicated, how can I get all the information?
Most school kitchens will keep a record of all meals served and the number of portions in a database. Your School Catering Manager should be able to give you a print out of the portions served for a given period of time. If your meals are delivered by a catering company they can supply this information for you.
What are data collection phases?
Each time your school collects data to calculate it's carbon footprint we call a 'data collection phase.' You will see this term used on the 'See results' page. When you first use the Kit a data collection phase is automatically opened for you. You can manage the data collection phase(s) in the 'Mission control' area. You can do this in the box called 'Confirm data.' Here you can give your data collection phase a name, for example May 2007. You can also check the data is correct and close a data collection phase to prevent any more entries. Finally, you can open a new data collection phase ready for the next time you want to measure your school's carbon footprint. You can re-open old data collection phases, so do not worry if you close a phase now, you can open it again later.
I have forgotten my username, can I have a new one?
Yes you can. Just use the 'Contact us' link and we will issue a new username to you.
I cannot see my school's results in the 'Results from other schools' area.
Before your school's results appear in the 'Results from other schools' list you have to close the current data collection phase. Do this by logging into the Mission control. In the box titled 'Confirm data' select to 'view' the results of your current data collection phase, this will take you to a page showing all the data entered by your school for this phase. You can now check all the data is correct. Then you can select the link to 'Close this phase.' Once the phase is closed your results will appear in the lists of results from all schools. Come back here again to open a new data collection phase in the future.
Why does my name not appear in the Mission control box?
Only your surname will appear in the Mission control box as the contact person in your school. If you only registered your first name then the box will remain blank.
For general enquiries about the Department for Children Schools and Families Sustainable Schools please go to www.teachernet.gov.uk/sustainableschools.
Frequently asked questions
I cannot find my school from the list. answer
Can we make a link to the Carbon Detectives' Kit web site? answer
The food data looks complicated, how can I get all the information? answer
What are data collection phases? answer
I have forgotten my username, can I have a new one? answer
I cannot see my school's results in the 'Results from other schools' area. answer
Why does my name not appear in the Mission control box? answer
Answers
I cannot find my school from the list.
You need to know the full name of your school and the LEA you are in. Some schools start with 'The' or 'St' in which case you need to look under 'T' or 'S'. Start by finding your LEA and then searching under the first letter of your full school name. If you still cannot find your school please contact the site administrator.
Can we make a link to the Carbon Detectives' Kit web site?
Yes you can. Here is some suggested text for you to use 'Carbon emissions are rising. Find out the impact of your school and know where you are heading through using the Carbon Detectives' Kit.' If you contact us we can supply you with graphics and the Carbon Detectives' Kit logo.
The food data looks complicated, how can I get all the information?
Most school kitchens will keep a record of all meals served and the number of portions in a database. Your School Catering Manager should be able to give you a print out of the portions served for a given period of time. If your meals are delivered by a catering company they can supply this information for you.
What are data collection phases?
Each time your school collects data to calculate it's carbon footprint we call a 'data collection phase.' You will see this term used on the 'See results' page. When you first use the Kit a data collection phase is automatically opened for you. You can manage the data collection phase(s) in the 'Mission control' area. You can do this in the box called 'Confirm data.' Here you can give your data collection phase a name, for example May 2007. You can also check the data is correct and close a data collection phase to prevent any more entries. Finally, you can open a new data collection phase ready for the next time you want to measure your school's carbon footprint. You can re-open old data collection phases, so do not worry if you close a phase now, you can open it again later.
I have forgotten my username, can I have a new one?
Yes you can. Just use the 'Contact us' link and we will issue a new username to you.
I cannot see my school's results in the 'Results from other schools' area.
Before your school's results appear in the 'Results from other schools' list you have to close the current data collection phase. Do this by logging into the Mission control. In the box titled 'Confirm data' select to 'view' the results of your current data collection phase, this will take you to a page showing all the data entered by your school for this phase. You can now check all the data is correct. Then you can select the link to 'Close this phase.' Once the phase is closed your results will appear in the lists of results from all schools. Come back here again to open a new data collection phase in the future.
Why does my name not appear in the Mission control box?
Only your surname will appear in the Mission control box as the contact person in your school. If you only registered your first name then the box will remain blank.