National Curriculum: Animal Welfare

Debate between Lord Nash and Baroness Parminter

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I am aware of the survey to which the noble Lord refers, and I know that the RSPCA teaches around 4,000 teachers about this every year. We feel that it is very helpful for young people to learn about animal welfare in the national curriculum, but we do not think it is right to include it, certainly not at this stage. We have a long way to go to make sure that the majority of pupils in this country have an education in core academic subjects first.

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

This year the Government are reviewing their codes on how to care for dogs, cats and horses. Does my noble friend agree that it is important that children are made aware of those new codes? If so, will the Government be offering any advice about their inclusion in school timetables?

[Lord Nash]

As I said, I agree entirely that animal welfare is an important subject for pupils to learn about, but we have to recognise the low base from which we are starting education in this country. When we came to power, fewer than one in five pupils attending a comprehensive school was getting that core suite of academic subjects that would be a basic expectation in many countries, and certainly in any private school. We have recovered substantially from that position: now nearly 40% get that core suite, but the Question underestimates the low base from which we are starting.