Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve environmental education in schools.

The current national curriculum includes topics relating to ecosystems, soil health, and climate adaptation within the context of UK food security, and they can also be studied at GCSE and A level.

Work is now underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, rich in knowledge and strong on skills. Programmes of study for each curriculum subject will be refreshed in line with the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s recommendations, and we are working towards a revised national curriculum being published in spring 2027, for first teaching in 2028.

There will be opportunity to provide views on the new curriculum content when the department conducts a public consultation on the draft programmes of study in summer 2026.

The department already has a range of vocational qualifications that provide training in green skills including apprenticeships, T levels, Skills Bootcamps and higher technical qualifications.