Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take with Cabinet colleagues to ensure young people in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London have access to learning in nature settings.

In April 2022, the Department released its Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy. Key initiatives included ‘The National Education Nature Park’ and ‘Climate Action Award’. These programmes will engage children and young people with the natural world and directly involve them in measuring and improving biodiversity in their nursery, school, college or university

In May, as part of this initiative, the Department announced £15 million of funding to help young people in nature depleted areas, which will enable schools, colleges and nurseries to create opportunities for outdoor learning in natural settings.

Young people in Enfield may already be taking advantage of activities run by London’s National Park City Rangers.

By 2025, the Department aims to introduce a natural history GCSE, giving young people a further opportunity to engage with and develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the natural world. In studying this GCSE, young people will explore organisms and environments in more depth and gain knowledge and practical experience of fieldwork. This new qualification adds to fieldwork opportunities already available in subjects such as geography. As we deliver on our climate change strategy, the Department will continue to work across Government to identify opportunities for young people to access learning in nature settings.