Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) she and (b) her Department have had with animal welfare organisations on the incorporation of animal welfare in the national curriculum.

The Department received representations from animal welfare groups about the inclusion of animal welfare in the science curriculum in response to the consultation on the new National Curriculum.

The new primary science curriculum, introduced from September 2014, focuses on the essential scientific knowledge that children need to be educated citizens. It teaches pupils about the requirements for animals to survive such as appropriate habitat, food, water and air. Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education also provides opportunities for pupils to be taught about animal welfare and teachers are free to decide what further activities they offer on this topic.