Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) outdoor learning and (b) horticultural education on the development of (i) children and (ii) young people.

The department has not undertaken a specific assessment on the potential impact of outdoor learning and horticultural education on the development of children and young people.

However, access to green space has been shown to have positive impacts on the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of young people. The department is currently working closely with the University of Oxford on research intended to assess the evidence of the impact of nature-based programmes delivered through schools for mental health and wellbeing in children and young people.

Schools have the freedom to teach about horticulture in the curriculum. For example, in science, pupils are taught the topics of plants and living things and their habitats, giving them the opportunity to find out about plants and the environments in which they flourish.