Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of teaching on climate (a) change, (b) mitigation and (c) adaptation in schools.

The government is aware of the critical importance of meeting the challenge of sustainability and climate change and empowering children and young people by providing them with the knowledge and skills to take positive climate action and drive solutions.

Topics relating to climate change and the environment are already included within geography, science and citizenship in the current national curriculum, with an environmental science A level also available. With regard to the future of the curriculum, the government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review recently launched a call for evidence, closing on 22 November, setting out a number of key questions and themes where it would particularly welcome evidence and input. The government would encourage anyone with evidence regarding climate and sustainability education to engage with the review and their call for evidence.

The Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, published by the department in April 2022, has led to a host of additional support and resources for teaching about climate change. The department is including climate change and sustainability in science teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) to help ensure young people receive high quality teaching on the scientific facts about climate change and environmental degradation. Oak National Academy has published a primary science curriculum plan, which includes an emphasis on nature, with resources including lesson plans, slide packs, worksheets, quizzes and videos now available.

To drive greater connection and protection of nature, the department is also increasing opportunities for all children and young people to spend time in nature, learn more about it and become actively involved in the improvement of their local environment.

The National Education Nature Park brings together all the land from across education settings into a vast virtual nature park. It empowers children and young people to get involved in taking practical action to improve the biodiversity of their school grounds, learn about nature’s role in climate change and develop skills that will be necessary for the growing number of green jobs.

Seeing sustainability brought to life in the buildings around them will allow children and young people to enhance and contextualise their learning regarding mitigation and adaptation efforts. The Sustainability Support for Education hub provides support to all educational settings and helps them to plan and deliver action to enable them to respond to and mitigate against the challenge of climate change and adapt to become more sustainable. This is also supported by the Climate Ambassadors programme which offers education settings in England free access to expertise from in person volunteers across industry to further advise on the development of their climate action plan.