Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure schools reach Sustainable Development Goal 4.7.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The work of the department contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 4.

Citizenship education provides a framework to prepare pupils to be active, informed and responsible citizens. The national curriculum for citizenship is mandatory at key stages 3 and 4, where pupils learn about democracy, politics, parliament and voting, as well as human rights, justice, media literacy, the law, and the need for mutual respect. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship following the non-statutory framework.

Climate change and the environment are included within the current national curriculum in geography and science, with an environmental science A level available. The department is also developing a new GCSE in natural history, which will equip young people to understand the protection and conservation of the environment and respect the natural world.