Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote (a) climate literacy and (b) sustainable living in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

Climate education can already be taught in geography, science and citizenship within the national curriculum. The Curriculum and Assessment Review is considering where evidence suggests content needs to be updated to reflect rapid social, environmental and technological change, including a greater focus on sustainability and climate science.

The Sustainability Support for Education hub and Climate Ambassadors programme provide support to enable settings to establish their climate action plan and embed sustainability into their setting.

The National Education Nature Park provides curriculum-linked resources and practical activities to engage children and young people in nature and the improvement of their local environment. There are currently six settings registered to the programme in the Surrey Heath constituency, and we encourage more settings to get involved.

The department has also published statutory guidance on school uniforms which states that schools should ensure second-hand uniforms are available, which benefits all parents and is more sustainable. Additionally, we provide procurement support through the Get Help Buying for Schools service to encourage sustainable procurement decisions.