Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales in 2002 and Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home, published in 2015, what assessment they have made of the priority that teaching on climate change has been given in Catholic schools; and what steps they are taking to give increased priority to the teaching of climate change in state schools.

The government has not made any specific assessment of the priority that Catholic schools give to teaching about climate change. Like all schools, faith schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum that includes science.

The government believes it is vital that all children are informed about climate change. For this reason, relevant topics are included throughout the geography and science national curriculum and qualifications. For example, as part of the science curriculum in secondary schools, pupils will consider the evidence for human causes of climate change. In addition, as part of GCSE geography they will study the spatial and temporal characteristics of climatic change and evidence for different causes, including human activity.