Sustainability and Climate Change (National Curriculum)

Mr. Gardiner highlighted the cross-party nature of the debate and stressed the importance of integrating climate education into all levels of teaching rather than treating it as a tick-box exercise. He discussed the Dasgupta review, which emphasized the need for educational reform to address environmental issues. Mr. Gardiner also raised concerns about local authorities lacking ecological expertise necessary to deliver government targets and called for training and retraining programs to bridge this gap.

Ms Lucas emphasised the importance of incorporating climate and natural history into the national curriculum, citing a significant decline in UK species. She highlighted that half of all species are in decline and mentioned specific examples such as hedgehogs losing 30% and swifts losing a quarter of their population over a decade. Ms Lucas stressed the need to raise awareness about nature among children through a natural history GCSE, noting that nearly 10% of UK children had not visited a park, forest or beach for over a year.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way and congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate, noting a Freudian slip regarding location identification. The speaker emphasises the need to teach children about climate change in schools that are not contributing significantly to carbon emissions, advocating for the decarbonisation of educational facilities by 2030.

Schoolchildren in Cornwall are raising awareness of climate change through eco-clubs and environmental initiatives. Derek Thomas has personally responded to thousands of letters from children concerned about the environment, highlighting schools' efforts such as tree-planting, monitoring ice caps, and reducing plastic waste. He emphasized the importance of formal education on climate change, including ways to mitigate it and deliver climate justice.

Mr Corbyn highlighted the importance of environmental education in densely populated urban areas and praised local schools for their gardening projects. He stressed that merely adding climate education to the curriculum is insufficient; it must change how all subjects are taught, linking them with environmental considerations. Mr Corbyn also called for practical steps such as encouraging schools to have growing and gardening projects despite limited space.

Jim Shannon expressed concern about the balance between teaching core subjects like maths and English and incorporating climate change education in schools. He noted that while there is environmental teaching in the curriculum, the focus needs to be on ensuring pupils achieve qualifications in essential subjects before adding more intense climate change learning. He highlighted the importance of preparing children for a world affected by climate change through workshops and urged the Minister to work with devolved institutions to introduce climate change education further.

The hon. Gentleman is making a very good speech and questions whether there should be a GCSE in environmental science or studies, instead of the current fragmented approach where climate education appears sporadically across various subjects.

Ms Wilson highlighted the pressing demand for climate education among schoolchildren and teachers, noting that over 75% of teachers feel unprepared to teach on this topic. She emphasised the importance of addressing eco-anxiety through positive educational measures and discussed the potential benefits of a stand-alone GCSE in climate change. Furthermore, she pointed out the disparity in access to nature across different socioeconomic groups, advocating for a comprehensive approach that includes experiential learning.

Ms Blake highlighted the Sheffield Hallam climate manifesto, emphasizing the importance of addressing the climate emergency and youth engagement. She noted that while young people are passionate about environmental issues, they often lack knowledge on how to pursue green careers due to a disconnect between their desire for action and practical understanding.

The MP congratulates the Chair of the debate on securing it and highlights recommendation 102 in the Environmental Audit Committee report, which calls for embedding environmental sustainability across all subjects in primary and secondary schools.

Calls for a comprehensive review of the entire curriculum to prepare and mobilise for a sustainable future, support for Lord Knight's private Member's Bill on sustainability in education, decarbonisation of school estates by 2030, and a green travel policy.

Thanked Nadia Whittome for securing the debate, highlighted the importance of embedding climate change in education, praised teachers and councils for their work on sustainability, called for support for educators through CPD funding, expressed concern about cuts to school capital spending since 2010, urged consideration of green job plans and embedding skills in further/higher education.