More teaching on climate change in schools announced!

As the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report is published today, we at Teach the Future are pleased to see a greater inclusion of education on climate change and sustainability, alongside a focus on building an education system that works for all young people and that positively empowers us for our future lives and careers. 

The key headlines from the report:

• Education on climate change and sustainability is listed as one of five key skills/knowledge areas that education should prepare young people with
• Climate education and sustainability is to be more strongly integrated throughout citizenship, sciences, and geography, and sustainability within D&T
• There’s a new enrichment entitlement which includes access to nature and outdoors
• Subject content will have more focus on solutions of climate change, not just the causes and impacts

A truly empowering and valuable education system must equip young people to understand, navigate, and shape the world around them. That means embedding climate and nature education throughout the curriculum, and ensuring that every young person is supported and encouraged to recognise the positive role that they can play in creating a better future. 

These are some of the most intersectional issues of our time, intricately and inextricably linked with our economy, society, and social justice around the world. They aren’t just problems that need to be solved -  these crises can also create opportunities. Opportunities for innovation and sustainable growth, for living more in harmony with the natural world, and for building a more just and equitable future for everyone. We are glad to see the Review appreciate this approach and emphasise that climate education is critical to the development of the skills and knowledge needed in the world of work students will be graduating into. 

While, we are disappointed that the Review is not going to result in climate change education being integrated across all subjects for all key stages, we welcome the Review’s recommendation for climate change and sustainability to be bolstered across key stages in Science, Geography, and Citizenship which is recommended to become statutory from Key Stage 1, as well as the recommendation to emphasise sustainability in the D&T curriculum. Good climate education is not only about the topics covered, but, importantly, about how students are taught and the skills and values they develop through their learning. Therefore, it is crucial that this is considered in the implementation of the recommendations as the Review recognises the importance of pedagogy but that it is out of their scope. 

For years, we called for climate education to be solutions focused, as focusing solely on causes and impacts can lead to eco-anxiety, which already affects young people disproportionately. Climate education should inspire practical, creative solutions, and give young people the tools and confidence to help lead them. We are therefore glad to see the report highlight the need to centre solutions in the teaching of climate change, and that this is essential to empower students to tackle the greatest challenge of our time. We are also really proud that the Review referenced the Youth Shadow Panel’s interim report here, emphasising that young people find this focus on solutions vital, and we can see their voices were heard by the Review panel. We will continue our advocacy, calling for teacher training provision to cover the climate emergency and ecological crisis, so that our teachers feel equipped to support students in this area in their practice.

Young people also need more opportunities to engage practically with their learning. When it comes to the education system, one size most definitely does not fit all, and we need to make sure that provision for diverse ways of learning - from practical application, to outdoor education, to a greater variety of assessment options - is not simply tacked on as an exception to the norm, but that the system is designed with this in mind from the outset. When it comes to climate and nature education especially, this shift will be key to truly empowering young people to build the brighter, more sustainable futures that we all deserve.

At Teach the Future, we won’t stop campaigning until every young person has access to solutions-focused, justice-driven climate and nature education across every subject - transforming the face of education to shape a fairer, greener future.