Children ill-equipped for nature and climate crises without education reform

Children ill-equipped for nature and climate crises without education reform - The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts call for nature GCSE and learning outdoors to be prioritised when Government unveils education plans this spring

The Wildlife Trusts are calling on the Government to announce the long-awaited Natural History GCSE and set standards for outdoor learning when the Department for Education publishes its ‘Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy’ in April.

The strategy is intended to shape how environmental issues are taught in schools. Currently, there are no requirements to help children develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the natural world.

Also absent are minimum standards for outdoor learning, despite years of evidence showing how beneficial it is for children’s health, confidence, and well-being. Children’s interaction with nature is also declining, with 60% of young people spending less time outdoors since the start of the pandemic.

At COP26 in Glasgow last year, ministers for education and climate committed to: “the integration of sustainability and climate change in formal education systems.”

The Wildlife Trusts are concerned the Government is at risk of failing to put climate and nature at the heart of education in the UK and are calling for:

A GCSE that focuses specifically on nature and climate
A minimum standard for outdoor learning, with children given opportunities to spend at least an hour a day learning outside
Nature and climate education to be embedded across all subjects and at all levels

Despite widespread support, little progress has been made to include a nature GCSE in the curriculum and further delay could see the idea abandoned altogether.