Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to deliver on the commitment of the former Secretary of State for Education at COP26 on the integration of sustainability and climate change in formal education systems.

The Department published the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the education and children’s service systems in April 2022. The link can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy/sustainability-and-climate-change-a-strategy-for-the-education-and-childrens-services-systems.

It sets out action to 2030 on: climate education, green skills and careers, the education estate and digital infrastructure, operations and supply chains, and international. This action will be evaluated and built on as new opportunities and evidence arise. The strategy covers each of the Department’s sectors: early years, schools, further education, higher education, and children social care. It sets out new initiatives, including extra support for teaching about nature and climate change, the introduction of a natural history GCSE and sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education.

Links for the two latter initiatives can be found at: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/national-impact/national-education-nature-park-and-climate-action-awards-scheme.html and: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sustainability-leadership-and-climate-action-plans-in-education.​