Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on increasing children’s awareness and understanding of the environment in schools.

The Government’s 25-year environment plan, published in January 2018, sets out the ambition to improve the environment within a generation. The Department for Education (DfE) has worked closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the plan. DfE is funding the children and nature programme, a £10 million programme that aims to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds to have better access to the natural environment. The programme has been designed to make it possible for schools to undertake a range of activities in natural spaces, including learning about nature and how to care for the natural environment. The programme complements the scope that already exists to study environmental issues throughout the curriculum - in particular in science and geography lessons.