Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders in the North East regarding the potential merits of outdoor education for children.

The department believes all children and young people should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum and a variety of enrichment opportunities at school.

The National Education Nature Park is a whole-school environmental education programme that encourages teachers to take students outside and use their grounds to learn in and about nature. OASES (Outdoor and Sustainability Education Specialists), based in County Durham, were involved in discussions around the development of this initiative.

The value of outdoor learning is also being recognised and promoted in the department’s upcoming Enrichment Framework, which will include 'Nature, outdoors and adventure' as one of five categories of enrichment. We are engaging with national organisations who support outdoor learning and are happy to hear from local and regional organisations with relevant expertise.