Commenting on the launch of the
Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change
Strategy, including the introduction of a Natural History
GCSE, Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union,
said:
"This is a step in the right direction
but so much more needs to be done if the education sector is to
be in a position to claim to be a world leader in climate change
by 2030. Encouraging young people to become agents of
change in protecting our planet is incredibly important and the
opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the natural
world is very much part of this. However, we are concerned
that the DfE hasn’t taken the opportunity to address wider
climate issues for young people at all stages in their
education.
"Rather than a minority of young
people opting for this new Natural History GCSE, we need to
review the entire curriculum through a climate lens so that
opportunities to learn about sustainability and climate change
are available to students of all ages, helping them to understand
climate breakdown and how society needs to act to address
it.
"Furthermore, whilst certain subjects
are enforced by the existence of the EBacc it is difficult to
understand where the opportunities will arise even for Key Stage
4 students. You simply have to look at entry numbers in the
arts, creative subjects, PE and DT to see the devastating decline
of those subjects which sit outside the EBacc.
"The roll-out of ultra-low carbon
buildings needs to happen at pace. What has been announced –
4 new schools and 1 college by 2025 - is far too slow. The
process needs to be speeded up. We need a target date for
every new school to be built under these new specifications and
for every old school to be retrofitted to a comparable
standard. Retrofitting the entire schools estate by
2030, alongside investment in alternative travel provision for
staff and students to decarbonise the school run would set us on
course to be a genuine world leader."
