The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has written to
the Education Secretary again
calling on him to include the Countryside Code in the national
curriculum.
The CLA, which represents 28,000 landowners and rural businesses
in England and Wales, recently partnered with LEAF Education to
develop a resource pack for teachers and youth group leaders to
help them show young people how to behave safely and responsibly
in the countryside.
But, at present, there is little by way of Whitehall directive
encouraging schools to teach the Countryside Code.
Mark Bridgeman, President of the CLA, said:
“Speak to any farmer or landowner and they will tell you that we
need to do more to introduce children to the countryside – and
with it, teach them how to be safe and responsible.
“We initially wrote to the Education department in 2020 and were,
to say the least, frustrated by the reply. That’s why we took the
matter into our own hands and a year later we have done much of
the work for them.
“But we need a conversation about how to properly embed the
Countryside Code into schools. There is too little being taught,
and many farmers see the consequences on their own land, be it
from wildfires, litter or dog attacks on livestock.”
The pack is free to download from the CLA’s website and is also
available on the Countryside Classroom - a
website regularly used by teachers seeking materials related to
rural affairs. CLA members are encouraged to share the resource
with their local primary schools.
Read the letter to the Education Secretary here
