Young people are at risk of missing out on vital skills needed for the future unless fieldwork becomes core to the new national curriculum.
To prevent loosing these vital green skills, environmental learning needs to be embedded into the new curriculum, particularly access to practical and residential field study.
The younger generation need the guarantee of residential fieldwork opportunities, which are vital in delivering green skills for nature that the country will need to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.
Unfortunately, these experiences aren’t easily accessible to everyone and those that are experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage are being hit the hardest by the growing number of barriers to outdoor learning experiences.
The new government has announced a review of the curriculum up to the age of 18 with the intention of updating it to match the skills needed in the future and to balance out inequalities of opportunity amongst pupils.
We feel that there won’t be enough suitably skilled candidates without more emphasis on biology, geography and ecology fieldwork in the new national curriculum.
Jo Harris, our Education Manager says: “How will the ecologists, conservationists, habitat managers, wildlife restoration officers and biodiversity managers of the future know that these jobs are open to them if they haven’t been exposed to the natural world and learned about how it works?
“Some visitors to our centres have never left their home city, have never been in the countryside, been on a beach or worn wellington boots. A school trip may be their only chance and that is now under threat when school budgets are squeezed ever tighter. “
“The only truly effective way to make sure these green skills for nature are nurtured and developed is to give young people access to good quality fieldwork, and we are calling on the government to make sure that this is embedded into any new curriculum it develops.
“The stark reality is that what used to be a regular part of any education – a fieldwork residential – will rapidly become the preserve of only those who can afford it.
“Students need to get hands-on, learn to use equipment, understand how to collect data and learn how to work as part of a team. And they need dedicated and quality time away from the classroom to do that.
“At a time when we desperately need more ecologists, conservationists and habitat restoration experts, we’re seeing the very experiences that spark interest in these careers being hollowed out of education.”
“Green skills for nature are vital for roles in wildlife restoration, wetland management, forestry and peatland conservation.”
Jo also says, “Our evidence shows that practical, hands-on experiences in the real world don’t just create better scientists and geographers – they fire curiosity, give context to classroom learning and engage those that sometimes struggle in a classroom environment.”
“The curriculum review is welcomed as an opportunity to bring education into the 21st century. Without this, we risk failing to develop the skills needed to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change.”
We feel the new curriculum should be backed with adequate resources, to make sure schools can offer all of their pupils the best opportunities available.
Our consultation response reveals schools are increasingly unable to deliver field trips due to multiple barriers including the cost of transport which can often be more than the accommodation and teaching; parents are just unable to contribute to costs and the cost of teaching cover.
The new curriculum would be compulsory across all state schools including academies, which are currently exempt from the National Curriculum. Stakeholders within the education sector are currently being consulted on proposals to be included in the review.
Find out more about our fieldwork and outdoor learning opportunities here