Foster Watch #3 - Climate Change in the National Curriculum

FOSTER WATCH
is a new series of posts following Bath MP Foster, who is now Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Details of Don's voting record can be found at http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/40062&showall=yes#divisions


Climate Change in the National Curriculum

Education Secretary Michael Gove wants to downgrade the issue of climate change in the National Curriculum http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/may/02/michael-gove-climate-change-curriculum

Of course, with the planet headed for disaster, more than ever we need to make sure our children our taught about climate change in school.

A concerned correspondent wrote to Don Foster and received this reply:

"Dear XXXX

Many thanks for getting in touch about climate change and the National Curriculum.

Liberal Democrats would not accept a National Curriculum that didn’t cover climate change.  This draft one does, in the Science Curriculum, which states that children should learn about “the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the impact on climate”, before the age of 14.  Climate change will not be removed from the National Curriculum on our watch.

This is a draft National Curriculum, which has been out for consultation.  There is every opportunity to push for changes if people feel that climate change should be covered in other subjects besides science.

However, it is right to slim down the curriculum to be less prescriptive and to focus on the essentials, including climate change,  that children need to learn.

A slimmed down National Curriculum gives teachers more freedom to adapt their lessons to the individual children in their class – so it’s very likely teachers will choose to teach climate change in other subjects as well and there is nothing we would do to stop them doing this.  It is very hard to see how teachers could follow the Geography curriculum, for example, without talking about climate change.

I hope this offers you some reassurance."

Does this reassure that Don is doing all he can to include climate change in the National Curriculum? Foster Watch is not convinced, and does not find Don's answer satisfactory in the slightest.

Foster Watch
1. Badger Cull and Tuition Fees
2. Decarbonisation Targets and NHS Reforms 
3. Climate Change in the National Curriculum
4. Don's Revised Opinion on the Badger Cull

Disclaimer

Standing Stone's Blog and Foster Watch is an independent blog that is not affiliated with, nor endorses, any political party or general electoral candidate currently in existence. It maintains that all leadership and authority should be questioned and seeks to do just that.