The UK government recently carried out a review of the curriculum, assessment and qualifications system in England. In this blog article, Charlotte Bonner, our Chief Executive, outlines how the findings mark an important step forward for sustainability education and what needs to happen next. 

A welcome step forward

The Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) final report and the government’s response mark a welcome step forward for climate and sustainability education in England. We particularly welcome the explicit recognition of climate change and sustainability as one of five “applied knowledge and skills” areas needed to prepare learners for a changing world, and the commitment to strengthen content in science, geography, design and technology and citizenship, alongside new enrichment and nature-focused entitlements.

The review acknowledges the growing green economy and the need for learners to be equipped to contribute to sustainability in their lives and jobs: it opens the door to a more coherent progression of climate literacy from early years through to adult learning. We see clear opportunities to connect this with the Department for Education’s (DfE) Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy and its expectation that all education settings, including post-16 institutions, have a climate action plan and a named sustainability lead.

EAUC has long called for climate and sustainability to be treated as a core entitlement for every learner, integrated across subjects and phases in a way that is relevant to core subjects, commensurate with the latest research, solutions-focused and grounded in climate and social justice. This is backed up by demand from learners, as well as research into the experiences, perceptions and thoughts of educators.

What learners, educators and research are telling us

We know that while education for sustainable development’s importance is widely recognised, practice is uneven and staff have had limited training on how to deliver it well with confidence.

Our forthcoming State of the Sector research will build on this, offering an updated picture of how far post-16 organisations in the UK and Republic of Ireland are embedding whole-institution approaches to climate and sustainability, and where further support is most needed. We also see important gaps in the evidence base itself: research and policy attention still focus most strongly on schools, with less cohesive insight across FE, HE, apprenticeships and adult learning – a gap we are keen to address in collaboration with partners.

Embedding sustainability across curriculum, qualifications and institutions

Strengthening subject content is necessary and welcome. While the CAR identifies specific subjects in which climate and sustainability will be strengthened, we know that meaningful education for sustainable development sits across all disciplines. For EAUC, the next step is ensuring climate and sustainability are woven through curriculum and qualifications regardless of subject, and embedded just as strongly in estates, leadership and governance, partnerships and student experience. The CAR and the DfE’s climate action plan guidance create real opportunities to align what is taught with how institutions operate – including through climate action plans, estates standards and the expansion of schemes such as Climate Ambassadors.

Aligning with review cycles, regulation and qualification reform

We would like to see curriculum refinements joined up with:

• subject-by-subject reviews that embed sustainability and justice-focused enquiry across academic and technical routes
• qualification review cycles with Ofqual and awarding bodies that ensure new and reformed post-16 qualifications reflect our national and international sustainability commitments
• regulatory expectations (for example in funding and quality frameworks) that recognise climate and sustainability as part of what “good” looks like in colleges, universities and training providers – not necessarily as a ‘stick’ but to reduce false starts, to show policy consistency to enhance confidence, and to raise the bar across the sector.

For post-16 education, the CAR also contains several quieter but important signals for education for sustainable development (ESD) and whole-organisation approaches to sustainability – linked to the recent publication of the Post-16 education and skills white paper. The proposal for new V Levels alongside A Levels and T Levels – linked to priority sectors such as clean energy, construction and care – offers a major opportunity to embed sustainability and just transition skills into emerging qualifications from the outset. The planned enrichment framework, which government intends to extend to FE, could give colleges a clearer mandate to treat climate action, nature engagement and community projects as core experiences rather than optional extras, and are likely to be subject to regulation by Ofsted.

Reforms to level 1 and 2, including stepped English and maths with stronger resit accountability, will shape the programmes followed by many FE learners. These changes risk adding pressure to already crowded timetables, but they also create space to use climate-relevant, community-focused contexts so that basic skills and ESD reinforce each other. The Review’s emphasis on applied, project-based pedagogy in vocational learning aligns closely with ESD approaches: protecting and extending this type of learning will be crucial to engaging learners in real-world sustainability challenges.

The recommendation for regular, system-wide reviews and lighter-touch updates over a ten-year cycle underlines that this is not a one-off moment but the beginning of a longer programme of reform. At the same time, the pace of the climate and nature crises means we cannot afford to wait another decade for meaningful integration. Climate and sustainability must be carried through every stage of review and qualification reform from the outset, not postponed for future cycles.

Sustainability education, safeguarding and justice

EAUC increasingly understands climate education as a safeguarding issue. Poor climate literacy, exposure to misinformation and growing climate-related distress all affect learners’ wellbeing, sense of safety and life choices. UK and international research is documenting climate anxiety among children, young people and students, as well as the protective roles of agency, meaning-focused coping and connection with nature and community.

Colleges, universities and training providers have a duty of care to provide accurate information, hopeful and honest pedagogy, and clear pathways for action and support. For us, climate literacy and curriculum justice go hand in hand: embedding climate and sustainability should also help learners interrogate questions of power, equity and justice – including whose knowledge and communities are centred in what they study.

Building workforce capability and a coherent evidence base

The CAR rightly notes that pedagogy and teacher confidence are central, but implementation will stand or fall on the availability and accessibility of high-quality, sustained professional learning across schools, colleges and universities. Existing evidence suggests that many educators are still largely “self-taught” on climate and sustainability, and that time, funding, confidence and support remain key barriers. In a busy marketplace knowing who to go to for quality CPD is also a barrier.

EAUC will continue to advocate for climate and sustainability to be embedded in initial teacher education, professional standards and leadership development for the post-16 workforce. At the same time, we want to work with others to build a more coherent research picture across the whole education system, so that policy and practice are informed by robust evidence from early years through to adult learning, and deliver CPD where we are best placed to do so.

Maintaining consistency and pace through long-term reform

Publication of the CAR will not act as a “magic button”. Change will unfold over several years through detailed subject consultations, updates to programmes of study, revisions to technical and vocational qualifications, and no doubt numerous changes by awarding organisations, regulators and providers. That creates multiple opportunities to get this right – or to dilute ambition.

From EAUC’s perspective, consistency and pace will be crucial. Climate and sustainability should not depend on which subject or qualification a learner happens to choose, or which part of the country they study in. We encourage all involved in curriculum, assessment and qualifications – including post-16 and higher education – to treat climate and sustainability as a shared thread, and to use the coming review cycles to embed it clearly, assess it meaningfully and connect it to institutional climate action.

Looking ahead

Overall, we see the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the government response and the wider sustainability strategy as a platform to build from, not an end point. EAUC looks forward to working with members, partners and government to ensure that the next phase of implementation – across curriculum, qualifications, professional learning and estates – delivers on the promise that every learner, in every setting, studies in and through institutions that are actively tackling the climate and ecological crises.