Curriculum and Assessment Review: Nature Park reflections and next steps
Last month marked the publication of a major review of the English curriculum and assessment system. Amid the unfolding planetary emergency, the National Education Nature Park programme welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR)’s recognition that climate and nature education is a crucial part of empowering young people with the skills and knowledge needed for their futures.
The Nature Park has this principle at its heart, and our resources provide support for schools, colleges and nurseries across England to bring climate and nature learning to life across subjects and key stages. We're continuing to build on this and ensure that the programme aligns with the new curriculum as new programmes of study are introduced.
Looking to get started with embedding the CAR's recommendations in your setting right now? Here are some practical steps your setting can take using the Nature Park programme — plus a look at the ambitious support we’re rolling out for education settings in the months ahead.
Embedding climate and nature education across the curriculum with the Nature Park
As a programme, we know that direct experiences with nature are not only enriching, but they're also essential for understanding the value nature and the importance of nurturing it. The CAR sets an exciting direction for climate and nature education, calling for richer and refreshed content in Science, Geography and D&T, and compulsory citizenship lessons for KS1 and KS2, with clearer early sequencing of key concepts. In response to the CAR, the government has also stated the importance of extra-curricular enrichment for young people and the need to ensure all education settings are delivering an offer accessible by all, including ‘nature, outdoor and adventure’.
The National Education Nature Park programme welcomes these proposals and can help make that vision a reality. You can explore our free resource library for activity ideas and lessons to help you embed the concepts and skills needed to respond to the planetary emergency across the curriculum, like they've been doing at Lady Manners School in their Maths, Geography and Chemistry lessons and Co-op Academy Manchester in their Business Studies and Physics lessons. Nature Park climate resources are developed within our Climate Education Framework and verified by the Royal Meteorological Society. You can also find lots of resources suitable for developing your setting’s extra-curricular enrichment offer, like how they've been using the habitat mapping to support outdoor learning sessions at Larkholme Primary School. We’ve also carefully adapted the programme to support Early Years settings to take part more easily this year and have further adaptations in the pipeline, so keep an eye out!
Empowering young people
The CAR report recommends that learners gain the knowledge and skills needed to face our planet’s challenges. The Nature Park programme has been developed with this in mind:
- learner voices, needs and skills are at the centre of every step of the process
- the Nature Park green skills framework is embedded within the Nature Park activities, lesson plans and educator guidance
- the programme develops key skills around communication, decision-making and creative thinking
- the programme's design nurtures the development of scientific skills in biology, natural history data collection, as well as digital skills, including data analysis and data visualisation.
Through quality science, tried and tested activities, and an emphasis on enquiry-led learning, children and young people identify and monitor actions to improve their site through activities including:
- mapping the habitats on their site to identify nature already present
- taking part in a Pollinator Count and other activities to help identify where and what improvements they can make to the site
- exploring the Nature Park Map to view and discuss data on their own site as well as settings around the country
This spring (2026) we will be launching a new biodiversity survey for the 'Recording change' step of the Nature Park process for learners to collect data about grasslands on their site – the biggest habitat type on school grounds. This community science project – based on methods used by professional field ecologists – will see learners taking part in real research to understand the quality of grasslands on the education estate while also collecting data that will help them make more informed decisions about improving their spaces for nature.
What's still to come? Inclusive support for all learners, clearer sequencing and revitalising arts subjects with the Nature Park
The CAR’s recommendations for improvements in digital and media literacy, inclusive support for all abilities, clearer sequencing and revitalising art subjects are just some of the aspects that the Nature Park will be providing support for. Some of our exciting developments to come are:
- computing resources for primary and secondary coming in summer 2026, informed by the experience of computing teachers and developed by specialists
- co-developing D&T resources with educators across the country, we’ll design and publish resources that help bring climate and nature education into the D&T classroom
- producing Music and Art resources in 2026 to enable learners to respond creatively and expressively to the planetary emergency through the arts
- supporting Further Education by working with specialists to understand how we can support educators and learners most effectively
We will continue to stay in dialogue with educators, learners and senior education leaders around the country to ensure the programme is providing you with the support you need and share practical examples to inspire your work. Get in touch with us at [email protected] or speak to Nature Part support staff near you.
If you're looking for more general support for sustainability and Climate Action Plans for your setting, check out how the Nature Park can support this and see the other free support programmes available to support you to drive this action forward.