3. Will the Minister make a statement on teaching children about climate change in schools? OQ56613

Learning on climate and environmental challenges will be mandatory in the Curriculum for Wales. The statements of what matters for the humanities and science and technology areas of learning and experience include explicit references to climate and the environment, to ensure that learners engage with challenges such as climate change.

Thank you for that response. I'm very eager that we address climate anxiety, which is affecting more and more schoolchildren. There is a danger that we as a society are causing this concern as a result of our approach to climate change in the media, but also in the classroom—talking about climate change as an inevitable crisis and a spectre of devastation on the horizon, come what may. And studies show that people who are overly concerned, or who suffer from anxiety about a subject, may think that they're less likely to do something about that situation. So, I'm keen to see more space in the curriculum, Minister, to discuss climate change, but for those discussions to focus on what we could do to change the situation and to empower children. And I would like to see more resources and support for teachers to recognise climate anxiety and deal with it. Is that something that you'd be willing to consider introducing for children and schools?

Well, providing those resources is part of the work that's currently ongoing. I fully accept what the Member has said on the context in terms of learning about and raising awareness among children and young people of climate change, not only on the impact of climate change but also, as she said, that idea of personal agency—the ability to be part of the response to climate change in way that can open one's eyes when they're on their educational journey. The 'what matters' code in a number of different places is based on that concept of the learner as someone who can have an impact on what happens in their surroundings. And I think we have seen over the past year just how important it is for our pupils and students to have that sense of how to respond to the world around them, and not just in a way that accepts what happens but in a way that supports pupils in being innovative and flexible in doing that. So, that's one of the things I want to ensure that we will get out of the new curriculum.