Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:58 pm on 21 September 2022.
Well, as a former young ornithologist myself, I pay close attention to what the RSPB tells us in terms of the connection of young people with nature. I'm sure that most of us will recognise, from our own experience, just how important and enjoyable that is at a young age. There are two principal programmes that we fund and continue to support in the space of environmental education in schools. Eco-Schools is one, and the Size of Wales is another. We can use both those programmes to go beyond the classroom, if you like, and for young people to be able to engage with their broader environment, but also to have a sense of agency in terms of how they relate themselves to nature and to biodiversity. Between them, those programmes are funded by around £0.5 million a year over the last three years. That enables schools to engage with those programmes at no cost. In my own experience—and I'm sure hers will be from her region as well—when you speak to schools, both of those programmes are very valued, and most heads and most teaching staff see a real opportunity with the new curriculum to be able to make a real step forward in how those programmes play a part in the broader curriculum in schools as well.