Scottish Government biodiversity duty report 2021-2023

9. Education

9.1 Introductory information

Scottish education policy is set by Scottish Ministers however statutory responsibility for delivery sits with Scotland's 32 local authorities. Local authorities will work with associated schools and other formal educational settings to enact education policies in line with local contexts and priorities. Education Scotland, as Scotland's education improvement agency, support both the development of policy and its implementation at a local level.

The development and delivery of education policies related to the promotion of biodiversity sits within this structure.

9.2 Actions to protect and enhance biodiversity

Learning for Sustainability

Connection with nature is a central objective within the cross-curricular theme of Learning for Sustainability (LfS). LfS encourages learners and educators to explore issues of global sustainability across curriculum areas and subjects. Outdoor learning is a key element of LfS. By ensuring that young people can experience nature first-hand they are able to better understand their impact on and interdependence with the natural world.

In recognition of the importance of LfS the Scottish Government published its first LfS Action Plan in 2019. The plan sought to give effect to the 14 recommendations of the Vision 2030+ report and actions were centred around the same 5 strategic objectives originally outlined by the One Planet Schools Working Group. This plan was covered in the previous duty to report publication.

A strengthened plan, building on the 2019 plan, was published June 2023, which was the result of a collaborative process with children, young people and educators and stakeholders. The refreshed Action Plan is framed around the Target 2030 vision, “To build an inspiring movement for change so every 3-18 place of education becomes a Sustainable Learning Setting by 2030.” There are 5 key themes in the plan:

• Leadership and Collaborative Partnership;
• Curriculum, Learning, Teaching and Assessment;
• Learning Environment and Resources;
• Learner Voice, Choice and Action;
• Meaning and Understanding.

Outdoor learning features prominently in the new Action Plan. The Scottish Government has committed to establish a new policy work-stream on outdoor learning, to be informed by a new strategic working group made up of a range of experienced individuals and organisations that will provide advice to Scottish Ministers on how best to ensure all young people have access to entitlements for outdoor learning, in all its forms.

The Learning Estate Strategy encourages the use of the outdoors by children and young people from early learning and childcare all the way through their learner journey. The Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) is a £2 billion programme which mandates adherence to this strategy in each of the 47 new and refurbished projects which it supports. Outdoor learning is encouraged by the requirement for LEIP Phase 3 projects, which were announced in October 2023, to provide shelter to support a range of site-specific activities. These could include curriculum spaces such as biology or horticulture or outdoor social activities to encourage interaction with nature.

9.3 Mainstreaming biodiversity

Biodiversity within Curriculum for Excellence

Biodiversity is mainstreamed in Scottish education because it is included in curriculum content. As a result, all young people in Scotland learn about the importance of biodiversity. Throughout the refreshed Scottish Government Learning for Sustainability (LfS) Action Plan (2023) there are a number of actions to ensure learners are provided with nature-based experiences, and that these are a meaningful part of their daily learning experiences and the learner journey as a whole.

Learners must cover experiences and outcomes related to biodiversity and interdependence at each curriculum level. In the context of the curriculum, learning about biodiversity and interdependence is defined as:

• exploring the rich and changing diversity of living things and developing an understanding of how organisms are interrelated at local and global levels;
• exploring interactions and energy flow between plants and animals (including humans);
• developing an understanding of how species depend on one another and on the environment for survival; and
• investigating the factors affecting plant growth and developing an understanding of the positive and negative impact of the human population on the environment.

Education Scotland also supports practitioners with resources and guidance to incorporate biodiversity into their lessons plans and overall curriculum making across the 3-18 curriculum.

9.4 Nature-based solutions, climate change and biodiversity

Climate Action Schools

The Scottish Government has funded the Eco-Schools Scotland and Climate Ready Classrooms programme for a number of years. The programme went through a successful rebranding in 2022/23 joining both programmes under the banner of Climate Action Schools. This integrated approach ensures that schools and young people get support to develop an understanding of the climate and biodiversity crisis and that they gain the skills that are required to take positive action. The five main topics in the programme are:

• Learning for Sustainability;
• Climate Emergency;
• Biodiversity Loss;
• Litter and Pollution;
• Pupil Voice.

Nature Discovery Map Scotland

The Scottish Government is funding the development of the Nature Discovery Map Scotland, an online mapping tool and learning resources for Scottish schools, early learning settings and tertiary education settings to support them to engage with nature networks and use their local greenspaces to learn about the biodiversity in their local area.

The aim of this project is to help children and young people better understand the biodiversity and eco-systems of their area and the importance of sustainability and climate adaptation as well as supporting the development of practical and knowledge-based skills through biodiversity and climate action, as well as digital skills and STEM learning through geospatial mapping.

9.5 Public engagement and workforce development

9.5.1 Public engagement

The Climate Action Schools programme detailed in the previous section provides professional learning to educators in Learning for Sustainability, Climate Emergency, Biodiversity Loss and Litter and Pollution.

9.5.2 Workforce development

Responsibility for providing the context for Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) for the education workforce, and for delivering those progressive learning experiences related to biodiversity and nature-based learning, rests across a wide variety of national and regional bodies, including the General Teaching Council for Scotland, Education Scotland, local authorities and Regional Improvement Collaboratives, and it is therefore for those bodies to consider how they work to provide CLPL related directly to land-based education. LfS is also referenced in GTCS Standards and the framework for accrediting initial teacher education courses. Work is underway in partnership with the Scottish Council of Deans to establish a new national working group which will explore how to create a single national approach to support LfS within Initial Teacher Education

In relation to Scottish Government’s role the refreshed LfS Action Plan’s Meaning and Understanding theme includes a number of actions that relate to CLPL across the broader concept of Learning for Sustainability. This includes the creation of a new LfS portal that will be a one-stop-shop for educators and will provide training and access to resources and the establishment of an LfS mutual mentoring programme to provide a peer support network for educators.

9.6 Research and monitoring

9.6.1 Research activities

As set out in Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability (LfS) Action Plan (2023), the Scottish Government is committed to improving the evidence base on the effectiveness and outcomes for young people of embedding LfS approaches and pedagogies across the Scottish curriculum.

Learning for Sustainability Literature Review

In 2019 the Scottish Government commissioned an independent literature review into the educational outcomes associated with Learning for Sustainability. The review was carried out by the University of Edinburgh and confirmed the relationship between educational improvement and Learning for Sustainability – and outdoor learning in particular. In the refreshed Learning for Sustainability Action Plan there are two key actions the Scottish Government is undertaking:

1. The development of LfS Indicators which will be adaptable to every context – i.e. setting level, local level, regional level and national level – to provide a coherent mechanism to monitor, evaluate and demonstrate the progress made on LfS; and

2. An analysis of the relationship between LfS and pupil attainment and equity of outcomes for young people in schools, to better understand how LfS can help to support wider experiences and outcomes for learners.

The Scottish Government is also working with children and young people organisations to continue to meaningfully engage with children and young people to drive change and constantly challenge our approach.

9.6.2 Monitoring

Scottish Government is developing a set of LfS indicators in collaboration with partners. The new set of indicators will support us to monitor progress made against meeting Target 2030. These indicators will consider the holistic approach of LfS in settings and will be framed around the concept of Sustainable Setting: Curriculum, Community, Culture and Campus.