Context

Despite the advances of climate science, GCSE students are still being asked to list the opportunities of climate change in exams.  At the same time, climate anxiety is soaring in the UK, and young people are crying out to be given the tools they need to live and work in a world affected by climate change, while teachers feel like they are overwhelmed and unprepared to teach the subject.  Seahorse has been working with SOS-UK and the OVO Foundation to bring these challenges to the attention of policymakers and the public.  

Our activity

Seahorse worked with SOS-UK on two campaigns: Teach the Future and Green Schools Revolution. 

Unhappy with the lack of focus on young people in the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment review, Teach the Future convened organisations like the National Union of Students, Save the Children, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award to launch a Shadow Curriculum Review. Seahorse led the media strategy and coordination for the launch of this review, securing coverage in FE Week, edie and Children & Young People Now.

We also worked with the campaign to bring awareness to the crumbling state of schools, a year on from the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) crisis coming to light. Working with Peers and MPs we sought to put pressure on the Government to increase investment for school infrastructure improvements through media coverage in The Guardian and Politics.co.uk.

Our impact

With the Teach the Teacher work, SOS-UK has seen positive engagement with the Department for Education on the Shadow Curriculum Review, facilitating an accessible route for young people to feed into the process that impacts their futures. The official review’s interim report calls for “a greater focus on sustainability and climate science”, showing clear signs that climate education will play a far more significant role in the new curriculum. It also recognises that “rapid social, environmental and technological change necessitates that the curriculum keep pace”. 

Our efforts also contributed to increased awareness of the growing RAAC issue, resulting in significant political attention and a major win in the Autumn Budget, in which an additional £1.4billion was allocated to the School Rebuilding Programme and a further £2.1billion invested in maintaining and improving school buildings.