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Teach the Future is a campaign led by secondary and tertiary education students to greatly improve education on the climate emergency and ecological crisis in the UK. Word Forest has been a supporter of their mission since they were founded in 2019. Today’s article, written by Nico King, explains what they are doing to achieve their aims.
Today’s students are expected to “save the planet” in regards to climate change. To do that, they need a proper understanding of how and why climate change is happening or what we can do to stop it. The current UK education system doesn’t provide students with this knowledge or understanding, but that isn’t stopping young people from fighting for it.
Teach the Future is a youth-led political campaign for broad, integrated climate and nature education in the UK. We were formed out of the climate youth strikes in 2019 by a group of students who were worried about the state of nature, concerned for their future amidst insufficient concerted action on climate change, and disappointed in the lack of climate and nature content in secondary education and we have gone from strength to strength since then. Over the last five years, we’ve hosted four parliamentary receptions across England, Wales, and Scotland; held a parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall; introduced the first ever student-written Bill to the UK parliament; influenced the Department for Education to publish its first ever climate change and sustainability strategy; and met with countless local councillors, parliamentary cabinet ministers, and MPs (especially in the run up to the general election).
As a campaign, our vision is to see integrated climate and nature education in all aspects of teaching and learning in mandatory education. This includes “green skills” for vocational careers and daily life and the government providing comprehensive teacher training for climate education, as well as the principles and practices needed for a truly “just transition”, how the effects of and solutions to climate change intersect with every sector of work and area of life, dealing with eco-anxiety. Our vision also includes learning environments that are inspiring, healthy, and ready for net zero for all students. In 2024, with our Fund the Future Campaign, we have been advocating for increased funding for school retrofit and repair so this vision can be realised.
Through our project “Curriculum for a Changing Climate” we have facilitated expert reviews of subject national curricula to reshape subjects from Early Years to A Level around climate and nature education, and showcased what is possible for a new curriculum. As of January 2025, reviews have been completed for all subjects at Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, and GCSE and are available for use to all teachers and schools on our website.
Though most of our work focuses on integrating climate and nature education through formal, legislated procedures, we recognise that this isn’t happening quickly enough and set up two projects to tackle this. Teach the Teacher is a programme which trains young people not just in the UK but across the world to teach their own teachers and school staff about climate change and how they can infuse climate education into their lessons. Teach the Parent is a social media campaign encouraging and guiding young people on how they can talk to their parents and other adults in their lives about climate change, what climate action means to them, and how to ask adults to join us in taking climate action. Both of these projects have now become fully fledged campaigns of their own.
Now, Teach the Future (through our parent organisation SOS-UK) is an official partner of the Youth Shadow Panel Curriculum and Assessment Review, alongside other key youth organisations such as Scouts UK, Save the Children and Young Citizens. This is an exciting new project to amplify a diverse range of youth voices in the Government’s review of the current curriculum and assessment system. They have already met with the official panel, and aim to continue this constructive dialogue between the Youth Shadow and Government Review Panels going forward.
Nico King and the Teach The Future Team
