§ Miss Fookesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps she is taking to encourage the teaching of environmental studies in schools.
§ Miss Margaret Jackson:Her Majesty's inspectors offer advice and guidance on environmental studies as on other subjects, and have recently published a discussion document on "The Teaching of Ideas in Geography "which places the study of geography in a wider social and environmental context. My Department has also made available to local education authorities papers prepared for the international conference on environmental education held at Tbilisi in 1977; published a number of papers on various aspects of environmental education in a 112W recent issue of DES "Trends" ; and intends to publish early next year a resource handbook on environmental education. The curriculum in schools, however, remains a matter for individual local education authorities and the schools themselves.