Blue Marine welcomes the Curriculum Review Final Report

The Curriculum Review Final Report marks a pivotal moment for climate and sustainability education in England. Blue Marine welcomes its strong emphasis on embedding these themes across subjects, creating new opportunities to integrate ocean literacy into learning. Stronger links between science and other areas will help students connect scientific understanding with human and environmental contexts.

The review proposes strengthening Geography so that pupils ‘understand the interdependence of human and physical processes and the significance of climate and sustainability’, while Science should give ‘greater emphasis to climate and sustainability’ and improve understanding of interactions within and between biological, physical and chemical systems. Blue Marine also welcomes the return of social and environmental themes in Citizenship, and the increased focus on sustainability in Design and Technology.

We will work with partners to ensure these ambitions translate into practice. We also ask that the Department for Education respond to the final report’s recommendations by committing to:

  • An Earth System approach within Science and Geography, connecting ocean, climate and sustainability as one coherent story of our planet.
  • Clear progression across key stages, so students build connected understanding rather than revisiting the same topics in isolation.
  • Support for teachers through trusted, evidence-based resources and professional development to make this integration achievable.
  • Space for values and action within Citizenship and whole-school culture, helping young people link knowledge to making a contribution.

The review is an opportunity to embed, within and across subjects, a perspective that reflects the latest understanding of how the ocean, atmosphere, land and biosphere interact. Building on the UK’s role in the UN Ocean Decade and the framework provided by UNESCO’s New Blue Curriculum, there is a clear path to put the ocean on an equal footing with terrestrial systems – highlighting its central role in regulating climate, sustaining biodiversity and supporting livelihoods. These changes will help students understand both the complexity of the planet’s systems and their capacity to act within them.

With colleagues from the Geography Association, Royal Geographical Society, Association for Science Education, Royal Meteorological Society and others, we look forward to helping shape the next phase.