Written questions by Botterill.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of outdoor education for (a) children and (b) adults.

The department believes that outdoor education can be a valuable part of a broad and balanced curriculum, for example in physical education and geography, and a school’s enrichment offer. Both form an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and to achieve high and rising standards for all children.We are supporting research by the University of Oxford which will help us to better understand the specific benefits of spending time in nature and ascertain which nature-based activities are most impactful for which outcomes.

What steps she is taking to improve opportunities for young people.

All young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much their parents earn.Through the Opportunity Mission and the Child Poverty Taskforce we will make sure that all young people thrive in education and will break the unfair link between background and success. After 14 years where children’s horizons have grown narrower and the disadvantage gap has persistently remained a chasm, we are putting education back at the heart of national life. Creating 3,000 new or expanded school-based nurseries, recruiting 6,500 additional teachers, and launching Skills England to transform opportunities and drive growth. We are also investing more in children’s services to set them on a sustainable trajectory and have announced new funding for kinship care and fostering to keep children safe and provide family security for our most vulnerable children.