Accredited official statistics

The Children’s People and Nature Survey for England: 2024 update

Updated 17 December 2024

Applies to England

1. What is the Children’s People and Nature Survey?

The ‘Children’s People and Nature Survey’ (C-PaNS) provides information on how children and young people (aged 8 to 15) experience and think about the natural environment. It is run twice each year, once in term time and once in holiday time. Here we present some key findings collected in 2024.

The accredited official statistics in this publication include C-PaNS responses for 2024, including those collected during the school holidays (Wave 7, 14 to 25 August 2024) from 2001 children and young people and those collected during term time (Wave 8, 16 September to 2 October 2024) from 2000 children and young people. Unless otherwise stated, findings presented in this report include combined term time and holiday time data collected in 2024.

Some key headline findings are summarised in an infographic slide pack here.

Alongside this publication, readers can access:

• This year’s questionnaire (‘CS_QXX’ below the tables refer to question labels found here).
• Data tables containing summary statistics, including a comparison of responses to each question based on age, gender, ethnicity, level of disability, region, income and rural/urban location.
• The technical report for both the Adults’ People and Nature Survey (A-PaNS) and the Children’s People and Nature Survey (C-PaNS).
• The C-PaNS raw data, weighting guidance and data dictionary on UKDS
• The PaNS Hub to sign up to the PaNS mailing list.
• A data viewer developed by Natural England that weights the data and provides breakdowns for many of the questions in the survey.

2. Further background detail

The People and Nature Surveys for England (PaNS), led by Natural England, are one of the main sources of data and statistics on how people experience and think about the environment. The project began in April 2020 with an adults’ survey (adults aged 16 years and older) collecting data via an online panel and has been run continuously since then.

The adults’ survey includes questions about children in the household, with adults reporting on children’s time in and experiences of nature. To build on this and ensure the views of children and young people themselves are represented, the ‘Children’s People and Nature Survey’ (C-PaNS) was first completed as a pilot between 6 and 18 August 2020 with children and young people aged 8 to 15. The pilot offered valuable insights which contributed to understanding experiences of nature during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following this successful pilot, the survey has been adapted for use on an ongoing basis, both in school holidays and term time, to allow attitudes and behaviours to be looked at over time. Reports from previous survey years can be found in the 2021 update, 2022 update, and 2023 update. The Wave 1 release from 2021 provides a summary of the policy and research context for the survey.

Detailed analysis of the data for specific research questions was not within the scope of this data release. Natural England will use the data going forward to address priority questions in more detail, such as those relating to differences between groups in access to and engagement with the outdoors, comparing engagement with nature in term-time and school holidays, and looking at the role of nature in children and young people’s well-being. Some differences between groups and survey years have been included in the report to provide an example of the types of insight that the data can support.

3. Time Spent Outdoors

Children and young people reported visiting a variety of green and natural places in the last week.

Children and young people were asked about which kinds of green and natural places they had visited in the last week. Most had visited gardens (66%, similar to 2023 with 67%), park/playing field/playground (62%, similar to 2023 with 64%) and grassy areas in nearby streets (43%, similar to 2023 with 43%) (Figure 3.1). Children and young people living in rural areas were more likely than those living in urban areas to have visited some types of green and natural places (i.e., gardens – rural 73% vs urban 66%, fields/farmland/countryside – rural 25% vs urban 14%), whilst ‘no visits’ were reported equally by children and young people living in both urban (4%) and rural areas (4%).

Figure 3.1: Green and natural places children and young people said they had visited in the last week (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q3 Have you spent time in any of these places in the last week? Please choose one or more options.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).
• Figure 3.1 presents the percentage of children and young people who reported visiting each of the different types of natural spaces listed: ‘Garden (own or someone else’s)’ 66%; ‘Park/playing field/playground’ 62%; ‘Grassy areas in nearby streets’ 43%; ‘Woods/forest’ 27%; ‘Beach or seaside’ 24%; ‘Grassy areas you pay to go to’ 19%; ‘Rivers/lakes/canals’ 18%; ‘Fields/farmland/countryside’ 15%; ‘Hills/mountains/moorland’ 11%; ‘Other’ 2%; and, ‘No visits’ 4%. ‘Don’t know’/ ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this figure.

Children and young people also reported on how frequently in the past week they had spent time outside (Figure 3.2). During holiday time (Wave 7), more than half of children and young people reported that in the past week they had spent time every day or most days in their garden (68%) and other outside places (48%). During term time (Wave 8), most children and young people had spent time outside every day or most days at school (85%) in the past week and one third (34%) had lessons outside (other than PE) every day or most days.

Outside of the school day, just over half of children and young people (54%) had spent time in their garden every day or most days in the past week (similar to 2020 with 55%), with 3% stating that they do not have a garden (similar to 2023 with 2%). Less than half of the children and young people (45%) spent time in other outside spaces every day or most days (similar to 2023 with 42%). There were disparities in the time spent outside in the past week by children and young people from households in different income groups (combined holiday time and term time data):

• Children and young people from households in the highest income group (£50,000 and over) were more likely to report spending time outside in their garden every day or most days (64%), compared to those from mid- or low-income households (60% £15,000 - £49,999, 55% <£15,000).
• The percentage of children and young people without access to a garden also differed between income groups, with children and young people from low- and mid-income households being more likely to have no access to their own garden than children and young people from a high-income household (1% of >£50,000, 4% of £15,000 - £49,999, 5% <£15,000).

Figure 3.2: How often children and young people said they spent time outside in the past week during holiday time (Wave 7) and during term time (Wave 8) when they were at school and not at school (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q5A Thinking about the last week at school, how often have you spent time outside? Please select one answer only; CS_Q5B Thinking about the last week at school, how often have you had activities or lessons outside that were not PE? Do not count: PE lessons; breaks and lunch times; before and after school. Please select one answer only; CS_Q6A Now thinking about when you were not at school in the last week, how often have you spent any time in your own garden (if you have one)? This includes any garden that you share with your neighbours? Please select one answer only; CS_Q6B Now thinking about when you were not at school in the last week, how often have you spent time outside in places that are not your garden? Please select one answer only.
• Samples for questions CS_5A and CS_5B are taken from term-time response data only = 2000. Samples for questions CS_6A and, CS_6B are taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).
• Figure 3.2 presents how frequently children and young people reported spending time outside in the past week during holiday time and term time. During holiday time: CS_Q6A 68% ‘Every day or most days’, 27% ‘Once or twice’, 2% ‘Never’, and 2% ‘No garden’; CS_Q6B 48% ‘Every day or most days’, 47% ‘Once or twice’, and 3% ‘Never’. During term time: CS_Q5A 85% ‘Every day or most days’, 13% ‘Once or twice’, and 2% ‘Never’. CS_Q5B 34% ‘Every day or most days’, 31% ‘Once or twice’, and 33% ‘Never. CS_Q6A 54% ‘Every day or most days’, 35% ‘Once or twice’, 8% ‘Never’ and 3% ‘No garden’; CS_Q6B 45% ‘Every day or most days’, 47% ‘Once or twice’, and 7% ‘Never.

Other related questions you may be interested in:

• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

4. Green Spaces at School

Children and young people with a disability were more likely to spend most of their time in nature while they were at school.

In 2024, new questions were added to the C-PaNS survey around green spaces at school during the term time. These questions aim to provide additional insight into how children access and experience green and natural spaces within the school environment, and the benefits they gain from this.

One new question asks where children and young people spent most of their time in nature in the last week. Figure 4.1 shows that 37% of respondents said they spent their time in nature mostly while not at school, 35% of children and young people said they spent equal amounts of time in nature at home and school, and 29% of participants said school was the place they spent most of their time in nature. There were differences in groups of young people spending their time in nature mostly at school:

• The younger age group was more likely to spend most of their time in nature at school (8-11 32% versus 12-15 26%), even though the highest percentage for the younger age group was equal time while at school and not at school (35%).
• Children from Black/Black British ethnicities (43%) and Asian/Asian British ethnicities (35%) were more likely to spend most of their time in nature at school than children from White ethnicities (26%), with children from Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups just as likely (34%).
• Children with a disability (42%) were more likely to spend most of their time in nature at school than children with no disability (26%).

Figure 4.1: Percentage of children and young people spending most of their time in nature during the last week mostly at school, equal time at school and not at school, or mostly outside of school (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_QX_3_A Where did you spend most of your time in nature in the last week?
• The sample for this question is taken from Wave 8 in 2024 = 1979 (only term time response data).

Another new question asks about changes to the amount of nature around the school within the last year. Over half of the respondents (52%) said there was no change to the amount of nature around the school within the last year. Very few respondents (3%) reported that there was less nature. One in five respondents (20%) said that there was more nature within the last year. Of those children and young people who said that there was more nature around the school, over four in five (81%) said that the increase in nature made them enjoy school more (Figure 4.2).

Figure 4.2: Of the percentage of children and young people where nature increased at their school, the percentage of how many children and young people who enjoyed school more because of it (both weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_QX_3_B Has the amount of nature around your school changed in the last year? Answer option ‘Yes, there is more nature’ by CS_QX_3_C Has the [increase/ decrease] in nature around your school changed how much you enjoy school? Answer option ‘Yes, I enjoy school more’.
• The sample for Figure 4.2 is a sub-sample of the term-time only respondents. Sample size = 494.

In addition to understanding nature within school grounds, this year the survey also asked parents how often their child visited green and natural places with their school. This included trips or visits beyond the school grounds, for example to parks, forests, or beaches. Over half of the children and young people were reported to go on school trips to natural places at least once a term, or more (56%). More than one in ten (13%) children and young people were reported to never go on a school trip to natural places. There were group differences for children and young people who never went on a school trip:

• The older age group (12-15) was more likely not to go on trips (18%) compared to the younger age group (8-11; at 6%).
• Girls (14%) were more likely not to go on trips than boys (11%).
• Children and young people from White ethnicities (15%) were more likely not to go on a trip compared to Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (4%), Asian/Asian British ethnicities (8%), and Black/Black British ethnicities (4%).
• Children and young people from households with an income below 15k were more likely not to go on trips (27%) compared to children and young people from households with an income between 15k and under 50k (16%), and children and young people from households with an income of 50k and over (8%).

Other related questions you may be interested in:

• Thinking about the outdoor spaces [at your school]{.underline}, how much do you agree or disagree that…
  • They are good places for spending time with friends [CA_QX_4A]
  • They are good places for learning [CA_QX_4B]
  • At your school there are lots of places for animals and birds to make their homes [CA_QX_4C]
  • Nature makes the school grounds more interesting [CA_QX_4D]
• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

5. Access to Green and Natural Places

Most children and young people can easily walk from their home to green and natural spaces.

Children and young people were asked about the types of green and natural places they can walk to easily from their home, either by themselves or with someone else (Figure 5.1). Around 7 in 10 said that from their home they could easily walk to a park/playing field/playground (71%) and garden (73%). Just over half said they could easily walk to grassy areas in the streets nearby (57%) and one third said woods/forest (33%). Very few children and young people answered ‘None of the above’ (1%).

There were several differences between groups in the percentage of children and young people who reported being able to walk to green and natural places from their home. For example:

• Woods/forest were more commonly reported as being in easy walking distance by children and young people from White (37%) or Mixed/Multiple (27%) ethnicities than those from Asian/Asian British (20%) or Black/Black British (15%) ethnicities.

Figure 5.1: Green and natural places children and young people can walk to easily from their home (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q4: Which of these places can you walk to easily from your home (either by yourself or with someone else)?.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).
• Figure 5.1 presents the percentage of children and young people who reported that they could easily walk to (on their own or with someone else) the different types of natural spaces listed: ‘Garden (own or someone else’s)’ 73%; ‘Park/playing field/playground’ 71%; ‘Grassy areas in nearby streets’ 57%; ‘Woods forest’ 33%; ‘Rivers/lakes/canals’ 25%; ‘Fields farmland / countryside’ 23%; ‘Grassy areas you pay to go to’ 15%; ‘Beach or seaside’ 11%; Hills/mountains/moorland’ 10%; ‘Other’ 0%; and, ‘None of the above’ 1%. ‘Don’t know’/‘Prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this figure.

Other questions you may be interested in:

• Access to garden/outdoor space [CS_S_Q3].
• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

6. Quality of Local Natural Spaces

Children and young people generally perceive the quality of their local outdoor spaces to be high.

Children and young people were asked to rate the quality of the natural outdoor spaces near them by indicating their level of agreement with five statements. The five statements had been co-developed with children and young people as measures of different aspects of quality in a separate research project (further details can be found in the project report. These different aspects of quality relate to the natural environment, space to do things you want, human/built environment, feelings, and accessibility.

Overall, children and young people perceived the quality of their local outdoor spaces positively (Figure 6.1). Accessibility was the most positively reported, with 84% of respondents agreeing that outdoor spaces are easy to get to by walking. Almost 8 in 10 (79%) of children and young people said that they feel welcome in their local outdoor spaces.

Three quarters (74%) of respondents agreed that there are lots of places for animals and birds to make their homes, and that they are good places for playing (75%). A slightly lower 63% agreed that local green spaces are clean and well looked after.

Figure 6.1: Children and young people’s level of agreement with five statements relating to different aspects of quality of the natural outdoor spaces near them (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q13 Thinking about the natural outdoor spaces near you. How much do you agree or disagree that A) There are lots of places for animals and birds to make their homes; B) There are good spaces for playing; C) They are clean and well looked after; D) I feel welcome there; E) They are easy to get to by walking.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).
• Figure 6.1 presents the percentage of children and young people who agree (net 10 –7), ‘Neither agree nor disagree’ (net 5-6), or disagree (net 0-4) with the statements relating to different aspects of quality. The findings are as follows: A) 74% agree, 17% neither agree nor disagree, 7% disagree; B) 75% agree, 17% neither agree nor disagree, 7% disagree; C) 63% agree, 23% neither agree nor disagree, 13% disagree; D) 79% agree, 15% neither agree nor disagree, 5% disagree; E) 84% agree, 11% neither agree nor disagree, 5% disagree. ‘Don’t know’/‘Prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this figure.

Other questions you may be interested in:

• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

7. More Time Outside

Having a playground and good weather would encourage children and young people to go outside more.

In 2023, a young advisory group was formed to provide input and feedback on C-PaNS. The young advisors developed their own question to include in the survey, which asked children and young people to rank in order of importance seven things that would encourage them to go into natural spaces more.

Playground (31%) and good weather (26%) were the response options most often ranked as number one by children and young people (i.e., most important to encourage them to go into natural spaces more, Figure 7.1). The importance of response options differed between age groups, gender, and ethnicity in some cases.

• Younger respondents (aged 8 to 11) more commonly ranked playground as number one (40%) than older respondents (aged 12 to 15, 22%). Whereas good weather was more likely to be ranked as most important by older age groups (29% vs 22%), and by more female than male respondents (29% vs 22%).
• The older age group ranked places to play sports more highly than the younger age group (17% vs 11%), and males also ranked this higher than females (19% vs 9%).
• Clean air was more important to the older age group (6% vs 4%) and Black and Black British ethnicities ranked this the highest (11%), compared to Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (6%), White (5%), and Asian or Asian British (4%).

Figure 7.1: Percentage of children and young people that ranked each item as most important to encourage them to go in natural spaces more (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q20 What would encourage you to go out into natural spaces more? Please put them in order from 1 as the most important to 7 as the least important.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).
• Figure 7.1 presents the percentage of children and young people who ranked each of the seven items at number 1 (most important): ‘Playground’ 31%; ‘Good weather’ 26%; Places to play sports’ 14%; Toilets nearby’ 13%; ‘Safe spaces to cycle’ 6%; ‘Clean air’ 5%; and, ‘People around (peers)’ 5%.

Other questions you may be interested in:

• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

8. Enjoyment of Nature and Nature Connection

Children and young people tend to show high connection to and enjoyment of nature.

In total 91% of children and young people surveyed agreed with the statement ‘being in nature makes me very happy’, including 35% who completely agreed and 30% who strongly agreed (Figure 8.1). Few children and young people disagreed (1%) and 8% neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement.

Figure 8.1: Children and young people’s level of agreement with the statement ‘Being in nature makes me very happy’ (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q12A How much do you agree or disagree with the following: Being in nature makes me very happy. Please select one answer only.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).

The survey asked children and young people how connected to nature they feel using the illustrated ‘Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale’. The illustrated scale contains seven diagrams each containing two circles, one with the outline of a person saying ‘me’ and the other with a nature-filled scene. In each diagram, the closeness of the two circles increases, until they fully overlap. Children and young people were asked to choose the diagram which best showed how connected they felt to nature. For the purposes of reporting, nature connection has been categorised into low (A, B, C), moderate (D) and high (E, F, G).

Of children and young people surveyed, 23% reported low nature connection, 20% moderate connection, and over half (57%) reported high nature connection (Figure 8.2). This shows an increase in the percentage of children and young people who feel highly connected to nature compared to findings in 2021 (44%), 2022 (47%), and 2023 (52%). There were also differences in nature connection between groups, for example:

• The older age group of children and young people (ages 12-15) was more likely to report lower nature connection (27%) than the younger age group (ages 8-11, with 20% reporting low Nature Connection).
• Also, children and young people surveyed from Black/Black British ethnicities were less likely to report low Nature Connection (17%) than those from White (24%) or Asian/Asian British ethnicities (23%).

Figure 8.2: Nature connection of children and young people (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q11 How connected do you feel to nature? Please choose the picture that best describes your relationship to nature.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).

Other related questions you may be interested in:

• How do you see or learn about nature when you are [not at school]{.underline}? [CS_QY_4]
• Thinking about the last week at school, how often have you looked at, listened to or engaged with nature? [CS_Q5C]
• Now thinking about when you were [not at school]{.underline} in the last week, how often have you looked at, listened to, or engaged with nature? [CS_Q6C]
• Well-being (happiness, anxiety [CS_Wellbeing_happy, CS_Wellbeing_anxious] and loneliness [CS_Wellbeing_lonely] were measured using ONS recommended measures).
• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

9. Environmental Concern and Action

Children and young people are concerned about the environment and reported taking actions to try and look after it.

Most children and young people surveyed agreed that looking after the environment was important to them (83%). Many reported already doing a range of things to look after the environment (Figure 9.1), including most commonly waste recycling (61%), picking up litter (54%), turning off taps while brushing teeth (53%), and turning lights off (50%). However, the percentage of children and young people that reported doing some activities was lower than in previous years, for example waste recycling (71% in 2021, 75% in 2022, and 65% in 2023) and turning off taps (63% in 2021, 65% in 2022, and 56% in 2023). Most children and young people said that they would like to do more to look after the environment (86%). Level of environmental concern differed between age groups, with younger respondents (aged 8 to 11) more likely than older respondents (aged 12 to 15) to agree that looking after the environment was important to them (85% vs 81%) and that they would like to do more to look after the environment (88% vs 83%).

Figure 9.1: Behaviours and social actions reported by children and young people to look after the environment (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_Q10 Which of the following things do you do to look after the environment? Please choose one or more options.
• The sample for this question is taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time response data).
• Figure 9.1 presents the percentage of children and young people who reported doing each of the actions listed: ‘Waste recycling’ 61%; ‘Picking up litter’ 54%; ‘Turning off taps’ 53%; ‘Turning lights off’ 50%; ‘Better transport choices’ 40%; ‘Gardening for wildlife’ 36%; ‘Talking to friends/family’ 28%; ‘Thoughtful buying’ 21%; ‘Reading/watching about the environment’ 20%; ‘Reduced meat consumption’ 16%; ‘Volunteering’ 14%; ‘Raising awareness online’ 11%; ‘Influencing leaders’ 9%; ‘Other’ 1%; and, ‘None of the above’ 0%. ‘Don’t know’ / ‘Prefer not to say’ responses are not included in this figure.
• Also reported in the text are CS_Q9 How important is looking after the environment to you? CS_Q12c How much do you agree or disagree with the following: I would like to do more to look after the environment? and CS_Q18 There is something called the Countryside Code, which tells us how we should behave when we visit outdoor spaces. Have you heard about this before? the samples for which are taken from the full 2024 base sample = 4001 (combined holiday time and term time), as well as CS_Q19 Where have you heard about the Countryside Code? Please choose one or more option, which was asked only of respondents who answered ‘Yes’ to CS_Q18, sample = 1758.

The survey also asked children and young people about their awareness of the Countryside Code. Over one third of those surveyed had heard of the Countryside Code (43%), 45% had not and 13% were not sure. Of those that had heard of the Countryside Code, 52% heard of it through their family and 47% at school. The percentage of children and young people who had heard of the Countryside Code varied between groups, for example awareness was higher:

• Amongst 12 to 15 year olds (47%) than 8 to 11 year olds (39%),
• For young people who reported having disabilities (59%) than those who did not (40%), and
• For children and young people from households with an income over £50,000 (48%) than those from lower income households (39% £15,000 to £49,999, 35% <£15,000).

In 2024, a new question was added to the survey which asks children and young people what they think are reasons to look after nature. This question aims to provide insight into awareness of the importance of looking after or taking action for nature (Figure 9.2). The most mentioned reason was that it helps save wildlife, selected by 72% of respondents. The second most selected reason was it is good for people’s health (67%), followed by it makes nature better to be in (65%).

There were differences in how groups of children and young people answered these reasons. For example, children and young people in the highest income group (an income over £50,000) had a higher endorsement for the top four reasons:

• For helping to save wildlife, children and young people in the highest income group responded with a higher percentage (73%) than the low-income (<£15,000) group (64%), and similarly to the mid-income (£15,000 to £49,999) group (72%).
• For good for people’s health, children and young people in the highest income group responded with a higher percentage (72%) than the mid income group (63%). The low-income group was on the same percentage (63%).
• For it makes nature better to be in, children and young people in the highest income group responded with a higher percentage (68%) than the mid (63%) and low (55%) income groups.
• For it helps stop climate, children and young people in the highest income group responded with a higher percentage (59%) than the mid (49%) and low (46%) income groups.

Figure 9.2: Reasons to look after nature (weighted percentage).

Figure notes:

• Source: CS_QY_5 Which of the following do you think are reasons to look after nature? Please select all that apply.
• The sample for this question is taken from wave 7 base sample = 2001 (holiday time response data only).
• Figure 9.2 presents the percentage of children and young people who listed at least one of these reasons: ‘It helps save wildlife’ 72%; ‘It is good for people’s health’ 67%; ‘It makes nature better to be in’ 65%; ‘It helps stop climate change’ 53%; ‘It helps save insects’ 50%; ‘Another reason not mentioned above’ 4%; ‘None of the above’ 2%.

Other related questions you may be interested in:

• Whether children and young people think adults are doing enough to look after the environment [CS_Q12_b].
• Whether children and young people know what they can do to look after the environment [CS_Q12_e].
• What children and young people think is okay to do in outdoor spaces [CS_Q16.5].
• See the questionnaire and data tables for more information.

10. Accredited Official Statistics

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. An explanation can be found on the Office for Statistics Regulation website.

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2023. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards (see contact details below). Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing [email protected] or via the OSR website.

Since the latest review by the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have continued to comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and have made the following improvements:

• Published a development plan with timetables for future work, which will be updated annually
• Ensured that users have opportunities to contribute to development planning through our annual Research User Group
• Enabled wider access to the data by publishing raw data sets through the UK Data Service
• Provided users with guidance on how statistics from our products can be compared with those produced in the devolved nations
• Published guidance on the differences between PaNS and MENE
• Improved estimates of the percentage of people visiting nature in the previous 14 days by reducing the number of respondents answering ‘don’t know’

11. Glossary

Connection to nature has been described as an individual’s subjective sense of their relationship with the natural world, and among children and young people this may be reflected in how they think and feel about nature (e.g. whether they see nature and humanity as one), and how they experience it (e.g. to what extent they enjoy spending time in nature and benefit from it).

Green and natural spaces are defined in this survey as green and blue spaces in towns and cities (e.g. parks, canals); the countryside (e.g. farmland, woodland, hills and rivers); the coast (e.g. beaches, cliffs) and activities in the open sea; visits of any duration (including short trips to the park, dog walking etc.). They do not include: gardens; outside spaces visited as part of someone’s employment; spaces outside the UK. Additional questions are asked about private gardens.

Weighting is used to ensure the sample is representative of the population. C-PaNS uses a ‘design weight’ to compensate for just one child per household being interviewed, and a ‘rim weighting’ to ensure the sample margins match the wider population margins for age, gender, region and ethnicity. More on this can be found in the technical report.

12. Contact

Natural England welcomes feedback on C-PaNS. Please contact the team by email: [email protected].

If you would like to receive further information on the survey, including data releases, publications and survey changes, then visit our User Hub and sign-up to the mailing list at the bottom of the page (best viewed in Google Chrome). After signing up, if you do not receive a confirmation email please check your ‘Junk’ or ‘Spam’ folder.

13. Pre-release Access

Pre-release access was not sought for this release.

14. Related Links

People and Nature Surveys information: Further information on the People and Nature Surveys for England.

In addition to the published reports and data releases, Natural England has developed a data viewer that weights the data and provides breakdowns for many of the questions in the survey.

Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment: Further information on the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) Survey (predecessor to the People and Nature Survey).