News
New ‘Farm Visits Learning Day’ to help deliver national curriculum and enable children to learn about food, farming and the natural environment
A range of new materials is now available for teachers, schools, and farmers to help deliver the national curriculum and enable children to learn about food, farming, and the natural environment.
The ‘Farm Visits Learning Day’ consists of a number of lesson plans and accompanying materials covering Key Stage 2 for children aged 7 to 11. The materials aim to help pupils to get the most out of a farm visit by having a day devoted to the subject in the classroom prior to visits.
The Learning Day has been produced by Learning Days Ltd as part of the Year of Food and Farming, and is sponsored by Natural England1 and The Co-operative2. It aims to support the use of the outdoors as a classroom and improve children’s knowledge about how food is produced and where it is from.
The main activity during the day is the creation of model farms by children in groups. Four topics are covered, including food production, landscape and biodiversity. The Learning Day’s lesson plans are accompanied by guidance for those hosting farm visits, which includes suggested activities and links and tips.
The Learning Day is available as a free download to all primary schools from www.learningdays.co.uk/foodandfarming.php
1Natural England’s purpose is to ensure that the natural environment is conserved, enhanced and managed for the benefit of present and future generations, thereby contributing to sustainable development. See www.naturalengland.org.uk
2The Co-operative is the biggest consumer co-operative in the world and the largest community food retailer in the UK with more than 2,200 stores, over 52,000 employees.
See www.co-operative.coop