Welcome to the May issue of the secondary newsletter intended especially for teachers and pupils. Please pass on any ideas or information that you find useful to parents and carers too.

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It is widely acknowledged that pupils have the opportunity to learn at a deeper level if they can experience for themselves the things about which they are learning. A well organised school trip or visit can therefore provide an excellent way to expand on educational opportunities by taking learning outside the school environment and enabling pupils to gain first-hand experiences to support their learning.

A trip to a farm, for example, can greatly enrich pupils’ learning about food, farming and the countryside. This would be particularly beneficial for those children who live in inner-city areas and who are therefore likely to have had limited experience of the countryside and an uncertain knowledge of where their food comes from and how it is produced.

School trips, however, provide more than just an opportunity to undertake useful curriculum-related activities. Many teachers report that pupils’ self-confidence and enthusiasm are bolstered by the sense of achievement gained from first-hand experiences and that this can have a positive effect on their overall learning. Pupils’ horizons can be widened through involvement in all kinds of educational activities beyond the classroom.

In 2007, a National Trust campaign designed to promote learning outside the classroom revealed research showing that nine out of ten teachers believe pupils do not go on enough school trips. This is clearly a shame as educational visits are undoubtedly hugely rewarding for both pupils and their teachers.

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A wide range of curriculum resources linked to the theme ‘landscape, environment and learning’ are available online. Two particularly useful places to look are the Natural England and Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) websites.

Natural England is keen to encourage more schools to use the ‘outdoor classroom’, and offers educational resources to help pupils understand nature, the landscape and our impact on them. Specifically, there are a number of downloadable curriculum resources that focus on farming and the natural environment which are designed to support educational ‘farm visits’. Further details can be found at: www.naturalengland.org.uk/researchers

FACE, in collaboration with a variety of members and partners, has also produced several valuable documents that have been designed to help teachers to incorporate the themes of food and farming into the curriculum. Resources cover a number of curriculum subjects at the secondary stage including Geography and Business Studies. For further information visit the ‘Teaching’ section of the website: www.face-online.org.uk

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Open Farm Sunday 2008

Open Farm Sunday is a fantastic opportunity for young and old alike to enjoy the living, vibrant countryside. Take time to listen to the birds, soak up the scenery, experience the smells of the farmyard and really get in touch with the land that sustains us. For more information visit: www.farmsunday.org/farmsunday08

Countryside Live 2008

The Countryside Foundation for Education is gearing up for another busy year in 2008. A record number of outdoor educational events, relevant to both the Year of Food and Farming and Outdoor Learning Manifesto, will be taking place.

With the support of The Wheler Foundation, the third Countryside Live event in Yorkshire takes place on 21st and 22nd May. In addition to the Yorkshire Countryside Live event, the sixth Countryside Live event run in partnership with Lee Valley Park Authority is scheduled for 25th and 26th September.

The Estate Open Day Programme for 2008 is also very busy, with 50 days running on 39 estates across the country including, for the first time, one in Scotland. These days take place in school term-time between May and October. Further details of all of the above can be found on the Countryside Foundation website: www.countrysidefoundation.org.uk

Show time!

There are a number of County Shows scheduled for May.

The South West Devon County Show is the largest event in the county calendar and runs from 15th to 17th May at Westpoint, Exeter. The Show has all the ingredients for a fantastic day out: magnificent livestock, abundant food and drink, a wonderful flower and garden marquee and a whole host of family entertainment. It provides the opportunity to link consumers with farmers, food producers and other people who work in the countryside economy. For further details visit: www.devoncountyshow.co.uk

The Surrey County Show is the largest one-day agricultural show in the UK attracting around 40,000 visitors. It takes place this year on the 26th May at Stoke Park, Guildford, bringing the best of the countryside right to the heart of the town. The Show promises to be a fantastic day out for the whole family, combining entertainment and fun with the opportunity to see first hand the many aspects of country life and farming. For more information visit: www.surreycountyshow.co.uk

The Staffordshire County Show, to be held at the showground in Stafford, will take place on 28th and 29th May. There will be a whole host of attractions, including Grand Parades of livestock and horses, a children’s farm, food hall, cookery theatre and 400 trade stands. It’s sure to be a great day out! Further details can be found on the website: www.staffscountyshowground.co.uk/county_show.htm

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The Growing Schools Garden website

A great new website based on the award-winning Growing Schools Garden has now been launched. Designed to promote and facilitate learning outside the classroom, it provides heaps of inspiration, plus the resources needed to make it a reality. The innovative design of the website makes it great fun to use, while encouraging exploration throughout the garden and on into the extensive resource library. Each zone of the garden reveals a range of activities that can take place beyond the confines of the school buildings, and shows participating schools both in and beyond their school gardens and grounds. Visitors can watch inspirational films, and download informative case studies, plant lists and how-to-do-it fact sheets. Visit the new resource at www.thegrowingschoolsgarden.org.uk

Send a Cow

Send a Cow is launching its 2008 ‘African Gardens Competition’ to get children growing their own vegetables using African-style techniques. By using African garden designs, such as bag and keyhole gardens, pupils can make food links, compare with faming in the UK and appreciate growing and eating their own produce. There are lots of learning materials online, including videos, presentations, animations and lesson plans, all at: www.sendacow.org.uk/africangardens

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Year of Food and Farming hits the headlines

Support for the Year of Food and Farming has now exceeded 20,000 pledges. More than 17,000 young people have now pledged to take part in the Year and nearly 3,000 organisations have also offered their support. This is great news – and more and more people are continuing to pledge their support for the Year of Food and Farming every day! If you haven’t already done so, why not visit our website to choose a pledge: www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk

Also in the news, HRH The Prince of Wales, Patron of the Year of Food and Farming, was joined on 22nd April by leaders from industry and the public sector to see how a city school is using its farm to bring alive learning about growing food, healthy eating and caring for the environment. For more information on the royal visit go to the News section at: www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk

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Schools have been telling us about some of the projects that they have set up as part of the Year of Food and Farming. Here’s a selection:

Polesworth International Language College

Polesworth International Language College is situated near Tamworth in the West Midlands and has developed excellent links with Ghana, India and China. The school feels it has a genuine responsibility to care for the environment, both locally and globally, and is working hard to achieve this aim through its sustainable development group.

The school also has an Eco Club which has joined up with ‘Big Mag’ to create a magazine based on the international and environmental work going on in the school. The club’s weekly meetings provide students with a unique opportunity to discuss environmental issues and consider how the school could become more environmentally-friendly.

https://www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/polesworth-international-languag/School.aspx

St Peter's CE Middle School

This school, situated in a semi-rural area on the outskirts of Windsor, is working with a number of organisations to promote food and farming across the curriculum. In food technology, for instance, Year 8 pupils work at Windsor Farm Shop and Home Farm considering food from ‘field to fork’. They have visited the butchery and seen how sausages and other products are made; they have analysed sausages at school, and have even designed their own sausages which the farm butchery has then produced. This project has extended to looking at local produce with pupils designing and preparing a two-course meal using regional recipes and locally grown food.

In ICT, the pupils have considered how to market their new food product, including the production of a financial model. The pupils have compared different types of farming methods and soil structures in Geography, and will be visiting Rushall Farm to compare organic farming against traditional methods. A local farmer will also be visiting school to talk to all the pupils. In Art, pupils will be designing the packaging for their new product, while in English, they will use local radio for their media project.

A school allotment is also being designed and a working party is preparing a herb garden. Compost bins are being provided and the school Environmental Club is being expanded to incorporate a growing club. The pupils will be encouraged to grow food and use it in food technology lessons and in cookery club. One aim is to make this cross-curricular project sustainable, not just for the Year of Food and Farming.

https://www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/sl42qy/School.aspx

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With late May forecast to see a sharp rise in the pollen count, the UK’s 15 million hay fever sufferers may find relief from an unlikely source – the onion. This is because onions are particularly rich in quercetin, a naturally occurring substance which is believed to alleviate symptoms among most sufferers.

Onions contain an average of 385 mg/kg of quercetin, three times as much as kale – the next richest source. In addition, the absorption rate from onions is at least twice as good as any other food. Experts recommend eating between one and two medium-sized onions a day to maximise the effects.

Source: www.onions.org.uk

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