April Secondary Newsletter
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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Landscape, environment and learning
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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Resources for the theme ‘landscape, environment
and learning’
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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What’s happening in May?
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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More food and farming resources
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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Food and farming in the news this month
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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Secondary schools round-up
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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Amazing fact for April
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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