Welcome to the June 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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Agriculture is the world’s biggest business and offers a diverse and rewarding range of employment opportunities for young people who are about to embark on their careers. Indeed, with the food industry set to face an array of difficult challenges over the coming years, this sector looks set to be a particularly dynamic area in which to forge a career.

The principal challenge for the agricultural industry will be to meet a continuing expansion in the demand for food supplies. Indeed, with the worldwide population predicted to increase from its current level of 6.6 billion people to 8 billion by 2020, the food industry will i ncreasingly be under pressure to produce enough food to meet this demand without causing further damage to the environment.

To meet this challenge, the food industry will increasingly need highly qualified and motivated professionals, armed with modern marketing, business and communication skills. Consequently, employers within the agricultural and land-based sector are already setting higher and higher standards for potential employees.

As a result, students who want to work in the agricultural sector will need to consider gaining relevant qualifications and training in order to equip themselves fully with the skill-set required to succeed in their chosen careers.

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There is a wide range of information available online for students who wish to find out about rural careers. Two particularly useful places to look are the Lantra and Landex websites.

Lantra is the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sector. Its website contains a section designed specifically for ‘Young people & parents’ which contains a wealth of information for students, school-leavers and their parents who are looking for a way in to this area of the economy. This includes information about the various different industries that collectively make up the rural sector; details of how to go about obtaining work experience; information about relevant education and courses, and details about rural careers events.
Further details can be found at www.lantra.co.uk

Landex – Land-based Colleges Aspiring to Excellence – was established in May 2006. Its mission is to support and promote member colleges by representing their interests and helping them to ensure high quality provision of education, training and related activity primarily for the land-based sector. The company’s website provides details of those Further and Higher Education institutions which provide specialist provision in land-based and related subjects.
For further information visit www.landex.org.uk

Work-related and enterprise learning

Education Business Partnerships work in schools promoting work-related and enterprise learning. They coordinate activities with local partners from education and business to raise motivation of young people and to engage them in the world of work. Working with employers gives young people the opportunity to discover more about the range of jobs available to them locally when they leave school. It also helps them to develop an awareness of the skills they will need in employment, a YoFF aspiration.

Gwen Clarke, of Devon EBP, said, ‘Working with local farmers and food producers we are constantly promoting the food and farming sectors to raise awareness of how important farming and agriculture is to the economy of Devon, the environment and the quality of life that we all share. In addition, we carry out staff development days for teachers to raise their awareness of the importance of the farming sector and give them ideas on how they can use the knowledge gained in the classroom.’

For details of Education Business Partnerships in your area visit www.nebpn.org

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It’s show time!

A number of Agricultural Shows are due to take place over the next few weeks.

The three-day South of England Show runs from 5th–7th June at the South of England Showground and is a celebration of rural life and all it has to offer – from farming and food to crafts and entertainment. The Show will have a mouth-watering array of regional produce to enjoy alongside a host of countryside attractions. The spotlight will also focus on the best in British agriculture, equestrianism, horticulture, food and drink, country crafts, sports and entertainment. Further details and advance ticket information are available at www.seas.org.uk or from the South of England Centre on 01444 892700.

The Royal Norfolk Show is the largest two-day agricultural show in the country and takes place on 25th and 26th June at the Norfolk Showground. Schools are invited to take the opportunity to plan a valuable education day using the extensive variety of resources that will be available. Each trail at the show provides a structure for pupils to explore and enjoy the show whilst acquiring knowledge and understanding that can be used in the classroom with the possibility of linking into existing schemes of work. For further details visit www.royalnorfolkshow.co.uk

The Royal Show 2008 runs from 3rd–6th July and will provide a fitting culmination to the Year of Food and Farming. As in recent years, FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) will be working closely with RASE (Royal Agricultural Society of England) to offer free educational visits to the Royal Show for both primary and secondary schools. The 2008 Education Programme centres on bringing children in touch with farming and rural life and includes hands-on activities at the Education Village, including baking and paper making, learning about healthy, local and seasonal produce, following a trail to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Show and a range of other activities such as storytelling and bug hunting at the Natural England feature. For further information visit www.royalshow.org.uk

A Celebration of Food and Farmers at the Eden Project

Cornwall’s Great Festival of Food and Farming at the Eden Project runs from 20th–22nd June. This three-day event will be a celebration of all the fantastic food and drink that is produced in Cornwall, honouring all the hard working farmers and food producers in the county. The weekend will be a fun-packed fiesta of food exhibitions, cookery demonstrations, ‘meeting the farmers behind your food’ events, children’s workshops, pasty crimping, live music, entertainment and much, much more. For further information visit www.edenproject.com or www.cornwallac.org

National Insect Week 2008

This initiative of the Royal Entomological Society aims to educate and inspire people of all ages about the wonders of the insect world. The week-long programme of events will be launched by TV’s Chris Packham on Monday 23rd June at London’s Chelsea Physic Garden. A range of activities is planned throughout the week, including hundreds of events around the country, online insect surveys, an insect photography competition, and a series of public lectures about insect life presented in UK cities.
For more information about National Insect Week 2008 visit ww.nationalinsectweek.co.uk

British Food Fortnight

To mark the launch of the seventh British Food Fortnight (20th September–5th October 2008), the organisers have produced a short film explaining why it is best to buy British food. Seen through the eyes of children, the film can be viewed from the home page of the event’s website www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk. Schools are again being invited to bring chefs into the classroom to teach children how to cook and to enter British Food Fortnight’s ‘Cook for Life’ Challenge, sponsored by Kenwood, for the opportunity to win class sets of cooking equipment. The event’s network of 9,000 chefs is at the ready to help schools teach children about the delights of our national produce and how to cook. This year they are being joined by retailers who will be donating food to schools for cooking lessons and to host school visits in order to teach children how to shop beyond the sweet shelves!

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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

Create a minibeast corner!

The BBC’s successful Breathing Places campaign has launched its second ‘Do One Thing’ activity aimed directly at schools. For the summer term the focus is on creating a place around the school where minibeasts can thrive – a minibeast corner. All the information that you need to get started can be downloaded from www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/schools. The Teacher’s Notes provide helpful information to enable you to create four distinct habitats which will provide shelter and food for minibeasts, while a classification key and ID guide are also available.

The School Food Trust Fresh Look Guide

This Fresh Look booklet provides practical guidance to assist schools in responding to the Government’s efficiency and sustainability agendas as they relate to school food. The guide, which is available to download at www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk, focuses on sustainable and efficient food procurement in schools. It provides tools and tips that will be useful for all schools – even those where food is procured by other organisations. To request a copy email [email protected]

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Hollyoaks star takes to the farm!

Visit the Fun stuff section of the Year of Food and Farming website to see exciting video clips featuring TV soap actress Leah Hackett, who plays Tina McQueen in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, putting on her wellies to spend a day on a farm. The videos show Leah having fun at Blaze Farm in Cheshire where she can be seen getting her hands dirty, milking cows, shearing sheep, collecting eggs and making delicious ice cream.

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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:

Beacon Hill Community School, Cumbria

Students from this school organised a visit to Gibbs Hill Farm which is situated on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumbria. The students raised the money to fund the trip by selling a selection of fruit and vegetables that they had grown at local allotments to visitors and staff in school. In addition, they sold produce and plants donated from Distington Walled Garden, where some of the students are studying for their City and Guilds Level 1 Certificate in Horticulture Skills as part of a college-school links initiative, to prospective parents at the Year 6 open evening.

The students planned their trip activities themselves and also decided what meals they would eat. On the way to the farm they bought the food that would be needed to prepare these meals, as well as visiting Talkin Tarn, Gilsland School and walking on Hadrian’s Wall at Willowford. The farm visit gave the students first-hand experience of life on a working farm and provided an ideal opportunity for them to gain an invaluable insight into a range of issues associated with a working farm.

www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/beacon-hill-community-school

Preston Lodge High School, East Lothian

The Social & Vocational Skills class at Preston Lodge have devised a local fruit and vegetable project. The idea was to provide a service for school staff in the form of a weekly fruit and vegetable bag. The students decided that the produce should be delivered in a ‘Bag for Life’ to ensure limited waste was created from the project. A local supplier was found – Seton East Farm Shop – and students took responsibility for particular client groups regarding both the orders and distribution of the goods. The deliveries were also accompanied by recipe ideas which the students had created.

The Home Economics department has also initiated the creation of an ‘On our doorstep’ cook club at Preston Lodge. The idea was to use produce from the local area in order to raise awareness of what is grown or produced in East Lothian. There was tremendous interest in the club with between 20 and 30 pupils coming along to cook each week. Local producers supported the project by providing fresh produce when it was required. The students have benefited greatly by discovering how much food can be sourced locally.

Preston Lodge also held the first round of the Rotary Young Chef competition last November. Eleven pupils took part in this preliminary round making Scotch Beef Stir fry, using locally sourced produce – the beef from McKirdy butchers in Port Seton and the fresh vegetables from Knowes Farm Shop in East Linton. In the final, 14 pupils created a main course for two people, again using local produce. Six local producers came along to judge the final dishes and were amazed at the high standard of preparation, cooking and presentation of the dishes by the students from Preston Lodge.

www.yearoffoodandfarming.org.uk/spaces/preston-lodge-high-school

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Cherries are one of the few food sources of melatonin – a strong antioxidant that helps regulate our natural sleep patterns known as ‘circadian rhythms’. Anyone who has trouble sleeping during these hot summer nights could therefore try eating a few cherries in the evening in order to aid a good night’s sleep!

Source: www.iminseason.com

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Interesting reads