Join our farm-y classroom army
When you bring the classroom to the farm you open a new world of learning to children, connecting them to the food they eat, the community and the great outdoors.
The NFU and its members are known for strong, trusted agricultural lobbying - but bringing farming and food to Shropshire schools is also an important part of our work.
Farmers in classrooms or pupils on farms; that shared experience helps create a connection to the land, to crops, to animals and the wider farmed-environment.
We were delighted that just over a week ago Wombridge Primary School in Telford and headteacher Neil Satoor won a coveted national accolade for agri-education.
They received the NFU farming champion title at the Farmers Weekly Awards for putting food and farming at the heart of the curriculum.
Like Wombridge Primary, there are educators making important strides to reconnect children with farming and food and all of this work is vital.
Great merit can be found in outdoor learning, it is a sensory experience, stimulating, hands-on and fun, with much to discover.
I think it’s widely accepted that it can also extend indoor learning in fundamental curriculum areas and deliver a very natural learning experience.
Farm visits also provide a green-space connection and a community connection and can open the door to careers.
There are some very good prospects in the farming and food supply chain for the next generation; many of these jobs are fuelled by innovation, science and technology.
The NFU has also welcomed former teacher Joshua Payne as its new national education manager and today he launched @NFUEducation on Twitter to engage schools.
Teachers and schools who follow and retweet the NFU’s ‘competition tweet’ will be in with a chance to have the NFU Discovery Barn at their school for a day.
This is an interactive learning vehicle based around farming and food, developed with Dorling Kindersley. So get involved, let us know what you are up to, tag us in farming-related activity and most importantly get out there and find out about food production, discover soil, pollinators and the farmed environment.
Please get in touch about the possibilities for outdoor learning as we can help bring your classrooms to our farms and our farmers to your schools.
Oliver Cartwright, NFU Shropshire.
