We have just concluded our topic ‘From Farm to Fork’. It was absolutely brilliant, with the children taking real ownership of their learning, shaping the path we followed. We had excellent feedback from both the pupils and parents and I thought it might be useful for other practitioners to hear about how we planned the topic.
We started with sharing the Es&Os that were to be covered during the term with the class. The children then shared their ideas about possible topics. A farming topic was suggested by a pupil and from there the topic was formed. We listened to what the children already knew and what they wanted to know. A strong emphasis being on dairy farming/milk production and wool, with loads of questions specific to these topics.
I was then in touch with Fran, our local RHET project coordinator, who worked closely with me to provide as much support as I needed.
Fran helped to organise a class talker, who planned a topic introduction to match the Es&Os we were covering. He took loads for the children to look at, touch and smell. Fran also liaised with a local dairy farm and organised a class trip. The planning, risk assessment and financial support was excellent. The whole trip was completely stress-free, really well coordinated and educational. Our pupils loved it, an experience they’ll remember forever. Alongside this, we entered a competition RHET were running to design a milkshake. It linked perfectly with our learning and enabled us to cover some of the H&WB curriculum too. Finally, Fran organised for a speaker to come in to talk about wool. The children were provided with a range of hands-on experiences with different types of wool; wet felting, weaving and bracelet making.
Alongside RHET’s input, I was in touch with parents from the class who came in to talk about their croft with sheep and goats.
I feel it is important to share that I am a farmer's daughter, and see great importance in educating our pupils about agriculture. My background definitely supported me in my planning, but it was not necessary. RHET are an incredible organisation, from the website packed with activities and information, to our project coordinator Fran, I could not have felt more supported throughout.
My advice to anyone unsure about doing a farming topic would be to take lead from the pupils in the class and break it down into bite-size chunks rather than try to cover too much. Get in touch with your local RHET project coordinator and let them support you in planning some really memorable experiences for your pupils.
Pupil comments;
“I loved this topic, my favourite thing was going to the dairy farm where we got to see where the dairy cows live.”
“The robotic milking stations were really cool, the cows got to eat a treat when they were milked.”
“I liked doing the wet felting, it was relaxing.”
Written by Nicola Morgan (Kirkhill Primary)
