Horticulture
INTENT
To enrich pupil’s knowledge and experiences of practical horticulture and countryside skills through a range of practical activities. These include growing and planting, caring for animals, conservation and cultural themes.
PRACTICAL AIMS The school’s practical aims are: |
EDUCATIONAL AIMS Children learn: |
|||
GARDENING |
To create a successful, sustainable garden using organic methods | How to grow things in a safe and sustainable way, and how to run their own successful gardens | ||
To enjoy gardening and have positive attitudes to agriculture | ||||
To provide a model of a mixed kitchen garden for the community | To talk to families and community members about gardening practices | |||
NUTRITION |
To produce food for the school | How to grow food for themselves | ||
To improve children’s diet with garden produce | How to improve diet and prepare healthy meals with garden produce | |||
To improve children’s eating habits | To appreciate healthy foods and to change their own eating habits | |||
MARKETING | To sell garden produce to get income for the school | Business skills and entrepreneurship | ||
ENVIRONMENT |
To improve the school environment (trees/grass/paths/ flowers, etc.) | Respect for and interest in their school environment | ||
To collect rainwater, grey water; to encourage helpful insects; to prevent erosion, etc. | Environmental awareness and understanding, respect for nature, natural resource management | |||
SCHOOL SUBJECTS | To reinforce some areas of the school curriculum (e.g. science, environmental science, home economics) | Particular subjects through active, hands-on experience | ||
LIFE SKILLS |
To help children survive and prosper in the world | How to plan, take decisions, collaborate, take responsibility, explain and persuade, etc. | ||
SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY |
To bring together school, children, families and community in a common endeavour | To relate to adults in various ways and to be aware of gardening practices in the community |
WHAT WE DO IN KEY STAGE 3
We are following the principles of both Forest Schools and the John Muir Award whilst in Key Stage 3. On the whole the pupils are outside working in the kitchen garden area, the pond and the Forest School areas. It is a very fun and practical based curriculum with the class doing the following activities
- Outdoor art
- Making pots and planters
- Raft building
- Den building
- Musical instruments out of natural resources
- Tower making
WHAT WE DO IN KEY STAGE 4
The Key stage 4 curriculum is broken down into units to allow access to all aspects of the course. It is very practically based but does include some in class work.
In Key Stage 4 we follow a B-Tech in Horticulture which contains the following units;
- Winter Hanging Baskets,
- Tree Planting,
- Growing Vegetables from seed,
- Small Animal Care,
- Bulb Planting,
- Wildlife Habitat Conservation,
USEFUL LINKS
http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/