November 2015

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​​Welcome to the October edition of e-news.

 

It’s just beginning to feel like Autumn as I write this and the fog is rolling around outside whilst talk of re-introducing national testing for seven year olds is rolling around inside.

 

There are so many challenges facing our children’s education today, bursaries are being cut for primary school teachers, schools grounds are being sold off, some academies are having to borrow funds to maintain their buildings.

 

Let’s do everything that we can together, whilst we can, to protect their right to access the natural environment as part of their school day. Every day.

 

juno hollyhock

​executive director

Share on Facebook

We are looking for you to share your outdoor experiences and tips with other school practitioners on our popular Facebook page.  We are specifically looking for curriculum linked secondary ideas.

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Guest Blog

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At the end of September the International School Grounds Alliance (ISGA) held their first conference to be located in the southern hemisphere.

 

The Alliance is a global network of organisations and professionals working to enrich children’s learning and play by improving the way school grounds are designed and used. This year’s conference helped to engage with schools and professionals across Australasia.

 

Read more from Mary Jackson here.

 

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Support for outdoor learning and play

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And more about risk…

        

In the last edition of our newsletter we talked about managing risk in school grounds, and here is an interesting article that explains why ‘stopping children from taking risks 'will leave them unable to cope with what life throws at them' that was featured in Day Nurseries newsletter last month.

        

This only shows how important it is for parents, teachers and anyone else involved in looking after children to understand this issue and allow the kids they look after take risks in everyday life and learn from them! Safely!        

If you would like to read more about LTL's approach to managing risk, advice for our staff, customers and the children that we work with, click here.

Polli:Nation update

The Polli:Nation application process has now closed for England.  

       

If you know of any schools in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland that may still be interested in applying to become part of the project please email [log in to unmask] as soon as possible. We may still be able to accept suitable schools in those areas.

     

We will contact schools early in the new year to confirm whether or not their application has been successful.

 

LTL Directory

     

If you are listed on the Learning through Landscape on-line Directory, please ensure that your details are all correct and up to date. You can check them here.

     

If you would like us to make any amendments to your listing please contact us by email at [log in to unmask] and we will do that for you.

     

If you have any questions please contact us on the email address above or call our membership team on 01962 845811.

Learning with Nature Book: A how-to guide to inspiring children through outdoor games and activities

This is an ideal gift for anyone working with children. Learn how to make snow shelters, Dutch oven bread, waxed leaf decorations - just a few of the nature based activities to develop a life long love of nature.

   

Christmas offer now available at £12 + postage (RRP £17.99). To find out more and to order click here.

 

Book Reviews by Ruth Staples-Rolfe

Woodland adventure handbook by Adam Dove

 

 

This is a book I will be using, aimed at 2-6yr olds in childcare or with the family. It has a simple formula that identifies a story to share, an adventure with awe and wonder to capture imagination and then supporting activities to respond to the interests of the children. Each adventure is finished with an example reflective activity. The stories range from fairies to volcanoes and pirates. The activities offer the old favourites with a few fun new ones. This is a great book for forest school practitioners, but has something for anyone working outdoors with young children.

 

 

Learning outdoors with the meek family by Tim and Kerry Meek

 

 

Last year I was asked to review Tim and Kerry's first family book. This one uses the same smart design with easily accessible text boxes and repeated colours,  but this time they are encouraging parents to make the most of their everyday family situations. It is a shame that we need books like this to help parents talk and play with their children, yet this is a useful parent companion.

 

 

Tim and Kerry have looked at a range of environments including airports, allotments, sports grounds and theatres. I know this book would be great for anyone working with harder to reach families and certainly made me think about how I interact with my daughter when we are out in the community. I particularly like the things to do on a journey section for the school run. Teachers amongst you will understand their approach to making the most of fieldwork opportunities. I do find as a parent that their approach, although admirable, lacks some of the fun, spontaneity and creativity that many families have in these environments.

 

Resources

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To view our images or guidance sheets you will need to purchase a full membership starting at just £12+VAT per year, more information can be found here.               

                                                              

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Funding info from our friendly fundraiser Chloe Atkins:

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Tesco Local Community Scheme

   

Do you know of a local community green space project that would benefit from funding? If so, then get ready for a new community grant programme! 

 

The grants programme is open to voluntary/community organisations, registered charities, health bodies, Parish/Town councils, local authorities and housing organisations. It will fund capital projects that provide community benefit and have free and open access to all members of the community for a minimum of six days a week, during daylight hours. Click here to read more about this scheme and to check if your project is eligible.

 

The first funding round of the programme will close on 30^th November.  Now is your first chance to submit an application for a grant of up to £12,000 to create better and happier places where you live, although there will be two funding rounds per year over the next three years. 

   

The grants programme is managed by Groundwork and funded by Tesco customers from the proceeds of the 5p charge for plastic carrier bags as a result of a government carrier bag levy.  Tesco has 428 store regions and we will award six grants in each region per year to make sure the funding is spread widely across the countries.  You’ll easily be able to find details on our website on which Tesco region your project falls under when the scheme opens for applications.  In total the programme will support around 2,500 projects each year.  

   

How to apply

    

To find out more about the scheme and how to apply click here. You’ll need to make your application online before the 30^th November!

 

Crowdfunding.co.uk

 

Have you heard about Crowdfunding.co.uk?  It’s an interesting platform to raise money for your projects! And here is how a school near our office in Winchester raised funds for their exciting Outdoor Learning Tree House.  If you would like to read more about this platform and how it works click here. 

 

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News

Making School Grounds Grow!

Learning through Landscapes is pleased to announce their upcoming pilot project Enterprise Growing Gardens (EGG).  This two year pupil-led project explores the food growing enterprise possibilities of school grounds.

The project will support ten London schools in a variety of settings to establish sustainable EGG schemes through on-site workshops, business-to-school mentorships and curriculum linked online resources.  In addition to delivery, the project aims to collate and disseminate the benefits and best practice of school ground growing enterprise schemes.

Whether you are interested in establishing a growing scheme or you already have one in place and would like to share your experiences, please contact Erika Sager, Project Officer for EGG at [log in to unmask].

More information on how you can get involved and the resources that we will be developing will be available online at www.ltl.org.uk/egg which will be ready Thursday 19th November 2015.  Enterprise Growing Gardens is made possible through the kind support of the City of London Corporation’s charity, City Bridge Trust.

Enterprise Growing Gardens...                  ...making school grounds grow!

FREE wild flower seeds for Secondary Schools! Register for your free 2016 Grow Wild seed kits!

Transform shared spaces into inspiring and colourful wild flower havens with simple seed sowing.

Join 25,000 people in the UK’s biggest ever wild flower campaign by sharing Grow Wild seed kits with groups where you live. We have thousands of free seed kits available. For more information and to sign up click here.

The playground project - Inspire the next generation of landscape architects through this new primary school scheme.

The registration deadline is 30^th November!

The Landscape Institute have just announced the launch of a new education project sponsored by Canary Wharf Group. Based in the Tower Hamlets area of London, this hands-on schools project brings to life outdoor learning environments through a series of live activities, helping primary school pupils re-design their outdoor space and deliver aspects of the curriculum with the active support of a design expert.

Each school will have the chance to win £5000 to implement an aspect of their design. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to inspire and educate students, future proofing the profession for the next generation.

Complimented by curriculum based lessons from the teacher, the pupils will then re-design an aspect of their playground creating a model and work boards to present to the judging panel.

To find out more and to apply please click here.  

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Diary Dates

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How to Teach Character in School    

-   How to help pupils develop the character to excel in a school-life of tests and the real tests of life

Monday 23^rd November, Oasis Academy, South Bank London

                   

This is a twilight event for head teachers, senior teachers and senior leaders in  Academy groups or local authorities.

                   

Most teachers and most parents know that there is much more to school than exam results. Nicky Morgan is talking about. Expansive Educators such as those who are using Building Learning Power are passionate about it.

-       But how does the new character agenda change things?

-       How ready is your school?

-       How will you decide which aspects of character to focus on?

-       How best to embed the development of character across the formal,       informal and hidden curriculum of your school?                     

Book your place here.

    

40th Anniversary National Tree Week

28th November - 6th December 2015

    

The strength and wellbeing of urban and rural communities alike is rooted in its trees. Strong healthy trees are a mark of a strong healthy community, and to continue to grow strong together, it’s essential for communities to keep on planting trees.

  

This is why, each winter, The Tree Council inspires thousands of people across Britain to join forces and plant upwards of a million trees during National Tree Week – the UK’s largest tree festival.  

 

Launched in 1975, National Tree Week is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

 

The campaign has its roots in the national response to the Dutch Elm Disease crisis of the 1960s, which destroyed millions of trees. Communities across the UK answered the call to help replenish their depleted treescapes by taking part in the groundbreaking Plant a Tree in ‘73 initiative. Following the campaign’s success, The Tree Council was founded and the first ever National Tree Week took place two years later.

 

40 years on, and we are once again facing a major threat to our trees in the form of ash dieback. To stem the damage to our landscapes and neighbourhoods, it is more essential than ever that we grow more trees in our parks, streets, woods and green spaces.  

  

Tree planting activities and workshops are taking place around the country organised by schools, community groups, The Tree Council’s member organisations and its volunteer Tree Wardens. Details can be found on The Tree Council’s interactive ‘Near You’ map, while tips for hosting an event and a downloadable poster to promote it are also available via the website.

 

‘With forty years of successful growth behind it, National Tree Week has become firmly rooted in the calendar of hundreds of community groups around the UK,’ said Pauline Buchanan Black, Director-General of The Tree Council. ‘To mark the 40th anniversary of this important campaign, we want to celebrate Britain’s rich heritage of tree-planting and applaud the commitment of communities that really value their trees.’

                 

What makes a powerful outdoor environment for young children?

-    a new post-graduate level one day course for outdoor learning and play specialists and designers    

Tuesday 26th April 2016 at CREC, St Thomas Children’s Centre, Bell Barn Road, Birmingham

This post-graduate, high-level course, offered by Learning through Landscapes in partnership with the Centre for Research in Early Childhood (CREC), is a special development day to enhance and extend your current qualifications and experience in the field of outdoor education and design for schools and early years’ settings.  Focusing on the product of the design process, it examines the landscapes, spaces and materials we provide for young children outdoors.

To find out more and to book please click here.

“Count me in”  National School Grounds Week, 6th - 9th June 2016

Next year our National School Grounds Week theme will be Maths.   We are busy preparing our resources and you will be able to register to take part and download the resources, in the new year.   Please watch the website for news!

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