Member Judith Jacobs of Moor Farm Meats hosted a series of training days for student teachers on her farm near Peterborough. LEAF Education had received generous funding from Bayer CropScience to help deliver food and farming training sessions for student teachers who will be able to impart their newfound knowledge to many children during their teaching careers.
East Midlands Education Consultant Bobbie Harvey explained how food and farming can be incorporated into all aspects of the school curriculum and helped attendees learn how to plan a safe farm visit. Following a tour of the farm, during which students could put their learning into practice, a wide variety of teaching resources were available to investigate.
Bobbie reported on how creative the students were, introducing topics such as electricity and farm mapping as potential links into their classroom teaching. Students training to teach in secondary schools looked into involving drama and maths as an unexpected reason for farm visits.
The tutor remarked: “We had such an amazing time on the farm days – so many students have said what a brilliant experience it was. They have gone back to their schools really inspired.”
As a result of the day, a contact in Derbyshire is looking at contracting LEAF Education to replicate the training in her region.