Working with schools to meet their needs
Anna Thompson, Education and Learning Manager, Nene Park Trust
All of the education sessions offered by Nene Park have been developed with clearly defined intended learning outcomes. These may be linked to an aspect of the curriculum or designed to support learners in some aspect of their holistic development.
Sometimes, however, teachers request something different, and the education team work with them to develop a programme of activities to meet their requirements.
To make it easy for teachers to book activities at Nene Park, our education team have grouped curriculum linked activities at key stage 1 and 2 into a range of day packages, each one of which focuses on a particular subject or topic e.g. Rivers, Living things, Stoneage. Sometimes however, we get asked for something different, and we are always happy to work with teachers to develop a programme of activities to meet their requirements.
Our work with All Saints Primary began when we were contacted by their Key Stage 1 teacher. He had identified Nene Park as a suitable location for a school trip, thanks to our LOtC Quality Badge, and really wanted to bring his KS1 class to Nene Park as part of their “Pirates” topic. Unfortunately, none of our standard packages quite fitted his curriculum focus for the topic.
Prior to the visit, our team met with the Key Stage 1 teacher to discuss learning objectives for the visit and the needs of his students. As a result, we were able to develop a day of cross-curricular activities all linked by the theme of Pirates. Students developed their materials knowledge for technology by building pirate ships, their science learning by investigating their natural surroundings, and their geography knowledge by following a map to find the hidden treasure!
The day was a great success, and, as a result, has made its way onto our menu of day packages to be booked and enjoyed by other schools!
This project worked so well because of the enthusiasm of the class teacher to really engage with the planning process. Nobody knows better than teachers the needs of their students and the curriculum they have to cover. When a teacher brings this knowledge to a planning conversation, our specialist learning team can then work with them to suggest ways to take the learning out of the classroom and deliver engaging activities that appeal to all students.
What can schools expect from your educational experience?
Nene Park Trust is a registered charity which looks after Nene Park, an area of mixed park and farmland stretching 5 miles along the valley of the River Nene near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. From our base at Ferry Meadows Country Park, we deliver a wide range of Outdoor Learning experiences, including curriculum linked environmental education, Outdoor Adventure Activities and Forest School.
We work with students of all ages and abilities from EYFS to Key Stage 4 and beyond. We also offer opportunities for teacher CPD, with accredited training courses available in Forest School and Curriculum Linked Outdoor Learning.
Our goal is to provide educational opportunities to support young people in their personal and academic development, while at the same time inspiring in them a love of the natural world, which will lead to more environmentally responsible behaviour in our future citizens.
Nene Park Trust hold the LOtC Quality Badge which means teachers know that they will receive a high quality education experience. In most cases it also means that their school/academy or LEA requires them to fill in far less paperwork than if they were visiting a venue without the LOtC Quality Badge!
Find out more
Visit www.nenepark.org.uk for more information or contact the education team on education@neneparktrust.org.uk.
