Top School Trips -Issue 6

some that you can just use in the classroom too. We’ve designed our geography lesson plan to be utilised before, during and after a trip: the perfect way to make a teacher’s life that little bit easier. Whilst our resources, and those supplied by other local school trip providers, are aimed towards a school visit to a specific location, you could also use them in your local woodland or park. With the current economic climate being what it is, I’m all too aware that many schools won’t have the capacity or the finances to go on school trips. The beautiful thing about free nature-focused resources like ours is that they can be used anywhere outdoors. You could take your class on a local walk or even around the school grounds. There are plenty of ways to use them that still offer fun and interesting learning opportunities, whether to build wonderful connections with nature, encourage children to share their experiences and bring the outside back into your classroom and utilise the beauty of nature without needing to go anywhere. Most resources can also be repurposed and used in other year groups or even in school clubs. As a teacher you can hang on to them, knowing that they’ll stay current, which makes them shareable with your colleagues and any nature clubs you might have. Being a teacher is hard; we all want to make that magical learning experience much more than a distant memory once the children are back at school. It’s difficult to understand until you’ve been there, but I know that important element of continuing the magic from a trip can take a lot of work once back in the classroom. Make sure you grab every resource you can to help you and your class; free resources do the hard work so you don’t have to (for a day at least)! Jodie Greene is a former teacher and education and arts marketing officer for Forestry England, which provides free resources and a teachers’ newsletter. 1. GET FAMILIARISED. Whether you’re going to your local woods or further afield, a pre-site visit is a must. You’ll want to feel confidence that on arriving with a gaggle of 30 kids you know exactly where you’re going. Forestry England has a sample risk assessment to help with your planning. 2. FIND THE PERFECT SPOT. Decide what you want to get out of your visit and plan around that. Maybe you want to go on a walk first and foremost, or you want to focus more on spotting wildlife? Either way, plan accordingly and remember to identify a great place for lunch and the nearest loos! 3. MAKE SURE ALL YOUR CHILDREN ENGAGE. To keep children together as a group and engaged, it’s important to give them something to do. Will they have a checklist for their walk? Will they use a spotter sheet? Could they write down describing words as they go along? 4. KEEP IT SIMPLE. Yes, we all want our children to do some great learning on a school trip, but sometimes giving them a chance to reconnect with nature, to de-stress and have fun is more than enough. 5. FORAGE MATERIALS TO CONTINUE THE LEARNING. Make sure you take some natural bits of the woodland back to school with you. Fallen leaves, pine cones and sticks can be used for displays, for further learning or for some beautiful artwork! VISITING LOCAL WOODLAND ForestryEngland @ForestryEngland RE SOURC E S www.teachwire.net/school-trips | 61