PLANNING
RISK ASSESSMENT AND SUN SAFETY
The key to any successful school trip is planning. This collection of resources includes useful links to health and safety guidance, risk assessment and emergency procedures, supplied by cooper2re. There is an extensive list of potential issues and solutions when taking out children with special educational needs.
The TES resources site now also houses a host of Teachers TV school trip videos that will provide inspiration and help you plan for the big day. This includes a series of “Worth the trip” videos that outline the practical side of educational visits.
A further element to consider during the summer term is safety in the sun. TES Resources’ collection of summer safety resources includes information on preventing skin cancer, wearing sunscreen and protective clothing.
All of these resources are available at tes.co.ukeducational-visits
SPECIAL NEEDS
FUN ACTIVITIES AND IDENTIFYING HAZARDS
[BX] The planning and content of an educational visit need to be carefully managed when it comes to pupils with special educational needs.
A good place to start is with a risk assessment, and s.rnd has uploaded a useful grid for teachers identifying potential hazards and solutions that their school used in a trip to the Loire Valley with Year 8 pupils. It covers everything from getting on and off the coach to managing dietary requirements once they reach their destination, and could be edited and adapted to suit any trip.
In terms of content, Purplejoanie has uploaded a simple guide to map symbols for very young pupils or those with severe learning difficulties, with clear pictures and minimal clear language. Additionally, languageisheartosay has supplied an outdoor activity to match animals to their environments, providing the opportunity to talk about why they live there, what the animals are called and so on.
ON THE FARM
SOWING THE SEEDS OF LEARNING
Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) is an independent charity that helps young people to learn more about food and farming in a sustainable countryside.
If you are planning a visit to a farm, its collection of resources will inspire various classroom-based activities around your visit. In English, for example, ask pupils to name stories or poems based on a farm, or write a diary of a day in the life of a farmer.
There are also suggestions for 28 curriculum-linked science activities, including collecting and sorting leaves or looking at the lifecycle of a farm animal. For maths, pupils can count how many cows are in the milking shed or how many legs a group of animals has.
Another option is a visit to a horticultural nursery. FACE has also uploaded a number of resources on planning a nursery visit, including information on identifying locations, organising a “pre-visit” so teachers can have prior knowledge of what children will see, and planning group activities while they are there so everyone gets something out of it. One group can view and identify plants, for example. There is also a suggested five-week, cross-curriculum scheme of work based on plants, seeds and growing.
NEWS
It’s good to talk
A website set up to promote cultural links and encourage pupils to learn foreign languages is offering free subscriptions to schools that register before the end of next month. Mondokiddo is aimed at children aged eight to 11 and offers email exchange and games based on cultural themes. It launches in September. For details, visit www.mondokiddo.co.uk
Got chemistry
Chemical company Incorez gave local schoolchildren the chance to see how chemicals work up close when it invited pupils from Whitechapel Primary School near Preston, Lancashire, to tour its factory. The visit was part of the Children Challenging Industry Initiative, which is aimed at making primary children enthusiastic about science. www.cciproject.org
Mad as hatters
The Story Museum in Oxford will host this year’s “Alice Day” on 9 July. An annual celebration of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland story, this year’s activities include the chance to go for tea with Alice, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and the Caterpillar in various locations around Oxford. For details, visit www.storymuseum.org.ukAlice.
