Trainee Teachers get down on the farm
Yesterday I joined the team at Harper Adams University College to see a training programme piloted for trainee teachers on food and farming. Around 50 PGCE students from Manchester Metropolitan University were treated to a number of classroom workshops followed by a tour of the college farm to see dairy, pigs, sheep, poultry and arable enterprises as part of a 'REAP' (Rural Education Action Programme) - an enrichment day for trainee teachers. The aim is to equip the students with a full understanding of the possibilities and the benefits that food and farming offers for teaching and learning, as well as practical guidance on how to set up farm visits and other hands on activities. Once fine tuned, the aim is to roll the programme out as part of the legacy of the Year of Food and Farming through the LANDEX network of land-based colleges to bring it within reach of every teacher training institution in the UK. The scale of ambition is impressive, with the goal of training half of the 18,000 trainee primary school teachers every year once the course is established. Impressive indeed! The potential outcome from this project is far reaching; not only could it ensure the next generation of teachers have a much better understanding of how to integrate food and farming into the curriculum, but it will also help to shift negative perceptions around the industry within schools, leading to potentially better quality students coming forward to take up careers in the sector. My thanks to Barrie, Alex, Nicky and the rest of the team at Harper for their dedication and commitment to this project - I wish them well.