Spring into the new season with where food comes from

With spring starting it’s great to finally see the days getting longer, temperatures warming and plants blossoming in time for summer. The newborn lambs bouncing around in the fields and the different crops growing that makes this time of year a really good opportunity to explore the seasonal origins of our food with pupils.

Are you looking for support to teach about where food comes from in the classroom?

There are plenty of resources on the Food – a fact of life website that have been recently reviewed and updated. For each age group there is a dedicated area for Where food comes from: 3-5, 5-7, 7-11, 11-14, 14-16. Key topics are covered such as seasons, food origins, farming and processing, food availability, food assurance and world food.

Here’s some of our favourite resources for you to try:

• Season cards and food journey cards following cereals, lamb, apple, milk, potatoes and eggs.
• Farming food and growing food presentations which introduce how animals are reared and plants are grown.
• From farm to fork videos and quizzes to test the pupils’ learning
• Farming food for you posters to download for the classroom

• The FFL Food Curriculum Roadmaps provide a food curriculum for pupils aged 3 to 16 years, with a printed or interactive version available. “These are utterly fab!! I’ll be displaying them on my wall for all to see.” Jo Brook, Food teacher
  
  
• FFL Knowledge organisers provide help for pupils when learning and revising different aspects of where food comes from.
  
  
• Recent FFL webinars where teachers and farmers have shared useful information:
  • Bringing where food comes from to life
  • Sustainable farming in practice: the natural world and the importance of sustainability in context

Would you like to take your pupils out for a school farm visit?

Learning outside of the classroom can really support a deeper understanding of how our food is farmed through the seasons. The following organisations can support with a variety of activities and opportunities to connect with local farmers.

• Countryside Classroom an online platform where teachers can find places to visit and supporting resources relating to the themes of food, farming and the natural environment.
• FarmerTime this initiative is a great way to bring the countryside to life with a fortnightly video call between farmers and classrooms. The regular communication with a real-life example of a UK working farm and farmer is a great way for children to develop their understanding and opportunity to ask questions.
• LEAF Education have a team of education specialists that link up schools with farms to provide on-farm education visits and activities, teacher training and education resources.
• NFU Education have a range of initiatives to support teachers with STEM projects and competitions linked to the curriculum that bring to life the world of farming. With trained farmers available to speak at secondary school assemblies, this gives students the opportunity to have a group discussion and open conversation about agriculture in the UK.
• Open Farm Sunday is a great way to meet a local farmer and find out more about how they produce food and farm with the local environment and nature. Save the date for this nationwide annual event - Sunday 9 June 2024!
• Royal Highland Education Trust works with volunteers across Scotland to provide free educational activities and experiential learning opportunities, bringing farming and the working countryside and its practices to life for young people.