Dairsie Primary School’s outdoor curriculum is linked to the outdoor learning programme developed by the Countryside section of Community Services, Fife Council. It is designed to promote learning and achievement in the outdoors.

During their time at Dairsie, children will experience:

Discovering nature

Activities such as:

We have grouped outcomes from science, technology, maths, social studies and expressive arts for this heading of the award.

Resources that we have utilised are STEM in Nature, National Geographic, Learning Through Landscapes activity ideas and resources, Field Studies Council Identification Guides and

Identification

We use Field Studies Council guides as they are excellent tools to help our pupils identify almost any aspect of the outdoors such as; plants, animals, insects, constellations, soil and weather. We have used them in the past to help us identify trees using leaves as an indicator.

STEM in Nature and STEM by Nature are science resources and activities that we use. We have conducted field studies using lots of science equipment, for example; quadrats, pooters (which we have made as a STEAM activity), magnifying glasses, nets, etc.

Seek by iNaturalist app is a useful ICT tool which we use that allows our pupils to identify living things around them such as wildlife, plants, and fungi, and helps them learn about the organisms.

Bioblitz

National Geographic has lots of information about Bioblitz events. A Bioblitz is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. In the past we have organised and taken part in mini- Bioblitz which lasted a morning or afternoon. The Bioblitz provide lots of data which we explored through information handling activities. It is a meaningful opportunity for the pupils to apply the skills they have gained and use the equipment.

Working Together

Activities such as:

Fire training

The pupils are taught how to safely light and manage a fire in a fire pit and in a Kelly Kettle.

They are taught how to ensure a safe place is chosen for the fire, how to design and build fire pits, how to leave the land as they found it, how to ensure their own and other safety around the fire, how to light a fire with no matches, how to put out a fire and what you need for a successful fire.

Our pupils learn how to safely boil water in a Kelly Kettle, how to bake using cast iron pans, how to bake bread, how to barbeque food and how to do all of this hygienically.

Our pupils are taught about zoning as part of their fire training. This includes an area where wood is prepared for the fire. Using saws, knives and axes safely allows the children to make their own saw dust, kindling and logs for the fire.

We introduced colour coded high-vis vests which help adults in the outdoor space monitor which children should be in which area. If a child has been trained in the use of the tool then they are able to have a turn in this zone. The zones have managers and assistants, developing responsibility.

 

 

Adventure Skills

Activities such as:

Mobile climbing wall (Ancrum Outdoor Centre)

In the past we have hired a mobile climbing wall to visit the school during an outdoor week. Ancrum Outdoor Centre offer this service.

Loch Ore Meadows

Fife’s Outdoor Education Centre is situated on the lochside within Lochore Meadows Country Park. The park has walking and mountain bike trails, orienteering courses and access to a variety of watersports and activities. We have participated in water sports and outdoor learning activities here.

Ardroy

At Dairsie we take our P6/7 pupils to Ardroy for an Outdoor Adventure week.

Ardroy is a multi-activity residential facility situated in Lochgoilhead, Scotland. We have been in operation since 1969, and can accommodate over 70 people.

The Wordle below lists the activities available to school groups.

 

Finding Your Way

Activities such as:

Hunts

We often hide things around our outdoor areas. For example, we hid bears while reading ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and hid shark fins with shark facts in the park while reading ‘Shark in the Park’. The children love looking up high, down low, under things, it gives them a good opportunity to see far flung corners of the area.

Map reading

While reading ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ we went on a scavenger hunt using orienteering maps of the school. The children had to find the quiz question hidden at the spot on the map.

We had numbered the questions in case any were missed, and got the groups to stay together by holding on to a hula hoop. The map holder could be in the centre of the hula hoop if the clipboard was too heavy.

We also drew our own maps of the school grounds that we had been exploring. We linked this to our positional language and our knowledge of the compass points.

 

Journeying

 

Active Fife’s Munro Challenge

Every year we take part in Active Fife’s Munro challenge. This gives the children in P6 the opportunity to develop their hill walking skills and to climb a Munro.

They love the sense of achievement, and always enjoy the day.

 

Helping the environment

Activities such as:

John Muir Award

We take part in the John Muir Award through OutLET:Play Resource initiative. In the past we were sent eight challenges which the children could take part in at home during remote learning and in school once the restrictions were changed.

Ecology Centre Fife

The Ecology Centre have a Tool Library which we pay an annual membership fee that allows us to borrow gardening tools. They have enough tools for entire classes.

 

Global Sustainable Development Goals

Most outdoor learning activities lend themselves towards the sustainable development goals. The children have really enjoyed making the connections and trying to work out how this new knowledge they’ve gained could be used to try and help accomplish these goals.

Learning in the outdoors

STEAM

Wherever possible we take the learning outside and STEAM activities usually work well outdoors.

Some topics we have covered and the learning activities we have explored:

Floating, sinking and volume

Chemical Reactions

Weather

Engineering and habitats

Sustainability

Maths

RME

 

Social Enterprise

We run a Community Cafe at Dairsie which is one of our Social Enterprises.

 

Growing, baking and Cooking

We are very lucky at Dairsie Primary School to have a lovely big, green school garden. We have recently installed a poly-tunnel which we use in partnership with our villages Dairsie in Bloom Group.

The poly-tunnel is used to grow plants and seedlings, as well as an outdoor classroom. It is furnished with picnic benches which allows us to plant in all weathers.

We also bake and cook with the ingredients we have grown in our garden. We make jams and chutneys which we jar in donated jars from the local community. We then sell these at our Community Cafe and put the money back into the garden, Cafe and Community events.

Foods we have made from foraged or grown ingredients: