Stroud's Land-based School project [working title] is a parent-led initiative that emerged in September 2007. It is founded upon the understanding that in today’s climate of change there is a clear need for a different type of educational experience for young people. At the heart of our vision lies the belief that children have always learnt best through direct experience. The Land-based School will deliver education through real everyday activities and draw upon the resources particular to our local landscapes and neighbourhoods.
The vision for this school brings together three core principles, that inform and inspire the planning of its curriculum. They are:
the development of eco-literacy,
the importance of sustainable food production & preparation,
a firm understanding of the developmental processes of the child.
We wish to create a school that will address ecological awareness through daily interaction with the cycles and substances of the natural world. The teaching of conventional subjects will be planned, developed and undertaken in line with the learning opportunities provided by the changing seasons, and outdoor landscape. We are striving to open the walls of the classroom, bringing learning into the local environment and the local environment into learning.
Food is central to our lives. We feel that education must integrate substantial teaching about the importance of food, its vital place in our communities and our connection to the source of our food – the land. The Land-Based School will create regular engagement with the planting, harvesting, preparation and consumption of food, from the earliest school years. Contained within such lessons are many cross-curricular learning opportunities, for subjects such as nutrition, numeracy and science.
The Land-based School project is founded on an holistic understanding of the child, and of their needs at different ages. It is inspired by the need for a deep insight into the developmental stages of the child and the young adult. Practical skills, the arts & crafts, and sound academic learning are all essential for the growing child. That these capacities are connected to place and purpose is paramount for the resilience of today's children and the adults of the future.
The vision of the Land-based School is thus to put contextual learning at its heart: the context of the right subject at the right time for the child’s development, of appropriate human activity within the seasonal rhythms of nature, of learning in the context of daily life. We believe the outcome will be young people with the appropriate skills and self-sufficiency to navigate a transforming world.
