This year’s annual outdoor learning staff training event returned to Blymhill and Weston Village Hall – http://www.blymhill-westonvillagehall.co.uk after such a welcoming and appropriate environment in 2016. The use of the hall enabled all participants to remain dry while they embarked on an experience of flint napping using glass, a sustainable and suitable replacement for flint, to produce stone age tools building upon the knowledge and understanding of the stone age timeline task which demonstrated the changes through the ages of tools and equipment used by our ancestors. In addition to this staff participated in the process of preparing dried flax to produce thread which could later be turned into linen style fabrics with our expert Anne http://www.flaxland.co.uk/index.html who was particularly patient with us especially when we began spinning and dressing the distaff (a stick or spindle on to which wool or flax is wound for spinning). We will enjoy sowing flax seed on our school allotment to truly see the journey of from seed to product. Then the rain came…….. just in time for all to experience the light hearted (but loud) voice and humour of Jezz, a local expert (part of the Scythe Association of Britain and Ireland) – http://scytheassociation.org/ to teach us the skills and safety messages around the sustainable art of scything. The designated area of the community field was essential for this and the support of the Parish Council to section an area of this field off enabled us all to cut longer grass (getting a more realistic experience). The rain didn’t prevent the stereotypes of “BBQ in the rain” but the food was well received and the quality of butchery was acknowledged by all (courtesy of Brian Roberts Family Butchers in Werrington).
This experience will enable all staff to support the Out and About curriculum in 2017-18 as we continue to expand the breadth of the experiences the pupils and staff participate in. Another huge success and the expressions on staff’s face reinforces this so please check out the photos of the event available on the photo gallery page of the website.