“If we want our children to move mountains, we first have to let them get out of their chairs.”
“The workshop was engaging and age-appropriate. It also complimented the Year 4 science curriculum and supported the work we have been doing in school.
Wheatlands Primary, Redcar (Living Things & Habitats session)
It was very beneficial for children to see different habitats, all within close proximity to each other.”
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Tees Valley Wildlife Trust provide your class the opportunity to learn outside the classroom, getting hands-on with nature on some of our incredible nature reserves. We offer curriculum linked sessions for Key Stages 1 to 4, and through a range of engaging and practical activities, we bring learning to life while giving your class real world context to their classroom learning.
All of our sessions can be tailored to suit the needs of your group and are delivered by our experienced environmental educators, who will bring out the best in your pupils. So to see the benefits of learning outside the classroom, book your visit and join us for a fantastic learning experience and explore some of the Tees Valley most treasured natural places.
We always have a lovely time at Margrove. The staff are amazing and make us feel very welcome. Activities are improved and adapted year on year. The children really enjoy the visit as it is very well organised. Thank you
Ingleby Mill Primary School
Workshops
Information for teachers
Below are copies of our Risk Assessment and Child Protection Policies. We can provide a copy of our Public Liability insurance on request.
Early Years and Primary
Our Early Years and Primary sessions are designed to introduce pupils to the wonder of nature,
- We charge £4.50 per pupil for a half day, and £8.00 per pupil for a full day, with no charge for staff. For groups less than 20 there is a minimum charge of £90/ £160 respectively.
- If the costs of coach transport is a problem, we may be able to run a session at a location near your school, allowing pupils to walk there. This option is dependent on us finding a suitable location close to your school.
Early Years
All our sessions promote the overarching principles of Early Years Statutory Framework and support many of the Learning and Development Requirements. Activities particularly help develop Communication and language skills, Personal, social and emotional development and Understanding of the World.
Teddy Bears Picnic (Half day)
Pupils follow an exciting sequence of activities which help the youngsters learn the needs of life of teddy bears and all other living things. A special ‘Earth walk’ gets them using their senses to help their bears to rediscover the wonder of the natural world, and learning about the needs of all living things
Sensational Senses (Half day)
The class will explore the natural world using their senses- though hopefully not taste! From Smelly Tea, finding a tree through touch, to making sound maps, this session will get your class in touch with nature.
Minibeast Story Sack
After a story about a caterpillar who envies all of the other animals, this story investigates the butterfly lifecycle and introduces children to a range of garden mini-beasts.
Children will investigate mini-beasts from different habitats using a variety of methods, such as sweep netting, tree beating, pond dipping. The class will also learn how to identify what they have found.
Key Stage 1
Gruffalo Experience (Half Day)
We use the story for the basis of this visit to the deep, dark wood, this session will see the children using their senses to look for Mr G, and seeing what other amazing wildlife they find along the way. An session that covers a bit of everything!
Curriculum links- Science; Working scientifically, Plants, Animals, Living Things & Habitats
Teddy Bears Picnic (Half day)
Pupils follow an exciting sequence of activities through our woodland, which helps them learn the needs of life of teddy bears and all other living things. A special ‘Earth walk’ shows them how to use all their senses to help their bears to rediscover the wonder of the natural world.
Curriculum links- Science; Working scientifically, Plants, Animals, Living Things & Habitats
Minibeasts (Half day)
Children will investigate mini-beasts from a variety of different habitats including our pond. The class will use keys to identify the creatures that they find and to note the differences and key features of each
Curriculum links- Science; Working scientifically, Animals, Living Things & Habitats
Sensational Senses (Half day)
The children will play a variety of senses based games – making smelly tea, distinguishing trees by their bark, listening to the sounds of the countryside and investigating different textures in the natural world.
Curriculum links- Science; Seasonal Changes. Plants, Animals, Working Scientifically
All About Birds (Half day)
The children will take part in various games and activities prompting then to discuss adaptation, feeding habits and variation. Then there will be short walk around the woods to learn how to identify some of our native birds by sight and sound.
Curriculum links- Working Scientifically; Animals; Seasonal Changes
Key Stage 2
Habitat Detectives (Half day)
Children will investigate a variety of habitats and discover the wildlife that live in them. The class will learn about classifying organisms, factors that affect what they find, and learn about the differences between terrestrial and aquatic habitats and how species are adapted to their habitats.
Curriculum links- Science; Working Scientifically, Plants, Animals, Living Things & Habitats, Evolution
All About Birds (Half day)
The children will take part in activities prompting them to discuss adaptation, feeding habits and variation. They will then go on a discovery walk and see which birds they can find in the wild, before creating some bird feeders for the children to take home or back to school.
This session has the option for the class to build their own bird boxes, which would make this a full day session. We cannot guarantee that this option will always be available, as it is dependant on workshop capacity. If you’d like to book this option, please ask at the enquiry stage.
Curriculum links- Science; Working Scientifically, Animals, Living Things & Habitats, Evolution. Design & Technology; Select & use tools, investigate a range of existing products
Den Building (Half day)
Designed to inspire children’s creative and constructive talents. Whilst making their shelters they will also be thinking about animals’ habitats and what they need to survive.
Curriculum Links- Science; Living Things & Habitats, Animals
Plants (Half day)
Children will investigate the needs of life for plants they find in the gardens and surrounding fields in Woodhill Meadows. We will discuss plant reproduction and lifecycle. Children will investigate different aspects of plants, such as their needs of life, scents they produce and colours they have.
Curriculum links- Science; Living Things & Habitats, Plants, Evolution
Geography (Full day)
Spend the day with us as we get your class grappling with maps. Your class will practice reading a map around our woods, before we take them on a short walk onto the moors at Birk Brow, which will allow the class to understand OS maps, identify geographic features, and see our stunning countryside.
Please note that for this session we’d strongly recommend all participants wear walking boots or sturdy footwear.
Curriculum links- Geography; Locational knowledge, Human & Physical geography, Geographical fieldwork
Rivers (Half day)
Join us at the Tees Barrage and Portrack Marsh nature reserve as your class learn about the River Tees. The class will gain an understanding of how rivers influence the landscape and how to identify their features, as well as learning about the history of the Tees and the wildlife that calls it home.
Curriculum links- Geography; Locational knowledge, Human & Physical geography, Geographical skills. Science; Working Scientifically, Animals, Living Things & Habitats.
Key Stage 3 and 4
- For our Secondary school sessions, we charge £8.00 per student for a full day (minimum charge of £160), and £4.50 per student for a half day (minimum charge of £90). There is no charge for staff.
KS3 and KS4 Fieldwork (Half day)
Designed to meet the requirements of the AQA, OCR, and Pearson-Edexcel GCSE Biology courses, this session will give students the chance to undertake sampling techniques in a real world setting at Portrack Marsh nature reserve. They will learn how to use transects and quadrats to gather data to determine population size or the number of a chosen species, as well as giving them the chance to understand how biotic and abiotic factors can influence results. This data can then be taken back to class for further analysis and for use in coursework.
This session can take place at either Portrack Marsh nature reserve in Stockton, or in school grounds. If you’d like this session delivered in school grounds, please let us know at the enquiry stage.
