Hundreds of children at five primary schools in Plymouth have been learning about the importance of ocean conservation.
The schools, all part of the Connect Academy Trust are Eggbuckland Primary School, Leighham Primary School, Manadon Vale, Primary School, Thornbury Primary School and Widey Court Primary School.
Clare Hardisty, headteacher at Thornbury Primary School and one of the main leads on the new Ocean Conservation Curriculum said:
“The ocean affects all of us – our climate and weather, trade, leisure, livelihoods. All of these are impacted by the ocean, and we also influence the ocean in many ways.
“As an Academy Trust, we believe that we have a moral purpose in teaching children about the ocean, and their role in conserving it for future generations.”
For the last three years, the Connect Academy Trust schools have been working together to create a scheme of work for all of the children at the five schools to learn in more depth about the ocean. For years Connect schools have incorporated ocean learning into the classroom, which is now evolving into a carefully structured and progressive curriculum to run alongside each school’s existing curriculums.
The vision is for each child to cover, over their time in primary school, 12 units of work looking at different aspects of the ocean. Schools have used the globally recognised seven Ocean Principles as a starting point and structure for this work.
Clare added:
“Our children already benefit from visits to the National Marine Aquarium and taking part in coastal activities such as rock-pooling and beach cleans. With the support of our science partners in Plymouth we are using these activities as a foundation which the scheme of works builds on at a deeper level.
“This will enable the children to move towards increasing their scientific knowledge, including the principles behind climate change, weather patterns and life in our ocean.”
