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THE CAFE PROJECT - Home Page

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Reconnecting Children to food & farming

 

Education For Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC)

ESDGC offers an overarching concept for schools to be able to see the links and interrelationships between aspects such as energy use, the loss of biodiversity, the impacts of global poverty and how culture and identity affect the way we interpret and value things. Through ESDGC, pupils can learn about the impacts of the decisions they make, how needs and rights are not always equal throughout the world and how climate change is affecting us all.

The CAFE Project is well placed to support schools in Powys to adopt the whole school approach advocated in ESDGC: A Common Understanding, copies of which should have been received by all schools. This is an information document to aid delivery of ESDGC in schools. The ‘Themes’ identified in the ‘Common Understanding’ cover the range of ESDGC and support the delivery of statutory Subject Orders, other relevant non-statutory frameworks and the 14-19 Learning Core. For more information or to order copies of this and other related booklets go to: http://www.esd-wales.org.uk/

The CAFE Project Coordinator is a member of the EES (Enabling Effective Support) Forum for Powys, chaired by School Improvement Officer Yan James. CAFE Project Officers can help schools to access the family farm as an ideal ‘outdoor classroom’. Working with farmers in the Tir Gofal agri-environmental scheme offering Educational access and others that have volunteered to open their farms to schools we can put schools in contact with suitable farms, advise about the process of risk assessment, and tailor visits for older pupils to National Curriculum topics and themes.
ESDGC is delivered through classroom activities, through whole school initiatives and through the partnerships that the school builds to enhance the holistic education that it delivers.

Current work is looking to align the common understanding of ESDGC for schools with the emerging Curriculum 2008. Training and resource development will be undertaken working alongside ‘Enabling Effective Support’ (www.cyfanfyd.org.uk) and within other networks and structures.


For more information and resources you will find the following link useful:

www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/eng/vtc-home.htm

2009 will see more developments and resources and opportunities in Education for Sustainable Development. On 8th January the Powys EES Forum is hosting a Rally for Schools entitled ‘Actions speak louder’. Over 100 pupils (members of the School Council, Eco-school Council or Eco Club) and teachers from more than a dozen Powys schools will take part in this event at the Royal Welsh Showground Builth Wells. A full report on proceedings will be available focussing on the Actions decided on by the pupils which they will take back to their schools.



Autumn Farm Visits – Biodiversity on the Farm

In consultation with our funders the Countryside Council for Wales and the ESD & GC Forum in Powys we are here to facilitate School Farm visits this autumn with a particular emphasis on biodiversity and skills acquisition for children of all ages.

Pupils are often best able to grasp these concepts and get to grips with complex issues through direct personal experience. A school trip – well planned between the teacher and host farmer – offers a memorable setting to see, touch and understand the reality of biodiversity. Children can see for themselves what is there now, hear from the farmer how things may have changed in recent decades and learn what steps the farmer is taking to promote biodiversity in the local farm setting. Many of the volunteer farmers working with the CAFE Project are in the Tir Gofal Agri-Environment Scheme and some are organic and/or involved in developing good practice.

Grow your own potatoes in 2009
Register now!

In 2008 48 Powys Schools registered and received their bags of seed potatoes and a voucher to purchase compost plus instructions and posters!
It is FREE to take part and schools that took part this year (2008) will receive an email inviting them to take part in 2009. In addition Potato Council is offering a further 2000 growing kits to enable even more schools to benefit from the project. These will be available to the first 2000 schools that register on line.
Click on the button below to register only if you did not register last year!

http://www.potatoesforschools.org.uk/

 

 

Pupils from Llanfihangel Rhydithon County Primary School explore the woods with farmer Alex Higgs in June 08

 

Growing Vegetables at School?

Many schools are approaching us for sources of advice, information and funding for school gardening – growing food rather than flowers to link in with the National Curriculum and practical skills acquisition.

For a comprehensive free information pack contact Garden Organic.


Basic Food Hygiene – a skill for all


The CAFE Project has been pleased to offer schools e-learning for the Certificate of Basic Food Hygiene. To date twelve schools have taken up the opportunity with teachers, assistants, farmers, parents and pupils – some as young as 10 years old – winning their certificates using an e-learning package that can be accessed via computer at school or at home. This essential skill raises awareness about food safety and the practical steps and habits needed to recognise and minimise potential risks to health. The CAFE Project is pleased to be working with Creative Learning Solutions who developed this resource. Places cost £3 per certificate payable on registration – for more information contact Caroline Davies Project Coordinator. For a trial of the software click here:


Pupils at Bettws Lifehouse receive their Basic Food Hygiene Certificates

 


CAFE Project Stand at the Royal Welsh Show

This July the Project was lucky enough to be invited by Powys County Council to put on a staffed display with activities for children outside the WLGA (Welsh Local Government Association) Pavilion at the heart of the showground. For one day only – Thursday the final day of the Show – we were there to meet parents, teachers and farmers interested in educating children about farming. Enquiries were received from Powys and elsewhere in Wales and will be followed up this summer/autumn.

Queries varied from ‘What is happening in my area?’ to ‘How do I go about opening my farm for school visits?’ and ‘Tell me more about the new School Farmers’ Market – how do they work exactly?’

If you would like to have a chat about any of our work or your own ideas please do get in touch!

 
 

Grow Your Own Potatoes 2007 - And Sign up for 2008!

Fifty Powys schools enrolled in the annual Grow Your Own Potatoes Initiative run by the British Potato Council. A jiffy bag containing three seed potatoes and a £5 voucher for compost and a bucket were received by schools in February. Many schools entered the competition to find the highest yield although this meant lifting them early in June.

This was one schools experience:

“We planted our 3 seed potatoes on March 1st after leaving them to sprout (or chit) for about three weeks.
When we planted them we covered them with compost and watered them when it wasn’t raining!

We harvested them on June 21st in line with the competition but this seemed to be a bit soon as the potatoes were still quite small. In total we had 83 potatoes which weighed 1150g or 1.15kg.

The children were really amazed with how many potatoes were produced. We have since made a lovely display showing the process!”

Gurnos CP School
Years 3 and 4

This year you can enrol for the Initiative on line by going to:

http://www.potatoesforschools.org.uk/

Register before the end December to be entered into a prize draw!

Please put FACE in as a reference so that the Project is recognised


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New CAFE Project Officers for Radnorshire and Brecknock


L to R: Jane Evans (Radnorshire), Wayne Sargeant (Brecknock) and Caroline Davies (Montgomeryshire)

CAFE Project Officers for Radnorshire and Brecknock have now been recruited to promote and facilitate school farm visits and develop the CAFE Project throughout Powys.
Wayne Sargeant is based in Brecon and Jane Evans at County Hall Llandrindod Wells. Both are part time and can be contacted initially via e-mail

Project Officers will be working with schools to facilitate school farm visits including issues such as risk assessment and national curriculum links and resources available. They will also be assisting schools to hold School Farmers’ Markets and develop practical cookery and Basic Food Hygiene via e-learning. An autumn newsletter is planned and the CAFE webpages will be developed to reflect activity in Brecknock and Radnorshire as the county gears up for Welsh Food Fortnight and the Year of Food and Farming (Sept07 to July 08).


Welsh Food Fortnight!
22 September to 7 October 2007

All schools in Wales will be receiving the first bi-lingual Welsh Food Fortnight Booklet in early September (instead of the British Food Fortnight ‘Putting the Ooh Back into Food’). Featuring Welsh case studies and information and also the opportunity to enter the annual competition. Please let the CAFE Project know about your planned activities!
What are the opportunities that Welsh Food Fortnight can bring to your classroom?
  • To teach young people about the diverse and delicious range of food available and about the health benefits and pleasures of eating quality, fresh, seasonal and regionally-distinct produce.
  • To give young people the opportunity to learn basic practical cookery skills and excite them to develop these further at home.
  • To increase the amount of food education in schools by encouraging teachers to hold special events for young people during the fortnight in the hope that this will generate their enthusiasm and interest.
    Download more details here:

Farmer Training for Educational Visits – CEVAS Course

The Project is hosting a three-day training course for farmers hosting school visits this autumn. This scheme, which leads to accreditation by the Open College Network (OCN) has been operating in England for some years and more than 600 farmers have completed it.

In March FACE (Farm and Countryside Education) Wales, in association with the CAFE Project and with a grant from the National Assembly for Wales piloted the first ever CEVAS Training in Newtown. Six farmers completed the course and submitted portfolios.Five staff from CAFE and FACE Cymru completed the course in order to train as trainers to deliver future courses in Wales.

With the assistance of the YMCA College FACE Cymru and the CAFE Project will be offering a course in Newtown on 24th, 25th Sept and 1st October.
For details click here.
Download a booking form.


Year of Food and Farming – visit a farm this term!

The Year of Food and Farming
Starts this September 2007 until July 2008

A campaign to promote healthy living by giving young people direct experience of countryside, farming and food. This is the year to try a school farm visit as an ‘outdoor classroom’ to deliver memorable learning experiences for your national curriculum topics this year.
Register your school to receive updates and go on the ‘megamap’

Contact the CAFE Project officer in your area who will be able to help with arranging a farm visit and possibly assist with the cost of the coach.


CEVAS participants
Some of the participants at the first CEVAS Farmer Training Course in Wales, Coleg Powys Newtown.
The Project is hosting a three-day training course for farmers hosting school visits. This scheme, which leads to accreditation by the Open College Network (OCN) has been operating in England for some years and more than 600 farmers have completed it.

FACE (Farm and Countryside Education) Wales, in association with the CAFE Project, is piloting the first ever CEVAS Training for those offering educational visits in the countryside.

The three day course will be completed in March with the submission of portfolios by each participant for moderation by the Open College Network.

The course covers :

Day 1 Preparing for Farm Visits

  •  Checklist for a visit
  •  Risk Assessment
  •  Farm Profile
  •  Evaluation

Day 2 Food, Farming and the Countryside in the National Curriculum

  •  Learning Opportunities in the NC
  •  Key Stage subject areas – QCA units
  •  Preparing a Plan of Work for a visit
  •  Assignments

Day 3 Talking to Pupils, Students and Teachers

  •  Delivering a prepared talk
  •  Managing a discussion
  •  Preparing your portfolio for moderation

Future course will be run in Powys and elsewhere in Wales so please contact the CAFE Project for Powys, or Jane Powell of FACE Wales if outside Powys.
Email: jnp@aber.ac.uk


University Researcher visits CAFE Project

In mid October the CAFE Project played host to Laura Davis from Warwick University who paid a two day visit to see for herself what the project is achieving. Laura is involved in the Mid Term Review of the Food & Wellbeing Strategy for Wales. The 'Food and Well Being' Strategy, launched in February 2003, gave a focus to improving the diet and nutritional status of the population in Wales. This has been further supported by the launch of Health Challenge Wales and other strategies that seek to reach specific groups within the population, such as the elderly, children and young people.

During her visit Laura visited Dolfor CP School near Newtown to see the children making Fruit Skewers and Fruit Smoothies. She stayed for lunch and spoke to the school cook, teachers and children about their experiences.

Dolfor CP School

On day two she joined infants from Aberhafesp CP School at Offa Farm. In lovely mild autumn weather the children discovered vegetables growing in the fields and even had their morning milk around a ‘table’ in the barn sitting on straw bales.

Aberhafesp CP School

The ways in which the CAFE Project is working to reconnect children may be illustrated in the Mid Term Review as a unique case study. ‘I really appreciated talking to Laura about her experience and how we can effectively evaluate a project of this nature’ said Caroline afterwards.


A BUMPER BRITISH FOOD FORTNIGHT

The fifth British Food Fortnight which took place from 23rd September to 8th October 2006 was the biggest national celebration EVER of the diverse and delicious range of food that Britain produces. The event was sponsored by Aramark, Budgens, Londis and Nationwide and featured the Pyrex Cooking Challenge for schools.

The theme of this year’s event ‘Are you Cooking it?’ was embraced by retailers, caterers and schools all of whom organised a myriad of events and promotions across the country. Highlights include:

  • More promotions in shops than ever before… 2,200 Budgens and Londis stores, 300 delicatessens, independents, farm shops and farmers markets offered a mass of promotions and tastings tempting the public to use British seasonal ingredients when cooking at home. Early reports suggest that footfall in participating shops was up at least 25% during the Fortnight and sales of products offered for tastings increased a staggering 50%. And for the first time, three of the biggest supermarket chains all ran British promotions during the event.
  • Competitive spirit encourages children to cook…a myriad of cooking competitions were held during the Fortnight. Budgens and Londis stores teamed up with local schools for a competition to design a ‘Chef’s Hat’ featuring local produce; ARAMARK organised a ‘Create a Bramley Apple Recipe’ to inspire school children to get cooking. And all schools were invited to enter the Pyrex Cooking Challenge to find the school that incorporates cookery within the curriculum in the most innovative and imaginative way. The winner will be announced mid-November.
  • Catering sector takes centre stage for the first time… Five of the largest food service groups, led by ARAMARK, three major pub groups and all the chef associations put British food on thousands of menus in pubs, restaurants, hospitals and staff canteens. Even one of the most famous Indian restaurants in London got in on the act using all British ingredients in its dishes.
  • Audience reach…this year’s British Food Fortnight reached an unprecedented number of the public. Thousands of events were held across the country with food festivals in the East Midlands, West Sussex, Lincolnshire, Malvern, Yorkshire, Bath, Devon, Cornwall and Bath; welly walks; cookery demonstrations; foraging forays and special harvest festival celebrations.

 

  • And in media, Terry Wogan, Jonathon Ross, the World Tonight, the Archers, GMTV, Saturday Kitchen and Saturday Cooks and every national newspaper all extolled the event resulting in preliminary figures suggesting a staggering audience reach of 250 million.
  • ·· Beating Jamie Oliver to it…Jamie Oliver and the Government are starting to call for schools to offer cookery lessons but British Food Fortnight is already leading the way. 26,000 schools were provided with the first ever guide to including cookery within the curriculum in the build-up to the event. As a result thousands of children were given cooking lessons during the Fortnight. In an innovative move, organisations representing over 3,000 chefs teamed up with schools to offer their services in the classroom and to help teachers organise practical cookery activities. The aim is to emulate the French who regularly send chefs into schools to teach children about their national cuisine.

Alexia Robinson, organiser of British Food Fortnight comments: “Every year British Food Fortnight gets bigger and more successful. It gives retailers and caterers a commercial incentive to stock British food thereby making it more accessible to the public and it inspires schools to include it within their curriculum teaching.

“ Organisations representing 43,820 shops, 11,560 pubs, 43,300 restaurants, 5,800 chefs; tourism outlets receiving 16 million visitors and groups representing ¼ million volunteers now participate in the event each year. It is the only event bringing all these groups together. With this show of support British Food Fortnight is well placed to change the eating habits of the nation!”

British Food Fortnight 2007 takes place 22nd September to 7th October 2007.
For further information see www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk


New Three-Year CAFE Project launched by Deputy Minister at the Royal Welsh Show

The blazing sunshine of the Tuesday of the Royal Welsh Show at the Montgomeryshire (featured county) Pavillion by the main ring was an ideal setting for the event. A large gathering of teachers, councillors, farmers and representatives of partner organisations (including FACE, HSE, CCW, Church in Wales and Mid Wales Tourism) gathered for the launch ceremony.

Following the completion of a twelve month pilot project in 2005 the CAFE Project has won funding from the Countryside Council for Wales and the continuing support of Powys County Council Education Department to extend over three years to offer its facilitation and resources to schools throughout Powys from April 2007.

Deputy Minister Tamsin Dunwoody AM recognised the unique approach being developed in Powys and stressed the importance of ‘reconnecting’ children to food and farming for their education, as consumers and as members of the community in the longer term. Chairman of the Mid Wales Food & Land Trust, Antony Lewis, introducing the event appreciated the partnership with the CCW and Powys County Council and the hard work of the Project Board (made up of teachers and farmers) which met regularly to guide the Project.

The gathering was then treated to delicious food prepared by Project Board member and Trustee of the Mid Wales Food & Land Trust, Lavinia Vaughan.

The CAFE Project display boards and some resources were on show in the Montgomeryshire Pavillion all week as the Project has, to date, been confined to Montgomeryshire Schools. (Next spring the project will be looking for more staff to service schools in the South and West of the county).

CAFE Launch (L to R) Caroline Davies Project Co-ordinator, Tamsin Dunwoody AM, Lavinia Vaughan and Antony Lewis

Deputy Minister Tamsin Dunwoody AM

The new CAFE Project cow was a great success as hundreds of children (and a few adults!) stopped to milk her. Some seemed to get the knack straight away but others had to persevere to find the right touch. Several grandparents recalled the days of hand milking and the expertise that has been lost. Outside the Montgomeryshire Pavilion

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Food Standards Agency Wales Announces ‘AFAL’ Award Winner For CAFE PROJECT
(Awards for Food Action Locally)

The CAFE (Children, Agriculture, Food and Education) Project has been recognised by Food Standards Agency Wales as part of its 2006 AFAL Award Scheme. The Award, launched in November 2003, is a scheme to recognise individual or team contributions to local nutrition initiatives that have made a positive impact on the diet or eating habits in the communities they serve.
Caroline Davies
Caroline with one of the new display boards

Caroline with Dr StevensonThe Award of £1000 and a celebratory fruit bowl was presented to Caroline Davies, Project Co-ordinator by Dr Peter Stevenson, Local Public Health Director for Wrexham, at the Agency’s Nutrition Conference in Wrexham in May. Caroline made a presentation on the Project to a large audience drawn mainly from the health sector in Wales in which she stressed the importance of ‘reconnecting’ people to food production and teaching youngsters cooking skills.


Working Portfolio for Farm Visits

New binder for schools in Montgomeryshire All schools in Montgomeryshire will shortly be receiving a ring binder in the LEA mailing full of useful information to help them to get their children out onto farms. Contents include national curriculum, risk assessment, practical issues such as transport as well as contacts and information on local farms where the farming family voluntarily offer visits. This should be an invaluable resource to either get started or develop the potential of farm visits.

Register your School with Morrison's 'Let's Grow' Initiative and start collecting vouchers!

From 15th September until 6th November 2008 your pupils’ families, carers and friends will be able to collect Morrisons Let's Grow reward vouchers from their local Morrisons store. Once you've registered your school you'll have until 10th January 2009 to redeem these vouchers for free gardening equipment; everything from seeds and spades, to composting bins and planters.


SCHOOL FARMERS’ MARKETS DATES 2008

Download a pdf file of the school farmers' markets dates here.

All markets are set up from 2.30pm, open from 3pm and usually end around 5.30pm. Schools charge £5 per table and the PTA sell refreshments. If you have any queries please contact Caroline Davies on 01938 810302

View our video clip here, but note that this is a large file (11mb) and will take sometime to download, depending on your connection speed. We recommend highspeed broadband for best results. We also suggest you download it completely before playing.


The CAFE (Children, Agriculture, Food and Education) Project aims to:
  • develop a pilot programme of school/farm visits in Montgomeryshire
  • support and motivate teachers and lecturers to visit farms
  • work in partnership with the Powys Education Authority, the food, farming and tourism sectors
  • create and monitor a farm visit resource bank.

The Cafe Project is managed by: The Mid Wales Food & Land Trust and funded by the CCW (Countryside Council for Wales) and The Laura Ashley Foundation and supported in kind by Powys County Council and by farmers, teachers and others.
Countryside Council for Wales  Powys County Council Top
Mid Wales Food and Land Trust Mid Wales Food and Land Trust