Biscovey Infant School
Biscovey Infant School, near St Austell, is one of many across the county that has registered.
“We’re really supportive of the campaign”, says head teacher Richard Hope-Pears. “We were involved from the beginning and hope to grow with it. As a school, we are really supportive of any initiatives that encourage children to become involved in growing their own food and raising awareness of healthy eating. We want to be part of the campaign for the longer term – it goes a long way in firing up children’s imaginations and I think it’s a really engaging and interactive way for youngsters to learn.”
When Richard joined Biscovey Infant School twenty years ago it was his ambition to get his pupils interested in food and where it comes from. He says Biscovey is the first infant school in the country to have its own teaching kitchen, “Growing vegetables is very close to our hearts. The whole ethos for the school is about sharing with children the idea of growing, preparing and enjoying food – it’s a key life skill. Growing fruit and veg has very much been a priority for us for the last two to three years.”
Responsibility for the school’s garden is being shared – parents, teachers and children are all getting involved.
“We’re now in the process of building a new sensory garden with help from the parents” says Richard. “It’s great they’re so interested in coming along and volunteering their time in constructing that. We’re also looking to develop a small orchard area and we’d like to get a small polytunnel so we can grow throughout all the seasons.”
Biscovey Infant School is a good example of where their children are growing vegetables, fruits and flowers in boxes outside each classroom.
Richard Hope-Pears says: “We want the children at our school to learn that food doesn’t just come out of packets or appear on the supermarket shelves magically. They need to know that someone has to grow, tend to and cultivate food.”
He is also working with a team from the Eden Project who will be visiting the school and teaching the youngsters about understanding the need for sustainability, “I think it’s essential and a fundamental part of the curriculum – it’s a multisensory learning opportunity. Every aspect of the curriculum can be learnt through food, a lot of knowledge will be retained by the children and it has an impact on their learning and well-being in later life.”
