Primary: outdoor

learning
Evening Sunday 31

th
Friday 29th
For Primary Teachers run in
May
Led by Lizzie Phipson and Daniel
Moncrief

KS2 Options
FSC Scotland
FSC Millport, Millport, Cumbrae
KA280EG
01475 530581

council.org

FSC Scotland has a long history of fieldwork at Millport and Kindrogan and
therefore has a wealth of resources to support courses, including well
stocked libraries and large equipment stores as well as knowledgeable
and experienced tutors.

Wildlife at FSC Scotland

Whether sat in our pine marten hide
at FSC Kindrogan or onboard the
Actinia at FSC Millport we hope you
enjoy watching the local wildlife
Overview of the will
course
as much as we do.

FSC Outdoor Learning

Primary Fieldwork and outdoor learning: run in partnership with
Education Scotland
FSC Scotland delivers Primary, Environmental, Biology, Adventurous Activity and Geography
courses for over 5000 students a year. This course builds on this expertise and aims to
introduce participants to a range of diferent fieldwork
activities
which can be used with primary school students. The
course is aimed at primary teachers and educators
who want to further develop their skills to support and
lead outdoor learning.

The weekend will cover risk assessments, planning

fieldwork and organising Outdoor learning activities safely. Participants will receive a
certificate of attendance.

During the course we will trial and evaluate a range of diferent activities which can be used to
support and help structure a range of outdoor learning sessions. In particular we will consider
how to structure traditional observational fieldwork, investigations and sensory fieldwork
aiming to more efectively engage students with the places they are studying and interacting
with. We will also consider how efective formative assessment and technology can be
incorporated into fieldwork.

Course objectives
By the end of the course participants will have:

Trialled diferent fieldwork activities, in a variety of environments, which can be used to

explore Curriculum for Excellence, interdisciplinary learning and Learning for Sustainability
through outdoor learning.

Considered diferent tasks to develop students thinking skills, help assess learning in the
field and ideas which can be used in school grounds (including OPAL activities).

Carried out a risk assessment for an outdoor education activity, know the steps needed
to carry out a risk assessment and have considered key ingredients of safe fieldwork
practice.

Start and finish times

Resident visitors are requested to arrive on the first day of the course at the office reception
before 5.30pm. Supper will be between 6pm and 7pm. An introductory talk will follow. Breakfast
will be between 7.45-8.45am. The course will end on 2pm on the last day.

What is included within the fee?

Up to 10 hours of tuition a day.
Expert tuition by fully trained staf.
Full board accommodation including a cooked breakfast, picnic lunch, homemade cakes
and an evening meal. Vegetarian and other dietary options are available.
Use of resources including library, workrooms, studios and the Centre grounds.
Transport to all field sites, where required, during the course.
Rigorous and proven health and safety procedures including 24 hour emergency cover.
Access to risk assessments.
Specialist equipment and exclusive access to specially developed resources.
E-mail support before and after the course (on request).
Please remember travel to the field
centre and E-mail:
to fieldwork
sites is not included in the
Tel: 01475 530581
Website:
Field Studies Council is a limited Company, charity no: SCO39870

FSC Outdoor Learning

Primary Fieldwork and outdoor learning: run in partnership with
Education Scotland

Draft timetable
Friday
Evening

Dinner is at 6pm
Welcome, an introduction to the course, and then we will explore the benefits
and challenges of out of the classroom learning. We will also introduce
diferent types of outdoor learning to provide a framework for the course.
The day will start with a trip to Lions Rock, and will include activities to
explore how physical processes have shaped landforms.

Saturda
y
Low tide:
15.37am
0.72m

Biodive
rsity
and
school
grounds
activitie
s

The remainder of the day will focus on fieldwork which can be used to explore
concepts of biodiversity. Visiting the rockyshore we will explore ways to
identify organisms with students, and ways to look at their adaptations and
how they are connected to other living things in the same ecosystem.
In the morning we will look at activities which can be employed in school
grounds, including OPAL packs which are free to schools. These activities will
also be linked to interdisciplinary learning and Learning for Sustainability
themes.
Then we will visit the aquarium at FSC Millport and look at a tea spoon of
water, linking the plankton we find under a microscope to the wider food
chain, and use food chain activities which teachers could adapt to other
environments including energy flow games.
At the rocky shore will start with a scavenger hunt; an introduction to
classification through a student led activity where they develop their own
classification system which can be adapted for other environments teachers
may find around their own school grounds. We will discuss adaptations of
creatures on the rocky shore and from this create some environmental art
showing some of these adaptations.
In the evening there will be a focus on Health and Safety issues and how to
carry out a Risk Assessment and/or complete trial star orienteering and small
mammal trapping.

Sunday
Tourism
and
History

We will spend the morning trialling activities which can be used with students
in human environments, focusing on activities in the tourist honeypot of
Millport. This will focus on the social studies curriculum, including history and
geography activities.
We will also undertake a variety of beach litter activities to consider how our
society might be viewed by future generations. We will head to the Garrison
for lunch which has plenty more information about the history and geography
of the island in the museum next to the Cafe.

What to Bring

(Old) Warm clothes - we may get muddy and wet.

Tel: 01475 530581

E-mail:
Website:
Field Studies Council is a limited Company, charity no: SCO39870

FSC Outdoor Learning

Primary Fieldwork and outdoor learning: run in partnership with
Education Scotland

Waterproof top, waterproof trousers, a comfortable day sack, gloves & hat (can be
borrowed from the Centre).
Lunch box, water bottle and flask.
Walking boots and wellies (can be borrowed from the Centre)
A memory pen to take pictures and resources away

Why Come to FSC Scotland?

Some of the most common reasons which our customers give for coming to our Field
Centres are:

Our centres stunning situations, either overlooking the Clyde at FSC Millport, or in the
heart of the highlands at FSC Kindrogan.

We are easily accessible with both of our Scottish Centres within 2 hours travel of the
Central belt. Millport is 8 minutes by ferry from Largs, so can be easily reached by
public transport, Pitlochry is Kindrogans local train station with regular train
connections to Sterling, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Expert tuition from our tutors who have a passion for the environment and are
knowledgeable ecologists and geographers.

A friendly, welcoming place to visit, with hearty meals and clean and comfortable
rooms.

A unique blend of local habitats and environments to visit. Both coasts with craggy
clifs and rocky shores and mountains shaped by ice and with unique ecological
communities.

Quality Tuition

ys
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y funding. It relies solely on fees charged for courses and membership. Therefore, by visiting an FSC Centre not only are you receivin

Tel: 01475 530581

E-mail:
Website:
Field Studies Council is a limited Company, charity no: SCO39870

FSC Outdoor Learning

Primary Fieldwork and outdoor learning: run in partnership with
Education Scotland

Included within the programme price:

Expert tuition by fully trained staf
Rigorous and proven health and safety procedures including 24 hour emergency
cover
Access to risk assessments
Full board (residential visits)
Specialist equipment and exclusive access to specially developed resources
Free places for visiting staf
E-mail support before and after the course (on request)
Waterproof clothing and footwear
Personal and travel insurance
Please remember travel to the field centre and to fieldwork sites is not included in

Tel: 01475 530581

E-mail:
Website:
Field Studies Council is a limited Company, charity no: SCO39870