The National Farmers’ Union of Wales (NFU Cymru), working alongside NFU Education, will stream two food and farming live lessons to schools across Wales next month.
The lessons will take place on Wednesday, June 19, as part of the union’s annual Welsh Farming Week.
The union said it is a “unique opportunity” to bring the farmyard to the classroom.
The live lessons titled ‘The Great Welsh Ice Cream Adventure/Antur Fawr Hufen Iâ Cymreig’ will be available in both English (11:00a.m) and Welsh (2:00p.m). They are designed for children aged seven to 11.
To enhance the learning experience, curriculum-aligned, bilingual resources will also be made available to schools, with cross-curricular tasks providing an extension to the live lesson learning, the union said.
NFU Cymru deputy president Abi Reader said this year’s live lessons will be an opportunity for primary schools across Wales and the UK to learn about dairy farming and the journey from milk to ice-cream in a fun and interactive way.
“The aim of the lessons will be about engaging pupils with Welsh food and farming and giving them an insight into what happens on a working farm – all while helping teachers to deliver the curriculum,” she said.
“Last year we engaged with around 20,000 pupils through this initiative and helped further promote the Welsh language by having a dedicated Welsh language lesson in the afternoon.”
Live lessons
The live lessons will be hosted by two dairy farmers and will be around 45 minutes long.
They will include an insight into various farming practices – such as bringing cows into the parlour, milking and making ice-cream, NFU Cymru said.
They will also feature a visit to a beekeeper to talk about the benefits of pollinators on farm.
There will be a live on-farm question and answer session, answering the questions pupils may have from the classroom.
NFU Cymru said it is hoping to harness the expertise of NFU Education to provide an inclusive learning experience for every pupil whether in an English or Welsh speaking class.
