Natural Thinkers has ten commitments:

• Children have access to a range of natural areas and materials outside.
• Children have opportunities to grow, pick and taste produce.
• Children have access to gardening and digging.
• Children care for their natural environment.
• Children engage with the weather and seasons.
• Children have opportunities to engage with wildlife.
• Children have daily access to the outside.
• Settings ensure no child is excluded from outdoor activities.
• Settings ensure parents have opportunities to get involved with Natural Thinkers activities.
• At least 1 member of staff must have attended Natural Thinkers training.

This year, we will be embedding these ten commitments into our weekly learning, bringing our broad and exciting curriculum to the natural environment.

To this end, we will be developing our outdoor learning environments.  In particular, with the support from our amazing PTA we will be creating an onsite Forest School.

All children will have opportunities to visit local areas, such as The Lees,  Church Plantation, Badlesmere Court Farm and The Sondes Estate to foster their appreciation of the natural environment and learn more about different plants and how to look after them.

We are all excited about the launch of our Natural Thinkers programme and we are looking forward to seeing the children’s learning blossom even more as we continue to move our learning outside.

We were one of 13 schools who were part of a research project conducted by Canterbury Christ Church University.  Over the years as our curriculum has developed so too has the embedding of Harmony principles to enable pupils to experience an innovative and exciting curriculum which prepares them for life long learning.