LEAF Education, the lead agri-education organisation in England and Wales, has seen a hugely positive response from schools to the experiential food and farming related national primary school competition, titled ‘All for Farm and Food for All’. The first of its kind in the UK, the competition is open to every primary school in England, offering teachers support and access to specific curriculum linked resources to help deliver high-quality learning activities and experiences to open young minds to why farming matters, alongside the chance to win experiential learning opportunities on farm.
Supported by EIT Food Food Educators, co-funded by the European Union, the competition is open to individual classes for pupils in Years 5 and 6 during the 2023-2024 academic year. All schools entering the competition will receive the All for Farm and Food for All handbook and activity pack, a unique collection of six resources, all highlighting food related solutions to the climate crisis, which are required of classes in order to progress in the competition.
The competition gives schools an unrivalled opportunity to understand how food and the environment go hand in hand, with regional finalists winning an experiential learning experience on farm. The overall winner will win a day out on farm for up to 200 pupils, teachers and parents which will showcase the farm to fork journey.
The National Primary Schools Competition complements LEAF Education’s annual National Food, Farming and Natural Environment secondary schools’ competition for Years 9-11 across England and Wales, which has seen over one third of finalists go on to apply for land-based college, having never previously experienced the sector since the competition launched in 2018.
“Food begins with farming,” says Carl Edwards, LEAF’s Director, Education and Public Engagement. “Equipping our future generations with a balanced and informed insight into where their food comes from, how it is produced, and the impact this has on the natural environment around them, will help deliver a world that is growing, eating and living sustainably. Our new ‘All for Farm and Food for All’ competition’, supported by EIT Food, offers huge scope to help us strengthen our work, and offer multiple touch points throughout young people’s lives to help highlight the scale and scope of our sector. We hope as many schools as possible will get involved, helping to ultimately shape the future of the agri-food industry!”
Full details of the All for Farm and Food for All National Primary Schools Competition can be found at https://leaf.eco/education/competitions/all-for-farm-food-for-all. Registrations for the competition will close on 15th September and must be completed by the class teacher, or main contact for the class. Schools entering more than one class should complete separate registrations for each class.
Dates for your diary:
• Entries close on 15 September 2023
• From 1st December 2023 classes engage with and complete directed activities and receive access to additional learning resources and opportunities
• From 4th – 5th December 2023 classes submit their application to become the Regional Finalist for their region
• From 2nd – 6th January 2024 the Regional Finalists will be notified, and between January – February will receive an in-school workshop from a LEAF Education Specialist and pre-visit filming to record pupil perceptions and opinions of food, farming, and the environment
• In March 2024 the Regional Finalists will win a day on farm gaining first-hand experience of the powerful impact that farming has on food production and climate change
• From 8th – 12th April 2024, LEAF and the EIT Food panel will review the regional finalists’ experiential days on farm and select an overall National Winner, who will be notified week commencing 22nd April, and will win a day on farm in June 2024 for up to 200 people from their school.
