Tell us about your
Learning Adventure
Who Killed Jasper Rainbow? December 2023 (unprompted testimonial)
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I had the privilege of experiencing this amazing activity with my year 6s and I can honestly say in all my 28 years of teaching, I have never enjoyed a workshop day as much.
Simon made the whole day, from start to finish, so engaging and captivating that the children totally bought into the crime scenario. He had spent a lot of time setting up the room and surrounding area with various stations of information and evidence as well as three forensic tables for the children to use.
It was lovely to see the look of awe and wonder on the children’s faces as they entered the room and took in their surroundings. Simon had previously whetted their appetite by sending a video trailer to introduce the workshop so they were already eagerly anticipating what was to come.
The day started off in a busy newsroom where the junior editors had to create the front page of the newspaper to report on two crimes that had occurred. After this, they became Detective Constables with the aim to solve the crimes. The children were totally engaged with all the activities and there was a buzz of enthusiastic chatter and discussion about the various tasks in hand. Simon explained the
importance on not discussing any of the evidence from the day with anyone – so as not to spoil it for the other class but also for the reality of working in the police force/forensics team and not compromising the evidence.
Throughout the day, there was lots of opportunities for them to work collaboratively on the different tasks where they were developing their communication and teamwork skills. The groups that achieved the greatest success were those who listened to each other and delegated the activities according to their strengths. The day allowed them to utilise their Maths, English and Science skills through the range
of interesting and engaging tasks that they needed to complete in order to solve the crimes. Simon further enhanced their experience by role-playing a total of 10 different characters (including props and accessories!) as he took on the different roles of the Editor of the Daily Scoop, the Chief of Police and all 8 of the suspects – each one with their own individual accents and quirks! He was very entertaining and always managed to stay in role despite some of the random questions the children
asked! Having the chance to interview each suspect, helped the children to improve their questioning and reasoning skills so much so that quality of their enquiries really evolved as they followed up on their suspicions.
The day also included video messages from some of the alibis – another example of the time Simon had taken in preparing this fabulous workshop. Having completed the various activities, the children had to decide who they thought had committed the 2 crimes and what the motive was. At the end of the day there was the grand reveal… had the children worked out the culprits and motives correctly?
This workshop was excellent in every aspect and could be used in lots of different ways: an after SATs treat for Year 6 which would not only be very enjoyable but also very educational and keep them focussed; an inspiration day to launch a unit of work on newspaper reports – the front page that they complete could be their cold write before the unit, leading to a final front page now the crimes are solved as the hot write; lots of opportunities for writing – suspects’ back stories, murder mystery, crime
scene reports, interviews written as play scripts or using direct speech, the list is endless.
Mrs Sharon Norris (teacher)
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Who Killed Jasper Rainbow December 2023 ( emailed to the Headteacher at then of the day)
I just wanted to say what an amazing and engaging day, today has been, for old and young alike.
The children very quickly found their rhythm for learning and produced some lovely newspaper front covers. Don't get me started on the reasoning and questioning of suspects. I think any criminals that cross their paths in the future, would have a really difficult time.
I was super impressed how everyone joined in and of course made their own conclusions about the suspects. (No spoilers)
I know from the chatter and conversations with the children that we will, when allowed, be discussing our findings for quite a while.
Such a wonderful day,
Thank you
Debbie Izzard TA
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Fire Science
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"Thank you so much for the wonderful experience (Fire Science) that you gave our Year 3 and 4's. The children were buzzing about what they had learnt and how incredible it was to make and build their own fires. Here are some of their thoughts..."
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Vicki Read Class Teacher Hemmingford Grey Primary School Cambridgeshire
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"I couldn't believe that we were actually going to be allowed to make a fire!"
"I didn't know that fire needed three things to make it light, I thought you just needed a match"
"I liked the way we were just able to get on and have a go!"
"Everyone really helped and when I got stuck with the flint they just encouraged me."
"It was great doing something that we might have to actually do in real life!"
"I liked the way I felt happy when I actually made fire."
"It made me feel grown up and like I was being trusted to do something that I thought was dangerous."
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Year 3 and 4 children at Hemingford Grey Primary School Cambridgeshire
Survival Night
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"My night in the forest school was awesome! My friends and I were able to build a small shelter out of some tarpaulins and anything else in the woods we could find. It was watertight until my friend knocked it and we had to take drastic action. Mr Perkins built himself an amazing shelter, it was even raised up off the ground and basically had a cover on the top of it. I bet he didn't get wet! After we had set up camp Mr Perkins showed us how to use tools we needed to make a toasting fork - that was the challenge. The marshmallows were tasty."
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"I learned alot on our sleep out. I learned how to work properly as a team and not to get cross or downhearted when things start to go wrong. I also learned that we had successfully erected a watertight shelter. When we woke up we were ready for our bacon butties with lashings of ketchup."
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Oliver Wardle Year 5
Curriculum Development
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Simon's support in developing our Science and Outdoor Learning Curriculum has been invaluable. He was able to effectively identify cross-curricular links with Science and other subjects, tailoring these to cover the different topics in each phase.The finished curriculum has clearly impacted upon our children's engagement with Science. Through teaching key Scientific Skills and building up to exciting, relevant and adventurous projects the children are able to experience the practical aspects of Science.
Simon’s enthusiasm and passion for outdoor learning, along with his own personal experiences, mean that he is able to enthuse and inspire the children and adults he works with. He is extremely knowledgeable both within his field and also as a highly regarded practicing teacher.
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Kate Mills Headteacher
Bespoke activities for specific groups
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Simon has planned and delivered a number of inspirational days and events for children across our group of schools. He is so creative and engaging in his manner and approach, cleverly coaching the children to open their minds to all the possibilities. His questions are crafted to constantly challenge and focus the children, they were 100% engaged from start to finish - a pleasure to watch!
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Emma Pepper Headteacher
Activities in the Woods
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After canvasing our children and families about their interests and activities outside school we knew that many of them take part in some sort of “organised and structured” activity such as sports clubs, swimming lessons or park visits. Although all of these things are valuable we realised that there was a gap in their experiences and many of our children do not have enough opportunities to explore the natural environment around them and through this exploration have the opportunity to challenge themselves in an environment that is less familiar, developing and discovering new skills and interests.
Simon discussed, planned and led a series of visits for the children at Diseworth to help them develop those skills, attitudes and dispositions that the structured and organised activities do not.
The early years and year 1 children had an amazing day working collaboratively, exploring different areas of the forest. They carefully collected a range of natural materials which they then used to complete the challenge of creating a piece of natural art work on the forest floor. They spent the afternoon walking right to the top of Beacon hill and were amazed at how high up they were, how far they had walked and how much they could see.
Year 2 and 3 children were challenged to use natural materials to build a den or shelter that they could actually sit in. They then took part in team challenges guiding a blindfolded friend through different area of the forest.
Year 4 and 5 children were challenged to use their mathematical knowledge and skills to work out problems throughout the day, how fast was the stream flowing? What was the different distances from various points along a route? How tall was a specific tree? What information would we need to find out how old a tree was?
Our children all had an amazing time. Each group returned to school bubbling with enthusiasm, proud of their achievements and very keen to involve their parents in a similar activity. They are now full of plans, suggestions and ideas for the promised follow up visits.
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Alison Woffindin Headteacher
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What do children think about learning outdoors?
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Learning outdoors helps me to take more risks. Lily Y6
It helps me to take more risks. I love climbing trees. Jayme-Lea Y6
There are lots of things to do and it doesn't matter if you get something wrong. Enrico Y6
It improves my social skills and independence. All of these things help my learning in the classroom and makes me a better person. Oscar Y6
You have freedom and develop stickability and there's always plenty of excitment. You can live with nature and it helps you. Hannah-Mae Y6
It makes you calmer while still being exciting. You have freedom! Georgia Y6
Learning outdoors is important to me because it makes me feel more confident. Kyle Y6
It makes me develop self-belief, self-confidence and self esteem. When I come back in class I feel ready to learn. Scarlett Y6
It helps me make decisions about what new things to learn next. Steven Y6
It's important to me because if you are stuck on (lighting) a fire you can develop stickability and try and try again. Florence Y6
It helps me not give up and it helps me to concebtrate in school. Josh Y6
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Breaking the Rules of Engagement: Full day of INSET for Initial Teacher Training for the Loughborough Learning Alliance - Student feedback
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A fantastic session overall! An amazing way to experience it (outdoor learning).
I enjoyed the whole day. The presentation was very useful.
I liked the variation of activities and enjoyed the chances to discuss ideas as a group.
I enjoyed the practical sessions and like exploring activities I could use with the children.
Useful links to learning and exploring/enhancing children's thoughts and skills.
Really enjoyed the outdoor learning and mix of how to plan/risk assess.
Really enjoyed being outside and being able to experience it how the children would.
Yes - will definitely be doing more to get the children outside.
You were very inspiring - liked the emphasis on getting the children to take risks.
Liked being able to independently experience (activities).
Great information on outdoor learning and the benefits.
I thought the information was practical and thought provoking.
I will definitely try different lessons to promote the learners' curiosity.
Lots of real and practical examples of how to take learning outdoors.
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I liked the fact that we got to go to different places we’ve never been to before and to see the summit of a mountain. It was amazing. We learned lots of other skills like using a compass and learning how to use a map. I learned loads and now I know how to survive in the wild and to be confident in the things that I do. The best thing was going up to the summit and rock scrambling because he pushed us out of our comfort zone. His days are so much fun.
Jessica Year 5
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