Outdoor education and outreach activities for schools and groups
We guarantee your school or group experience with Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory will be a breath of fresh air, creating lasting memories and ensuring enrichment and achievement for everyone. Our outdoor education and outreach programmes weave together our natural world with classroom subjects, from science and geography to art and design and physical education.
The amazing habitats across the Bay are bursting with life that wriggles and crawls, flies and swims year-round, providing the perfect base to learn about living things. From wetlands to beaches and woodlands, the Bay is perfect for a nature-filled experience.
Providing students with opportunities to access high quality learning beyond the classroom experiences are easy to organise at SBBOT can result in the following benefits:
- Physical and mental wellbeing from spending time in nature
- Learning through first-hand experiences
- Problem solving when working with others
- Independence and self-discovery
- Opening young people’s eyes to the world around them, allowing them to develop into well-rounded citizens
Supporting children from Early Years and through the Primary and Secondary phase and students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust (SBBOT) provides carefully planned activities that support the school’s curriculum delivery, offering challenging, exciting and memorable experiences to help children learn.
SBBOT provides Education Officer-led sessions for various groups including:
- playgroups
- school groups (nursery to sixth form)
- organisations such as youth clubs, out of school clubs, Scouts, Girl Guides and Brownies
- adult and community organisations
What we offer
- experienced, passionate DBS checked, First Aid and Safeguarding trained leaders and volunteers
- a wide range of habitats
- bespoke packages
- practical and fun hands-on sessions
- provision of all field equipment and materials
- pre-visit discussions and information
- a series of risk assessments
- easy access trails
We offer a wide variety of activities, these have included habitat investigation, bird identification and birdwatching, bug hunting, pond dipping, moth trapping, understanding of ecosystems, classification, life cycles, adaptation and much, much more! Activities will vary by season, weather, access and the natural resources available. If there is a specific activity or curriculum focus you would really like to look at, we can custom our workshops and sessions to incorporate this, so why not get in touch today!
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Each activity is generally based on a class of 30 pupils working with an Education Officer (unless otherwise specified). If you are bringing a larger group, we can combine activities. Please bear in mind that moving between sessions takes time and may limit time spent on each activity.
SEN classes: Our Education team has experience working with children and young people with SEN. All programmes are available for SEN classes and most activities can be adapted to meet various needs. Due to the nature of our site and facilities, the maximum group size for an SEN visit is 20 pupils, though this depends on the needs of the group. Please contact us to discuss the needs of your class.
The feedback we receive from our sessions is always outstanding; "SBBO have supported the delivery of a number of our Science units across several year groups. The high quality workshops delivered by their Education Team have helped our children to understand key concepts through 'hands on' learning. They have also helped our children to see how the science they are learning is directly related to their environment." (Nathan Williams, Fellow of the Primary Science Teacher College St Peter-in-Thanet CE Junior School)
If you are unable to benefit from a visit to our Field Centre and Reserve, SBBOT can offer a range of outreach opportunities suitable for schools, events and other educational groups, that will bring the wild to you!
Our school-based learning opportunities can be custom built to hit the learning objectives that your class needs while at the same time providing your pupils with engaging experiences beyond the classroom norm.
Additionally, the Observatory can also offer CPD training to members of staff at schools to help develop their knowledge of the natural world.
Beyond Primary and Secondary Education, the Observatory can deliver field courses and provide a base for university groups, where the wealth of the wildlife in the Recording Area provides excellent opportunities to survey a wide range of different species with a variety of techniques as well as provide background into careers in conservation.
For enquiries about opportunities with the Observatory for your school, group, college or university please contact our Education Officer Faye Kavvadias-Large