The document proposes taking a group of Year 1 students from school on an off-site visit to Abington Park to learn about Victorian times. The visit aims to bring history, PE, art, and ICT lessons to life through hands-on activities led by a specialist historian. Students will explore the toy room in the park museum, participate in sensory history activities, take photos on their iPads, play Victorian games outside, and have follow-up lesson extensions back at school. The goal is to provide memorable learning experiences outside the classroom to deepen understanding of the Victorian era.

2. The “Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto” (DfES, 2006) claims
that making use of places other than the classroom for learning and
teaching plays a major role in education because:
These, often the most memorable learning experiences, help us
to make sense of the world around us by making links
between feelings and learning. They stay with us into adulthood
and affect our behaviour, lifestyle and work. They influence our
values and the decisions we make. They allow us to transfer
learning experienced outside to the classroom and vice versa.
DfES (2006 p. 3)

3. Executive Summary:
• Off-site visit to Abington Park, Northampton
• Victorian Theme supporting current unit of study
• Cross curricular links include History, PE, ICT and Art
• Prior learning to introduce, motivate and inspire
• Practical and engaging activities designed to enhance
knowledge and understanding
• Follow up extension activities to be incorporated into
lessons on return to school
• Prior visit has taken place to assess suitability
• All risk assessments considered
• Only cost involved relates to coach travel

4. Why Abington Park?
• Local
• Cost effective
• Multiple opportunities and facilities within one site
• Links with education facilities on site
• Specialist historian facilitator leading a session
• Access to museum artefacts and historical resources
• Opportunity for children to access outdoor learning
• Fully inclusive learning providing opportunities for all children
to participate

5. Being introduced to the day by our
Victorian Teacher!
Click on title above to link directly to our You Tube video using the Morfo Ipad App

6. OFF-SITE VISIT TO ABINGTON PARK
Wednesday 2nd July 2014
YEAR 1
LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM – VICTORIAN THEME
0900 – DEPART SCHOOL BY COACH TO ABINGDON PARK
0945 – MEET A VICTORIAN TEACHER IN THE MUSEUM
reception
1015 – MUSEUM TOY ROOM (Complete worksheets)
1045 – learning experience room (museum staff led)
History of toys
Sensory experience (Compare task)
Green screen experience
ART – locate picture and discuss
1200 – lunch (picnic outside – weather dependent)
1245 – assemble on grass area outside museum
In allocated groups walk to play area
(complete worksheet/take photos)
1330 – assemble on grass area adjacent to play Area
Play some games (Victorian style)
1430 – return to coach park by museum
1445 – Coach departs for return to school

7. HISTORY
Prior Learning
• Children will studying how life was in Victorian Britain
• Specifically about children and how a child lived in the
Victorian era
• This will be linked to schooling, jobs children did and
leisure time
Learning on the Day
• Children will explore the life of a child in the Victorian era
in greater detail with hands on learning
• Specifically looking at the toys they used to play with
• Physically experience how the Victorians used their free
time

8. ICT
Prior Learning
• Introduce Victorian games and toys through prezi by
exploring the Bruegal painting ‘Children’s Games’
• Experience of making videos in the Ipad during pirates
topic
• Experience of using QR codes during pirate topic
Learning on the Day
• Using Ipads to record information allows children to
explore screen shots, photos, written and voice
recorded notes
• Using QR codes to access targeted information set by
the teacher.
• Making videos will show understanding of a topic,
develop writing skills, enhance teamwork and
technological skills.

9. PE
Prior Learning
• Focussing on small group games
• Rotation style lessons experiencing different style
activities
• Spatial awareness and co-ordination
Learning on the Day
• Build on skills learned in school lessons
• Experience different types of games outside on a
grassed area
• To be able to use their experience to discuss the
contrast between then and now

10. Follow up extension activities:
• Look at the history of the park using Google Earth – including
overlaying today’s park with the same park in the Victorian
era
• Designing a futuristic play area and comparing the changes
over time
• Draw/paint a modern day version of the Victorian Play scene
used during prior learning (with Prezi)
• Create a record of the day’s events during child’s choice of
medium such as Powerpoint, Photostory 3, designing a class
blog, drawing a storyboard or creating a poster.
• A recount of the day’s events in literacy

11. “When planned and implemented well, learning outside
the classroom contributed significantly to raising
standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and
emotional development.” Ofsted (2008 p.5)
Pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties are
the very pupils who are “most in need of the
curriculum enrichment that out-of-school learning can
provide” (Power et.al, 2009).
Quote from a pupil after attending an off-site visit “I
understood before, but not like this.”
(Snelson 2007 p. 6)
These simple comment summarise the benefits that
can be achieved by allowing children the opportunity to
learn away from the confines of the classroom.

12. References:
DfES (2006) Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto. Nottingham: DfES.
Ofsted (2008) Learning outside the classroom – How far should you go?
London: Ofsted.
Power, S., Taylor, C., Rees, G. and Jones, K. (2009) Out-of-school learning:
variations in provision and participation in secondary schools. Research Papers
in Education. 24 (4), 439-460.
Snelson, H. (2007) “I understood before, but not like this:” maximising
historical learning by letting pupils take control of trips. Teaching History. No
vol (126), 6-11.