Department Staff: 
 

Subject intent

At Falconer School, OAA is more than a subject, it is an educational process that happens over a prolonged
period of time, this is part of what makes it a unique educational approach setting it apart from other
outdoor learning. Ideally, over a full academic year as a minimum, relationships with self, peers, staff and
others as well as with the environment will be engaged and established. 

The skills and projects listed are developed over the entire Key stage and learners will gain confidence and be able to work through tasks at their own pace to the end goal of being able to show or teach others how to. If this process can be part of the educational process on an ongoing, yearly basis, the potential benefits will be a prolonged and neuron development in the brain will be established, heightening benefits.

Through the development of reflective process in each learner, and independent learning, ideally overtly
understood by the participants, learning becomes contextualised, personalised and real.

In order to be able to establish transference, the skills of personal reflection and review are an
important part of our established OAA programme. This will lead to metacognition, i.e. the ability to
think of the most appropriate strategy to deal with aspects of life necessary to move on and plan and the
lessons life has to give us as individuals, not simply to take directions from others.
 

Our Curriculum

Key Stage 3 overview 

Students will learn about safe Fire Lighting
•    Explain how to build a fire pit and what to remember · Recognise problems with fires and how to resolve – Fire triangle – dead wood · Know the difference between tinder, kindling and fuel prepare and build fire using 3 different methods – flint and steel, bow drill, matches. Safety around each · Gathering and making kindling, tinder and best fuels and type of wood to burn. · Building a cooking fire: - 5-minute fire – warmth fire – cooking fire. · Lighting fires safely · Maintaining a fire and keeping it going for 15 minutes to 30 minutes. · Putting out a fire safely.

Campfire cooking ·
•    Checking equipment for dangers and possible problems · Describe the fire tringle · Lighting a cooking fire · Cooking Hygiene · Selecting utensils appropriate for cooking · Preparing bread and or soups · Kettle use and Kelly kettle use · Making hot drinks safely · Prepare a meal – lunch or breakfast · Clean up properly.

Tool use and Safety · 
•    Use of power tools and hand tools to create Bird boxes and feeders. · Box design and development for different species of birds · Box sizes and locations · Building materials and equipment · Wooden projects of other types.

Furniture Building – 
•    Pallet projects · Reclaimed wood and up cycling –Pallet basics · Basic tool use and safety – measuring and cutting · Disassembling Pallets – safety concerns and equipment.

Useful websites:

Mcqbushcraft.co.uk
Hiddenvalleybushcraft.co.uk
Taoutdoors.com