Learning at Eyam

Our vision is to create an outdoor seasonal curriculum which braids the insights of Rudolph Steiner with Ruskin Mill Trust’s Practical Skills Therapeutic Education. Furthermore, in the collaborative building of a Biodynamic farm organism, students and teachers are helping to participate in the planning and emergence of outdoor learning spaces which are purpose built for ‘seed to table’ projects where the rhythms of nature are all important.

We value the use of natural materials, processes and traditional knowledge and skills. Experiential learning is at the core and problem solving is encouraged. We have a ‘child led’ approach, shaping the tasks and activities around the student and seizing the ‘here and now’, therefore always working with a child’s natural curiosity. The Seven Fields of Practice developed by The Ruskin Mill Trust underpin this curriculum.

For each main element of our PSTE curriculum we have created a seasonal long term plan. These are shown below. Click the images to go to a more detailed version which also includes links to the developing medium term plans. There is flexibility built in, because at any time of the year there will be several possible activities to engage in.

The activities are predominantly designed to take place outdoors. Each activity is split into stages, which can take place over a single day or over a series of weeks depending on the structure of the session.