Connect Academy Trust has won a national award for ‘community impact’. This is the result of having developed the UK’s first ever Ocean Conservation Curriculum in partnership with some of Plymouth’s leading marine organisations. The winners were announced in a ceremony in London last week, organised by the Multi Academy Trust Association (MATA).
Connect was shortlisted as a finalist for two of the awards – and was the only Trust from Devon and Cornwall to make it through to the finals. As well as winning the community impact award, Connect was also a finalist for ‘medium MAT of the year’.
Matt McDermott from MATA said “We were pleased to announce Connect Academy Trust as the winner for community impact with their fantastic initiative on creating the UK’s first Ocean Conservation curriculum for primary school children. This means children across all their schools, from foundation stage right through to Y6 have unique opportunities to learn across the whole curriculum about the importance of the ocean in sustaining the future of our planet.”
The new curriculum was the idea of Stuart Bellworthy (CEO) and other leaders of Connect Academy Trust. Connect educates 3,500 children across our eight primary schools, all of which are very close to the coast. Trust leaders were keen to find a way to connect children with the ocean We have access to some of the world’s leading marine research institutions on the doorstep, and increasing concern amongst children and adults about sustainability, climate change, over-fishing, and the abundance of plastics in the ocean, the initial idea in 2019 was just to create links with local scientists. However, with several marine biologists on the Trust’s teaching staff, this soon turned into plans to develop a full-blown Ocean Conservation Curriculum, with age-appropriate modules for all children from ages four to 11.
Stuart Bellworthy, CEO of Connect Academy Trust said:
“We are delighted to be bringing this national award back to Devon in recognition of the fantastic new ocean conservation curriculum work that has been written in partnership between our teachers, scientists and marine organisations in Plymouth. This new ocean curriculum offers children really exciting ways to learn about the ocean, its importance to our planet and what they can do to protect it in future.”
The new curriculum will be taught across all eight schools in the Trust and this week, children at Leigham Primary are studying the Ocean in all their classes –through experiences from science to art and English to geography.
For example, children in Nursery and Reception will be looking at Julia Donaldson’s book, ‘The Snail and the Whale’, then learning about how humans can affect the Ocean environment and the impact this can have, such as whales getting beached. Contrastingly, children in Year 5 will be debating how renewable energy can be used in the UK and the effect this could have on the rising temperature of the ocean.
32 children in key stage 2 (years 3-6) are having an ocean science lesson during a boat trip of Plymouth Sound. The children are all ‘Ocean champions’, selected to represent their class because of their passion for the environment and Ocean conservation. The boat trip, on Silverline Cruise’s Silver Crest, is possible thanks to SouthWest Seadream Education’s project to help local communities celebrate their local maritime heritage, using National Lottery Heritage Funding.