Turning a Garden into a Curriculum – Our Growing Curriculum

At Norbury Manor Primary School, our garden is much more than an outdoor space. It is a living classroom where pupils learn to grow, care for, observe, harvest and use food.

Our Growing Curriculum is closely linked to our Design and Technology food curriculum. Every year group, from Nursery to Year 6, has its own growing box and takes responsibility for growing different fruit, vegetables and herbs. What pupils grow has been deliberately linked, wherever possible, to the food and nutrition learning taking place in their year group. This helps children understand the journey from seed, to plant, to harvest, to plate.

Our planting calendar provides progression in gardening skills as children move through the school. Younger pupils begin by planting seeds and identifying parts of plants, while older pupils learn increasingly sophisticated skills such as preparing growing areas, understanding what plants need to thrive, tending plots, weeding and fertilising.

From Garden to Table

Our year-group growing boxes make gardening part of the planned curriculum rather than an occasional activity. For example, Year 1's Dip and Dippers DT unit is linked to growing carrots and beetroot; Year 2's Sensational Saladsincludes potatoes and carrots; Year 3's Great Bread links with onions and herbs; Year 4's Edible Garden includes tomatoes, basil and parsley; and Year 5's Super Seasonal learning includes radishes and broad beans.

Through these experiences, pupils learn where food comes from, how seasons affect what can be grown and harvested, and why healthy and sustainable food choices matter. They experience the patience and responsibility involved in caring for something over time — and the considerable excitement of finally being able to eat something they have grown themselves!

Our Growing Curriculum

The calendar also sets out when crops should be sown and harvested, so children experience gardening across the seasons rather than simply planting during the summer term.

Gardening Throughout the Year

Our garden continues to be used even when it is not the main growing season. Our Mindful Gardening programme includes seasonal activities throughout the school year.

Children might sow overwintering vegetables, make compost from fallen leaves, build homes for insects and hedgehogs, make bird feeders, investigate worms and soil, sow wildflowers or explore colour and natural materials through art In the spring and summer, pupils tend, support and harvest crops, manage compost, conserve water and use harvested produce as inspiration for food and menu design.

This means that gardening supports not only Design and Technology and Science, but also wellbeing, creativity, environmental awareness, responsibility and problem-solving.

Mindful Gardening

Our garden is also an important part of our nurture and wellbeing provision. It provides a calm, purposeful outdoor environment for our Mindful Gardening intervention, giving pupils opportunities to work alongside an adult or other children while taking part in practical, manageable tasks.

Planting, watering, weeding and caring for the garden can provide a different route into engagement for pupils who benefit from learning beyond the classroom. This complements our wider commitment to nurture and inclusive provision. Current DfE guidance also recognises the importance of accessible provision beyond the classroom and of environments that can flexibly support pupils' emotional regulation and additional needs.

From Egg to Chicken

Our chickens are another very special part of life at Norbury Manor.

They did not simply arrive at school — we raised them from eggs as part of Nursery's learning about eggs and hatching. Children were able to observe first-hand how a living creature develops and changes, bringing their learning to life.

The chickens have remained part of our school community and provide continuing opportunities for pupils to learn about life cycles, animal care, responsibility, food production and the natural world. Caring for them helps children understand that food does not simply appear on a supermarket shelf and encourages discussion about where our food comes from and how animals should be cared for.

Meet our chickens

Growing Our Garden with School Food Matters

The development of our Growing Curriculum was made possible with support from School Food Matters. We were delighted to receive a grant which enabled us to redevelop the garden and purchase the growing boxes that are now used by each year group.

That investment has helped us transform the space into a sustainable curriculum resource used for teaching, food growing, enrichment and wellbeing.

Why Gardening Matters

Gardening gives children something that cannot always be recreated inside a classroom: the opportunity to learn through real experiences.

Our pupils have to observe, predict, measure, solve problems, wait, adapt when things do not go to plan and work collaboratively. They see that successful growing requires consistency and care. Sometimes seeds flourish; sometimes they don't — and both experiences provide opportunities for learning.

Through our Growing Curriculum, pupils develop:

• Curriculum knowledge – making practical connections with Science, Design and Technology, food and nutrition.
• Healthy food knowledge – understanding where food comes from and how it is grown.
• Environmental responsibility – caring for plants, wildlife, soil and the wider environment.
• Practical skills – sowing, planting, using tools, tending, harvesting and preparing produce.
• Personal development – patience, teamwork, responsibility, resilience and problem-solving.
• Wellbeing – experiencing a calm outdoor environment and the satisfaction of caring for and growing something over time.

At Norbury Manor, we don't just teach children about the natural world – we give them a part of it to look after.