The revised Primary Curriculum promotes the use of trails and fieldwork in children’s education. Fieldwork is working in the open environment. A trail is a local study. It can be carried out anywhere – indoors or outdoors. It is activity based and can be relevant to any curriculum subject. In Maths and in Science we find that there are numerous rich learning opportunities, living and non-living, that can be found in our surrounding environment, such as the school playground, the local shopping centre, the local park, the foreshore, the local sports ground, the local wood, the city museum/art gallery, to name a few.
In SESE Geography a trail is an organised or structured walk for the purpose of observing and exploring different aspects of the built and natural environment. It focuses on specific points of interest so that a field study is engaging, age-appropriate, and beneficial to pupils and teachers.