Schools and the RHS
Schools Membership Scheme
We are no longer taking applications for School Membership as we are replacing it with an improved, more actively engaging Campaign for School Gardening. To join this new scheme you must register your details online from September. Registration is free of charge.
Once you have registered you will receive a starter pack and have access to many resources on-line that will help you develop and use your school garden. Resources will include information on how to grow certain crops, lesson plans and a model risk assessment for using your school garden. You will receive electronically updated news and other items of interest instead of a printed newsletter. A discount for registered schools will be given for RHS Continuing Professional Development (CPD) days. Once a year you will be able to take part in the Schools Seed Distribution Scheme and select ten packets of seed collected at Wisley.
To encourage and support you in the development of your school garden we are introducing a quality benchmarking process of good gardening practice. We would like you to assess the current level of gardening within your school. As you enter the website you will be asked a number of simple questions and given a series of answers to select from.
Once you have completed the self-assessment questions, a level will be assigned to reflect the current position of gardening in your school. The levels are:
- 1. Getting Started
2. Developing Confidence
3. Implementing
4. Sharing best practice
5. Celebrating
Rewards will be given for achieving each level. To prove you have reached a level, you will need to send in evidence such as photographs and children’s writing. The rewards will include free seeds, children’s gardening tools, posters, gardening books, free places on RHS CPD days, whole school CPD, a paid for trip to an RHS garden or a visit from an RHS member of staff to your school.
A children’s area will be available incorporating exciting interactive games. These will address issues such as ‘safety in the garden’ and ‘garden design’.
Before July, if you’d like to receive the latest newsletter please email school@rhs.org.uk with your school address and we will post it to you or download a previous newsletter from the links below.
Newsletters
You can view examples of our newsletters (in Adobe Acrobat pdf format) by clicking on the links below.
Summer 2007 (2.3MB)
Spring 2007 (Issue 22) (797KB)
Autumn 2006 (Issue 21) (831KB)
Summer 2006 (Issue 20) (1.2MB)
Spring 2006 (Issue 19) (992KB)
Autumn 2005 (Issue 18) (1.04KB)
Summer 2005 (Issue 17) (1.18KB)
Spring 2005 (Issue 16) (2.55MB)
Autumn 2004 (Issue 15) (1.48MB)
Summer 2004 (Issue 14) (595KB)
Spring 2004 (Issue 13) (5.47MB)
Autumn 2003 (Issue 12) (449KB)
Summer 2003 (Issue 11) (693KB)
Spring 2003 (Issue 10) (6.17MB)
Autumn 2002 (Issue 9) (661KB)
Summer 2002 (Issue 8) (560KB)
Spring 2002 (Issue 7) (635KB)
Autumn 2001 (Issue 6) (678KB)
Summer 2001 (Issue 5) (409KB)
Spring 2001 (Issue 4) (430KB)
Autumn 2000 (Issue 3) (900KB)
Summer 2000 (Issue 2) (4MB)
Seed Distribution Scheme
School and Family Learning, with the help of colleagues from the Seed Department at RHS Garden Wisley, is able to offer free seeds to School Members in January and February. A carefully selected list of plants has been put together to encourage both teachers and their pupils to sow seeds and watch them germinate and grow. The list includes annuals, biennials and perennials as well as trees and shrubs. It is hoped that children will learn, through practical experience, those conditions necessary for their seeds and plants to survive and thrive.
Further information on the Seed Distribution Scheme