Teach Primary Issue 18.4

Who are Farms for City Children? Farms for City Children is a charity established in 1976 by children’s writer Sir Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare, who identified the need for children and young people from urban areas across the country to overcome the obstacles that prevented them from having access to the countryside. Since then, we have welcomed over 100,000 children to Nethercott House in Devon, Lower Treginnis Farm in Pembrokeshire, and Wick Court in Gloucestershire to have one of the most memorable and empowering weeks of their childhood. Operating now both in term time, and non- term weeks, we support over 3300 young people each year to enjoy a life-changing, immersive residential for up to 39 children aged between 8-19 and 5 accompanying adults over a Monday- Friday visit. We welcome children and young people from city, rural, and coastal communities across England and Wales from primary, secondary, and FE colleges, particularly focusing on serving those communities with high levels of deprivation and disadvantage. What does Farms for City Children offer? Farms for City Children exists to remove the barriers that prevent children and young people having meaningful access to the natural world. Through our food, farming, and nature-connected wellbeing offer, we strive to empower the next generation to experience the physical and mental health benefits of being in the countryside, and to see themselves as the custodians of our land for generations to come. A residential stay on one of our stunning heritage farms offers children and young people the opportunity to participate in seasonal cliff edges and stunning beaches, or night-time observations of bats and stars, are just a taste of what is on offer each day. At the farms, children learn where their food comes from on a field > farm > fork journey. They grow, harvest, prepare and cook their own food, which improves children’s food choices, increases their consumption of fresh, locally produced meat, fruit and vegetables which can help them develop longer term commitments to leading a healthier life. Children learn to be mindful and notice their environment. They learn to take responsibility for themselves, each other and their animals and land. With no technology on site, their analogue imaginations are liberated, and they enjoy arts and craft activities, mindfulness and storytelling sessions by the fire pit and inventing and playing games together, interacting in a way that only children can – with total abandon! Being on the farm gives each child or young person that space to just be. With reduced stress levels, increased freedom, and more meaningful interactions and connections, children return home with greater resilience and an enormous sense of pride as a result of being a “Farmer for a Week.” How do I make a booking to bring my school to Farms for City Children? If you think this sounds like the experience you have always wanted to offer your pupils, please do get in touch to discuss how we can bring this inspiring experience to your school community. Farms for City Children Donna Marie Edmonds For further information, look at our website, social media channels, or speak to our sales team bookings@farmsforcitychildren.org or phone 01392 276678 farming tasks alongside experienced farm teams and partner farmers. A holistic offer of outdoor education activities induces personal and social development achieved through profound connections between peers and their teachers. The health and wellbeing benefits of sustained physical activity and consumption of nutritious, locally produced, and home-cooked food grown and prepared by the children themselves, results in a nurtured and empowered young person, ready to return to school and home with new grit, growth mindset, and a set of valuable transferable life skills. What is the impact on children and teachers who visit? The impact of a week in wellies is wide-ranging and profound. In addition to gains made in learning and links to curriculum subjects, teacher feedback tells us that the week stimulates bonds between the children that endure in the classroom upon return to school. Benefits include significant changes to behaviour, attendance and punctuality, and levels of confidence and engagement. Teachers tell us that children are more curious, courageous, and compassionate because of the week on the farm, and that these character developments permeate the school and family setting when children return home. Additionally, children experience a deep connection to nature, a sense of their own social and moral responsibility to be stewards of our planet, and an emerging feeling of agency in visualising a future for themselves that involves remaining in contact with nature beyond their visit. What do children learn? Days start early and, whilst the cycle of the seasons and vagaries of the weather ensure that each day is different, there is a reassuring routine and structure to life on the farm. The animals must be looked after before breakfast; stalls need mucking out, new bedding laid, goats milked, cattle and sheep stock checked, eggs collected, and seeds sown. Long walks in the countryside, taking in the sights of hedgerows, riverbanks, farmsforcitychildren farmersforaweek farmsforcitychildren