DairyCo

Farm Visits

Published 20 August 09

Below are links to the main organisations in the UK dedicated to developing links between schools and farms. Some of the organisations listed can help your school organise visits to a farm in your area.

www.face-online.org.uk
FACE is a registered charity with the aim to educate children and young people about food and farming in a sustainable countryside.

www.farmsforschools.org.uk
FFS aims to ensure that school trips to farms are safe, enjoyable and educationally worthwhile. All FFS members meet the required standards in the provision of facilities and educational resources for farm visits. These include Health and Safety, current employer liability insurance and adequate toilet and hand washing facilities. Livestock on farms have to be attended by a vet at regular intervals.

www.teachernet.gov.uk/Growingschools
Growing Schools is a government programme which aims to encourage and inspire all schools (nursery, primary, secondary and special) to use the outdoor classroom, both with and beyond the school grounds, as a context for learning across the curriculum. It focuses in particular on food, farming and the countryside.

www.rhet.org.uk
RHET aims to create opportunity for each child in Scotland to experience the countryside and to facilitate a wider understanding of the environmental, economic and social realities of rural Scotland. Key activities include farm visits, classroom speaker visits, resource production and a number of high profile national competitions.

www.face-cymru.org.uk
Face-cymru aims to educate school children about food and farming issues. This new bilingual website is a one- stop online resource to bring agriculture closer to the classroom. There is an online database of Welsh farmers teachers can access to organise visits for their own school. Pupils can benefit from tailor-made educational resources that explain complex issues clearly and simply and gives them a better understanding about where there food comes from and how it is produced.

www.thinkfoodandfarming.org.uk
Think Food and Farming is the exciting legacy project building on the successes of the Year of Food and Farming. So much has been achieved, particularly at a regional level, that we want to continue to promote these vibrant activities and links which are helping children and young people to understand more about where our food comes from and to involve them in memorable first hand learning experiences.

www.leafuk.org
Open Farm Sunday is an annual event that gives everyone the opportunity to meet the farmers who grow their food and care for the countryside. Organised by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming),

We hope schools will continue to take part in growing and cooking activities and visits to farms for the opportunity to:

• Find out how food is grown and produced

• Explore why food, and how we produce it, matters

• Make informed choices about food and healthy nutrition

• Discover what happens on a real-life farm

• Experience what the countryside can offer

• Learn more about environmental issues linked to food and the countryside

Think Food and Farming activities and resources will promote curriculum teaching and other memorable hands-on learning experiences. Taking part will help schools achieve the Healthy Schools Standard, Eco Schools status and also supports the Learning Outside the Classroom manifesto. Partner organisations will provide memorable opportunities to engage young people of all ages in many parts of the curriculum including PSHE, Science, Design and Technology and Geography.
For more information visit www.thinkfoodandfarming.org.uk.