County children benefit from farmyard experience

Pupils in Worcestershire are swapping the classroom for the farmyard as part of an innovative partnership project between Worcestershire County Council and Care Farming West Midlands.

The council's Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) in - Worcester and Kidderminster - have all joined forces with Care Farming West Midlands in a bid to further engage six to 16-year-olds in their education. 

By providing an alternative way of engaging in personal and skills development, care farms can support vulnerable children to develop self esteem, confidence, basic skills and access qualifications training.

Carole Caligari, Worcestershire County Council's Operational Manager for Behaviour, said: "Care farming is a relatively new concept in the UK so we are really leading the way with this innovative partnership here in Worcestershire.

"Children who are being provided for at a PRU, either full time or part time, are offered this additional support as part of their educational provision, which has already resulted in numerous positive outcomes. This unique partnership not only contributes to their learning targets and objectives, but also accredited Key Stage Three and Four awards.

"We're really hoping care farming continues to take off and is rolled out further not just in the county, but the country."

The care farms involved in the partnership are: Longlands Farm at Whitbourne; Action Mill Farm at Suckley and Nineveh Ridge Care Farm, near Clee Hill.

Jon Dover, Care Farming West Midlands Policy Manager, said: “We are delighted that the huge potential of care farming is becoming more widely recognised, especially within those at the leading edge of service innovation to tackle exclusion. Worcestershire schools are leading the way in the UK by working with care farmers. Excluded pupils benefit from the meaningful training in a peaceful environment. This leads to longer term social and economic benefits for families, communities and wider society”.

Care farming is seen as a way of dealing positively with student exclusion, anti-social behaviour and youth offending, which can often be interlinked. In all cases, there is evidence that early prevention – such as care farming – can prevent an escalation in these behaviours and block the pathway to more serious criminal offences.