Farm Education Centre - Open Again!
The Farm Education Centre at Greatworth Hall has been very quiet for the last 18 months. In that time, Rosie Jeffries, who runs the centre, has had a baby and the break has not been wholly unwelcome! That said, we are all very much to getting things up and running again.
Although quieter, we have not been closed completely. In spring/summer 2021, we had three school visits. We had a local school visit for a day with EYFS, this school have been visiting for years and are a pleasure to have on the farm. The children got up to all sorts of outdoor activities when they visited in May!
We also were visited by a group of Year 3 pupils from a Northampton school whom have never been before. It was an excellent day with children who are unused to spending lots of time in the countryside. The teachers were really pleased with our balance of school-learning with fun activities. We had really positive feedback, which is always lovely to hear, particularly after a year off!
And finally, our local village primary school brought Year 5 and Year 6 students for a forest schools after school visit. Each year they camp out and look for something fun to do with the children before bedtime. Coming over to the farm and enjoying a forest schools session is always a winner with the children! It has been lovely to get back to it and we’re very excited for the new academic year.
This year, we have our open days to the public once again and we are restarting our partnership programme with schools that want to visit regularly. We will be working with LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) to get more inner city schools on the farm. And we will hopefully be using a pond for some of our work too! The biggest challenge is that, while Covid has stopped everything, HS2 have made a significant start to work on our land. The land that was close by and easy to access with children has been purchased by HS2 and we will now be using the other side of the road for some of our visits. However, we believe that with good staff levels and hi-vis jackets it will be possible and we will adapt to accommodate these changes.
If your school is interested in bringing a class out to our farm then please contact Rosie via rosie@greatworthhall.com