Evaluation Report 2016-17 - Country Trust...values of classroom based learning and also to inspire, empower and broaden the horizons of children with very limited opportunities. We

Farm Discovery Visits Evaluation Report 2016-17

Prepared by Kay Whitfield

Farm Discovery Manager, The Country Trust

August 2017

Farm Discovery Visits Evaluation – page 1

Background

Since 1978 The Country Trust has been making it possible for hundreds of volunteer famers and landowners to welcome thousands of disadvantaged children from all backgrounds and faiths onto their farms every year, to share their passion for food, farming and the countryside. We are currently active in 11 areas of England and Wales including London, Hampshire, the Home Counties, East Anglia, East Midlands, West Midlands, North Wales, Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire and Northumberland. Each year around 25,000 children learn and grow through the following three connected Country Trust programmes:

- Farm and Countryside Discovery day visits to real working farms - Countryside Discovery residential visits - Yearlong Food Discovery programmes exploring every aspect of growing, cooking and

even selling food.

Our carefully planned range of activities are structured to underpin the knowledge, skills and values of classroom based learning and also to inspire, empower and broaden the horizons of children with very limited opportunities.

We aim to work with children who have the least opportunity to visit the working countryside, sharing knowledge, igniting curiosity and broadening horizons. We target schools with a higher than average percentage of children eligible for Free School Meals (Ever6 national average 25.4%), as well as schools providing for children with Special Educational Needs.

Context

Hands on visits to real working farms and estates are at the heart of our work, and every year,

we make it possible for hundreds of volunteer farmers and landowners to welcome thousands of

disadvantaged children from all backgrounds and faiths onto their farms to share their passion

for food, farming and the countryside. With our farmer hosts, we are able to provide hands on

learning, answer questions and give unique access to crops and livestock. Farm Discovery visits

are also a key part of our other two key strands of work: immersive Countryside Discovery

residential visits and yearlong Food Discovery programmes exploring every aspect of growing,

cooking and even selling food.

Background detail

This evaluation covers Farm Discovery visits that took place during the 2016-17 academic year –

September 2016 to July 2017. The visits are provided free of charge to schools, with schools

responsible for transport arrangements and costs, unless a transport subsidy is available. The

majority of visits are for one class, though this year with an increase in our provision for

children with SEN/D there were more small group visits. With many schools increasing in size,

we have also hosted larger groups if the farm facilities, and our staff support can accommodate

them safely and to the same high standards.

446 visits took place with 15,884 mostly primary aged children visiting real working farms, of

these 21 were Hampshire estate days which were attended by 89 schools and 2856 children.

In addition to this 26 farm visits took place as part of our Food Discovery programme and 36 as

part of our Residential programme, these have been included in the relevant evaluation reports.


We have increased the number of children visiting farms through our Farm Discovery programme

by approximately 15% in comparison to 2015/16 (excluding Food Discovery and Residential visits)

The table below is an overview of our impact across the country

Area No of visits No of children

The North inc N Wales 249 7994

The Midlands 91 2321

The South 114 7212

In addition to this, in the NE Region, there were 22 visits into schools to deliver farmer-led

talks, work-shops and assemblies to 2021 children.

Methodology

Teachers

Farm Discovery co-ordinators ask teachers to complete a feedback form after all of our visits.

We have seen that a higher return rate is achieved when forms are completed and returned

before the visit ends and this is now recommended practice.

This report is based on the feedback from 384 teachers - a return rate of 78% - which is greatly

increased from last year and exceeds our target of 65%.

Following on from last year’s evaluation we adapted the questions slightly to try and

align them more closely with our outcomes.

We added in a new question to ask if the visits had helped teachers feel more confident

in using the countryside as a learning resource to enhance their teaching.

We modified the question asking if children had enjoyed the visit to ask if the children’s

enjoyment of the day had increased their learning

We added a question asking teachers if they felt this was an experience most of the

children would not normally have.

The quality of the visit was measured on a scale of 1 – 6 with 1 being poor and 6 being excellent.

The impact the visit had on children was measured on a scale of 1 – 4 with 1 being strongly

disagree and 4 being strongly agree.

13 of our visits were evaluated separately as part of the Discover Warburtons Wheat programme.

Farmers

Last year we identified that we wanted to extend our evaluation to include feedback from our

host farmers. This year we trialled a reasonably detailed form which we envisage our hosts

completing with our coordinators once a year. We received 13 farmer evaluations and do not

feel this is a large enough sample to be representative. We will work to get a viable return rate

for next year.


Outcomes

The difference the CT is trying to make:

Our outcomes:

Children, their parent helpers and teachers are more knowledgeable and more aware of food, farming and the countryside

More farmers are able to share their love and passion for what they do

Children are more engaged with formal education as a result of increased ‘real world’ and interactive learning experiences

Children are better able to make informed decisions about the food that they eat.

Children feel more responsible for their own and the wider environment

Children have more opportunities to develop and display non-cognitive skills, to experience patience, wonder and success

Children feel more at home in the countryside and greenspace

More teachers see the potential of countryside as a learning resource and feel more confident to use it to enhance their teaching

Summary of results

446 Farm Discovery Visits took place with 15,884 children

97% of visits were rated by teachers as very good or excellent in terms of organisation

and delivery

99% of visits were rated by teachers as being very good or excellent in terms of Health

and Safety

99% of teachers agreed that the farm visit was an experience most of their children

would not normally have

Teachers unanimously agreed that children gained confidence in being outdoors and in

the countryside during their visit

98% of teachers felt children left their visit with a better understanding of how and

where their food is produced

All teachers felt that children’s enjoyment of their visit had increased their interest in

learning

99% of teachers felt their reluctant learners had the opportunity to engage with their

visit

After their visit, all teachers felt more confident in using the countryside as a learning

resource to enhance their teaching


Detail

Teachers were asked to rate the quality of their visit and a summary of their results is shown

below:

Very poor

Poor Satisfactory Good Very Good

Excellent

Communication and information received prior to the visit

-

-

-

2%

10%

89%

The organisation and delivery of the visit

-

-

-

3%

11%

86%

Health and safety on the visit

-

-

-

1%

9%

90%

Communication prior to the visit

Farm Discovery co-ordinators make contact with teachers before the visit to let them know what

opportunities are available, arrange dates, offer pre-visits and then e-mail confirmation details

including health and safety guidance. Teachers were very satisfied with this with 99% of

teachers rating this as very good or excellent and 89% as excellent. This is an increase from 95%

and 81% last year.

“Dave has been fabulous with communicating with me throughout the whole process”

Teacher in Midlands

"Pre visit communication was excellent and the class were made to feel very welcome during the visit" Iain Matthews, Our Lady’s Catholic Academy

“Although the farmer cancelled the day before the trip I was impressed with the service.

Suzanne contacted me straight away with an alternative. The communication has been

excellent throughout the planning process.” Carlie McEvoy, Sacred Heart

Organisation and delivery of the visit

Teachers felt the visits were organised to a high standard with 97% of teachers rating the

organisation and delivery of their visit as very good or excellent and 86% rating it as excellent.

There are a number of unknowns on visits: extreme weather, either wet, cold, windy or hot,

children reacting to situations in unexpected ways; things happening on the farm that hadn’t

been planned for and our co-ordinators regularly adapt to these situations to make each visit a

success.

“We just love this trip! Thank you - a brilliant day with great organisation and activities”

Teacher in Midlands


“Trip was amazing. Thoroughly enjoyed by adults and children. Impressive organisation from

start to finish” M Johnson, Bilston Primary

“I am amazed at how good it all was. Anna's organisation was faultless, and she used every

opportunity to share her knowledge and experience of outdoor learning”

Alistair Juckes, Viewley Hill

“Really well organised. Informative. Perfectly pitched for the age of the children. A fabulous experience for the children and staff. Thank you.” Larkspur Primary School “Excellent day had by all. Planned to meet our needs and what we were doing in the classroom. Hands on experience for the children. Well informed about the surrounding area.” Olivia Staniland, Whitecote Primary “I really cannot think of any improvements which could be made. The day was so well targeted at our small but diverse group of students with severe ASD. Jo even managed to tweak things on the day to adapt to changing needs of our students, moving activities around and adjusting timings to suit. Huge thanks to Jo, she was amazing!” The Forum School

Health and Safety during visits

Teachers were satisfied with the Health and Safety (H & S) on their visit with 99% of teachers

rating this as very good or excellent and 90% as excellent. This is an increase on 95% and 81%

last year. H & S is of upmost importance when taking children to real working farms and we

have embedded a strong, safety culture across the Country Trust. We give regular H & S

briefings and update our risk assessments to reflect any new potential risks that come to our

attention. Teachers are offered the opportunity to explore potential risks and how they will be

mitigated during a pre-visit and co-ordinators prepare their own activity and site specific risk

assessments when appropriate and share these with the schools.

“An enjoyable visit - well planned, very safe for the children” Teacher Becket Primary

“Thank you for adapting the activities to the very wet conditions”

Debbie Murphy, Becket Primary

“An enjoyable and engaging session which placed children's learning needs and concern for

health, hygiene and safety at the fore front.” Sue Kirk, Newland St John

“The farm is so clean and the animals so well kept, it felt a really safe place to allow the

children to have some freedom as well as being very accessible to children with additional

needs” Jac Beedham, Wheatcroft Community Primary School

“A lovely day for learners with BESD and Autism with a safe area for learners to be given their own space when needed. All staff involved were really good with the learners especially when they were displaying challenging behaviour” F Richards, St Christophers

When we have any scores of less than 5 we ask co-ordinators to follow up with the teacher

concerned and find out more. This year, five teachers gave a score of 4 (out of 6) and the

outcome of our review of their feedback, as well as any reported incidents and near misses,


have been used to update our Risk Assessments and has fed into Health and Safety briefings for

co-ordinators. We are also benchmarking best practice against other similar charities.

Curriculum Links

Of the 322 teachers who responded to this question 93% said they had been given the

opportunity to link to the areas of the curriculum they are studying. This gives us confidence

that we are helping to bring classroom learning to life.

“Due to our catchment being from inner-city, it was a wonderful opportunity for our children to generally just see the countryside. It enabled children to fully understand the little red hen story we were studying in a real life context.” Isabel Heslop, EYFS leader, Mansel Park Primary “It is a wonderful opportunity for our children to see a contrasting environment and to really experience the countryside. The language and the activities all enrich and stimulate children and we will paint, write, draw and recount our visit.” Carol Roberts, Lings Primary School “During the visit itself Will and his sons delivered information on farming in general and their farm with passion at a level suitable for the class who were kept engaged throughout the visit. The children found the environment stimulating and the visit was used as the foundation of lessons in maths, English and science following our visit.” Iain Matthews, Our Lady’s Catholic Academy “The children thoroughly enjoyed cheese tasting and making butter, which contributed to their understanding on their topic of solids, liquid and gases. The trip to the farm was a very valuable experience for the children, as it is an environment that they are unfamiliar with. They enjoyed watching the cows being milked and meeting the calves. We were all very grateful to dairy farmer, Steve Cox, for understanding of the story of milk. Since coming back to school, the children have had such enthusiasm for the start of our new topic, and this would not have been achieved without the time and effort given by the Country Trust to arrange this experience.” Joanne Edwards, Millbrook Primary

Our Impact

We want our visits to

give children an experience they would not normally have had

help children gain confidence in the countryside

give them a better understanding of how and where their food is produced.

increase their interest in learning through their enjoyment of the day

give reluctant learners the opportunity to engage

This year we have also increased the number of visits for children with Special Educational

Needs and Disabilities (SEN/D). Some teachers provided qualitative feedback on the impact of

the visits for these children but we haven’t as yet evaluated their feedback separately.


This was an experience most of the children would not normally have

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

This was an experience most of the children would notnormally have

Children have gained confidence in being outdoors andin the countryside

Children have a better understanding of how and wheretheir food is produced

The children's enjoyment of the day increased theirinterest in learning

Reluctant learners had the opportunity to engage

Teachers agreement with statements where 4 is strongly agree and 1 is strongly disagree

1 2 3 4


The majority of the children who come on our farm visits live in built up areas and rarely, if ever, get the opportunity to go out into the countryside with their families. Our farm visits not only get them out into the countryside but also provide a unique chance to spend time on a real working farm. 98% of teachers thought that the children’s visit was an experience most of the children would not normally have with 90% of them strongly agreeing. Here are some of the thoughts from teachers: “I was aware that some of the children had never been so close to a working farm, and this showed in their amazement during the activities that they were able to participate in.” Darren Amena, Franche Primary “It was fantastic and the children, parents and staff commented on the children's enthusiasm for talking about the day. One parent even said that the way her very shy, little boy had come home and couldn't stop talking about what we had been doing, brought tears to her eyes!” Jac Beedham, Wheatcroft Community Primary “A really wonderful experience for our children as they don't often get experience of this type of environment. Children became a lot more confident with the animals as the day continued” R Rehman, Holycroft Primary “Third consecutive year - fantastic as always. Enjoyable and relevant, particularly for inner-city children with little rural experience! Thank you!” Robin Ershine, West Denton Primary “Our children do not have the opportunity to go to farms and the countryside; this was the first time for most. Their learning was fantastic and tailored to our curriculum and planning. Children were all really engaged and writing afterwards was of very high quality. Children got the chance to exercise in the countryside and ask any relevant questions alongside their targeted learning. Hands on learning really benefits all of our children.” Claire Kent, Kane Hill Primary “Thank you very much for enriching the lives of the children who visit the farm, it is an experience that very few of them will ever have. This was a comment from one of my boys on the journey back to school "Mrs Fraser this is the best day in my whole life!" He's only 4 but obviously had a very enjoyable and memorable day.” Thomas Bewick Campus, NCEA, Ashington A child in the North West let us know "My favourite part was looking at your peaceful lambs sitting down quietly in your wonderful green grass."

Children have gained confidence in being outside and in the countryside

We often find especially younger children are not confident walking on uneven, possibly muddy terrains, are nervous about picking up things like Autumn leaves and windfall apples and need some guidance and support in how to truly engage with the new environment that is around them. It takes some children time to work up the courage to get close to farm animals and they feel this is a real achievement.


All teachers bar one felt that the children they had brought on a farm visit had gained in

confidence being outdoors and in the countryside, with 83% strongly agreeing that this was the

case.

Teachers shared these thoughts:

“They have become more confident in dealing with animals, being around them and knowing more about things like what food they eat and how a sheep is sheered. They all loved stroking and being near the animals.” Isabell Tear, Rosewood Freeschool “One of our pupils came to England from Sri Lanka a couple of years ago. He hadn't had much interaction with farm animals and he went from not wanting to feed the chickens to picking them up and not wanting to leave them!” Emily Wiggins, Oakley Junior School “Discussion about the benefits and delights of living in the countryside and opportunities to explore the environment that they are unfamiliar with (as we are a town school, most children live in flats with limited green areas) Also realising that they are not very far from the countryside and the benefits of being immersed in nature are huge”. Mrs Suzette Pearce, St Nicolas Junior School “One boy had lots of countryside allergies. He was very scared at first. When getting on the bus, he said "you know miss, I've learnt that I'm not scared of the countryside anymore. I survived." Miss Scott, Sacred Heart “Our class makes three - four visits per year. This enhances children's understanding of seasonal changes on the farm. It also builds their confidence, as they become familiar with Broxfield Farm and with David Thompson. Monty the dog is now a firm favourite!” Susan Jackson, West Newcastle Academy

Children have a better understanding of how and where their food is produced


As well as gaining confidence in being in outdoors in the countryside, the children (and teachers) who come on our visits get to spend time on a real working farm asking the farmer questions, in some cases helping with farm jobs such as collecting eggs and harvesting fruits and vegetables. They will often go on a farm walk getting a sense of scale, walking through fields of crops and seeing grain stores full after harvest. By the end of the visit many feel a real connection with the farm and what food is being produced there and don’t want to leave! During the last year we have been working to ensure that as many visits as possible include a focus on food production. 98% of teachers felt that their visit had given children a better understanding of where their food comes from with 84% strongly agreeing - up 9% from last year. “The trip has been the perfect introduction to our geography unit about where our food comes from and has engaged the children with the unit much more than would have been possible without the trip.” Rebecca Moss, Cottage Grove Primary School

“Children were engaged and had first-hand experience of being in fields, talking about crops, naming crops” Teacher, Beccles Primary “It was a great hands-on experience for the children which allowed them to become more aware of where our food comes from and what countryside really looks like. They really enjoyed tasting different fruits and making their own flour. It was an unforgettable experience for them.” Agata Glonek, Canon Barnett Primary School “Really enjoyed being at the farm. Children are exposed to a new environment that a lot wouldn't normally get to see. Lots of misconceptions addressed and new knowledge imparted.” J Taylor, Bay Primary School And one child from the North West let the farmer know "Your strawberries are the best strawberries I have ever tasted". The children’s enjoyment of the day increased their interest in learning


We aim to address the poverty of opportunity experienced by many children from low income families, and to help them build a rich bank of experiences vital to language, literacy, social relationships, self-esteem and aspirations. Enjoying an activity is key to engagement, to boosting self-confidence, and to a sense of well-being. Resilient children have a bank of happy memories, and experiences of success to draw on when faced with change, challenges, or failure.

Teachers unanimously agreed that children’s enjoyment of the day increased their interest in learning with 89% strongly agreeing.

Here are what teachers thought about how children’s enjoyment impacted on their experience and learning:

“The awe and wonder as the potatoes were dug out of the ground. That salad leaves don't

originate from the supermarket. The freedom to run in a big open space. The excitement of

milled flour. Making connections between wheat and barley with their breakfast cereals. "Real

sheep"!!! Understanding the difference between (by feeling/touching) fur/feathers. Being able

to feed the chickens - for one boy in particular who was afraid at first and then slowly gained

the confidence to do it himself.” Sue Doyle, St Lawrence C of E Primary

“Pupils are much more engaged and motivated when they are actively involved and learning is brought to life. Pupils are much more likely to remember what they have seen/touched/been involved with and have more interest and enthusiasm to continue to learn. This 'real life' learning has a much more positive impact on engaging pupils with their learning and making them think more carefully about the choices they make, and the responsibility they have. They also become more confident as their interest is stimulated and they don't feel so self-conscious outside the classroom” Sam Benham, Moyles Court

“Many of the pupils were inspired to learn more about working on an Estate - there was no

shortage of questions. One of the themes/topics we have on our year 5 curriculum is 'Harvest',

so the trip was very relevant. The trip enabled lots of hands on learning opportunities, perfect

for reluctant learners. As well as engaging reluctant learners, it was also a very valuable

experience for our more able children who had lots of technical questions about each activity.”

Dermot Toal, John Rankin Junior School

“The whole day was relevant to the curriculum. Whilst children had a fun day they also learnt a lot!” D Long, Sacred Heart “The children did not stop laughing all day and it was great to enjoy the experiences with them.” Jac Beedham Wheatcroft Community Primary “This was a wonderful day that all of the children enjoyed wholeheartedly. They continued to talk about what they saw and did that day for weeks after the visit!” Mrs Villalobos, St Lawrence's RC Primary School, Byker "It's so marvellous to give them space. Usually its "don't do this, don't do that" F Richards, St Christophers


And some thoughts from children in the North West: "I felt a tingle in my body when we arrived. I was so excited."

"Thank you for all the fun and freedom"

"I didn't want to leave your farm and your farm had inspired me to start farming when I'm older."

Reluctant learners had the opportunity to engage

We often find that children who find it hard to engage and concentrate in a classroom

environment are really engaged on a farm visit and comments such as “The boy with the worst

behaviour, who I was worried about has been the most engaged today" and “I'm just watching X.

He doesn't usually engage. He has been so engaged this morning." and “One child who struggles

to access curriculum in the classroom was engaged on the day.” Teacher, Brynteg

99% of teachers agreed that reluctant learners had the opportunity to engage with 86% strongly

agreeing.

“A child in my class who really struggles with formal learning was really engaged for most of

the day. My entire class came back really enthused about the countryside and the world

around them.” Lizzie Upton, Wherwell Primary


“We have some children who find it difficult to learn in the school environment - this was a perfect day for them in every way. They learnt a lot about farm life, and where their food comes from. I have been a teacher for over 15 years and been on many visits - but this was definitely the best trip I have ever done!” Julie Simpson, Sunnybank “The children really enjoyed the day. It was especially lovely to see reluctant learners gaining confidence and learning outside of the classroom. Both Kay and Jo were wonderful with the children and very knowledgeable.” L Gouldsbrough, Sandal Castle Primary

SEN/D groups

There has been a real interest from Country Trust co-ordinators in working more with groups of

children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEN/D) and we have had great

feedback about how the visits benefited them.


“I cannot fault any part of the experience. All the children from our school are dyslexic or dyspraxic and some have difficulties in concentration, however on Wednesday all the children were fully engaged and they responded by the hands-on experience of learning. Many commented that this was the best school trip that they had ever been on. They have shown a high level of interest in their follow up work.” Jane Gaudie, Chiltern Tutorial School “All of the pupils really enjoyed their day. Those that are verbal returned to school and shared lots of info about their day with their peers. In particular, one pupil who can have challenging behaviour and regularly disengages from learning stayed interested, on task and focussed all day so it was a really positive experience for him.” Lee Mead, Limington House School “Boys with ADHD had the opportunity to shine outside the classroom setting.” Sean Adams, Downland School

“An experience of a new, unfamiliar environment (yet still safe and controlled). A range of different and engaging opportunities that were accessible to all pupils in my class, several of whom are unable to read/write or access wider community or educational provisions due to varying forms of learning difficulty/disability. Overall, a fun and structured day that felt "busy" without being in any way stressful.” Craig McKay, Brookfields School

“A wonderful trip that impacted on our children's experiences and furthered their questioning and knowledge. The learning was pitched perfectly for our special needs children and made accessible through the clear sympathetic delivery and practical resources to aid understanding. We cannot thank you enough.” Carran Challinor, Flash Ley Primary

Teachers felt more confident using the countryside as a learning resource


All teachers felt more confident in using the countryside as a learning resource to enhance their

teaching in the future, which is not information we have previously captured. We hope this will

have a positive impact on the opportunities they feel confident to offer the children they teach

in future years.

Improving Quality

This year we developed a quality checklist with input from a wide range of staff and co-

ordinators at the Country Trust. This has been used during shadowing visits from the Senior

Leadership team and for peer to peer mentoring on visits. It includes a focus on quality of

delivery and also an opportunity to discuss how individual visits met our outcomes. Co-

ordinators have found this a helpful process and it should help to keep quality and impact to the

fore. We are also incorporating the checklist in our induction handbook for new co-ordinators.

Farmer visits into school

In the North East, thanks to David Thompson who, as well as working for the CT, is an organic

beef and cereal farmer, we have a well-established model of farmer visits into schools. The

visits give farmers the opportunity to share their love and passion for what they do to a larger

number of children, they inspire schools to bring their children out on farm visits, share with

them how food is grown on the farm and what life is like living and working on a farm. The

lesson-length talks and assemblies are a mix of information, facts and interactive activities and

cover food and farming topics such as seeds and plants used to make the food we eat, and

animals that give us food.

What some of the teachers said

“Loved the session, children engaged and reacted positively, full of relevant questions. Linked

closely to our science work.” M McGrory and S Nichols, Hudson Road School

“There was an opportunity for all children to share their own ideas about what they know

about the farm. Children showed great joy in seeing the wheat seeds and some children said

"they sound like rain" Children enjoyed seeing the different pictures of the farm during the

different seasons. Children enjoyed talking about Monty (the dog) and seeing pictures of him.

Children thoroughly enjoyed hearing about what happens after the calves are born.”

West Newcastle Academy

Unfortunately, we have not been able to develop the model in other areas of the country

perhaps as a result of farmer confidence, or the time required away from the farm.


Areas for development in the coming year

We would like to evaluate the larger estate days run by The Country Trust Hampshire team

separately to get a better understanding as to whether there is any difference in teacher

response or impact.

We would like to be able to look more specifically at our work with special needs groups, as it

stands we don’t have a way of knowing which feedback relates to these apart from specific

comments which highlight it.

The majority of co-ordinators (13) returned feedback forms for more than 80% of their visits. A

small minority had lower return rates that need to be significantly improved for next year. We

will work with these team members to support this process.

We introduced a farmer feedback form before the start of the spring season. Most members of

the team said they thought the best approach to gathering these in was to have an informal chat

with the host at the end of a season’s visits. Some co-ordinators have fed back that this

opportunity didn’t arise due to split site visits or other time pressures. Our Hampshire team

sent the questionnaires out to hosts after the visits and have received the best response rate.

The forms are quite involved and perhaps need simplifying - we will review our approach this

coming year.

We would like to develop a process to capture children’s thoughts on their visits. The NW team

captured some informal comments from children and sent them in with their feedback forms.

We will consider this as a team, as an approach to be rolled out more widely. We would also like

to look at the longevity of the impact of the visits, if we have the resource to do so.

There seems to have been an increased number of schools struggling to find transport costs and

we need to continue to build this into funding bids, increasing the amount asked for in some

areas e.g. the south/London.

We don’t have a full understanding of the take-up of pre-visits across the country, and whether

this has any effect on quality and impact.

Conclusions

Country Trust Farm Discovery Co-ordinators continue to deliver high quality, safe visits to real

working farms for the children least able to access the countryside with teachers scores on

quality remaining consistently as high as last year and in some cases increasing.

Schools felt that the visits had had a real impact on their pupils, increasing their confidence in

the countryside and their knowledge of how and where their food is produced. The children

really enjoyed their visits, the practical hands on activities and the opportunity to spend time

with the farmer. Teachers felt the pupils’ enjoyment in the visit had increased their interest in

learning and engaged their reluctant learners. Teachers also felt more confident in using the

countryside as a resource to enhance their teaching.

Documents

Evaluation Report 2016-17 - Country Trust...values of classroom based learning and also to inspire, empower and broaden the horizons of children with very limited opportunities. We