Get on my Land

Benefits of educational farm visits

Will Marcombe Food for Life Partnership Farm Links Officer Soil Association South Plaza Marlborough Street Bristol BS1 3NX wmarcombe@soilassociation.org

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Guide produced for the Food for Life Partnership

November 2012

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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Introduction
Experience of the natural environment provides for a range of developmental and both physical and mental health benefits.
Natural England, March 20111

This guide briefly examines the benefits that Food for Life Partnership schools may derive from outdoor learning opportunities. The guide looks specifically at farm visits by schools and summarises evidence drawn from a range of organisations that support education into food and farming.

About the Food for Life Partnership

The Food for life Partnership harnesses the expertise of the four partner organisations (Soil Association, Health Education Trust, Garden Organic and The Focus on Food Campaign) and uses food as a way to improve the whole school experience - making lunchtimes a more positive feature of the day and enriching classroom learning with farm visits and practical cooking and growing. Some schools use the programme as a vehicle to boost attainment or tackle inequalities. Some value the impact it has on encouraging positive health and well-being. Others have mobilised the programme to build links with their community. In all schools, the focus on pupil voice means that pupils take ownership and decide their own priorities. The Food for Life Partnership has this transformational impact in the schools and communities it works with because it gives pupils, teachers and community groups the confidence, resources and training they need to lead the change themselves.2

Thompson, W (2011) Natural England Research Report NERR040 - Children and the natural environment: experiences, influences and interventions 2 Food for Life Partnership (2012) Good food for all The impact of the Food for Life Partnership

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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The benefits of farm visits

It was right good when I got all that muck on my shoes.'
Sheffield student commenting on a farm visit3

A school visit to a farm can offer a range of direct and indirect benefits to a young persons personal development. Young people can gain direct educational, health and psychological benefits, as well as indirect social and financial benefits. 4 Although much of the learning on a farm may be the same as that which takes place at home or in school (acquiring knowledge, improving skills and changing attitudes etc.), it is the quality and nature of the experience that is often enhanced whilst outdoors. Reading about something is very different from experiencing it first-hand.5 As well as the positive impacts that farm visits have upon an individuals development, such experiences may well in turn benefit local communities and wider society.

Improving health and well-being Supporting those at risk Developing skills

& Dillon, J et al. National Foundation for Education Research (2005) Engaging and Learning with the Outdoors The Final Report of the Outdoor Classroom in a Rural Context Action Research Project 4 Kings College London (2011) Understanding the diverse benefits of learning in natural environments

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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Improving health and well-being

The walk fitted well with our physical activities Health Day and certainly showed the benefits of exercise to the children.
Food for Life Partnership school feedback

Physical Health benefits Research has shown that learning in an outdoor farming environment usually results in increased levels of physical activity.6 A visit very often involves a guided walk around the farm, providing physical benefits as well as opportunity to discuss issues around local food and healthy eating. Learners may also be able to participate in a range of practical activities that provide exercise opportunities, such as tree planting, hedgerow or woodland surveying and vegetable gardening.

Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010) Curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning.

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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Improving health and well-being

Links between contact with the environment and personal health are well-established. Studies have shown that exposure to the natural environment can lower the effects of various mental health issues that can make it difficult for students to pay attention in the classroom.
Natural England, May 20127

Mental Health benefits Interactions with the countryside such as walking and meeting livestock, improves mental health and emotional wellbeing.8 Research evidence has shown that outdoor experiences can aid recovery from stress and anxiety, whilst also protecting from future conditions.9 Other research in 2001 by Kuo et al., also identified that the symptoms of disorders such ADHD were reduced when young people had access to outdoor environments.10

Natural England (2012) Natural England Commissioned Report NECR092 - Learning in the Natural Environment: Review of social and economic benefits and barriers. 8 Munoz, S (2009) Children in the Outdoors, A Literature Review. 9 Pretty, J et al. Department of Biological Sciences and 2Department of Health and Human Sciences (2005) University of Essex (2005) A Countryside for Health and Well-Being: The Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Green Exercise 10 Kuo, F et al. (2001) A potential natural treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from a national study.

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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Supporting those at risk

There was this lad, digging away like mad, working really hard and the teacher says to me, You should have seen him yesterdayhe was throwing chairs at me in the classroom.
Dillon et al, April 200511

In October 2012, a government paper set out the results of a number of Back on Track projects, which are strategies for modernising alternative provision for those young people who have been excluded from, or are unable to attend school for other reasons. One of the core aims of the pilot projects was to re-engage young people by providing alternative experiences to mainstream schooling and to approach education more broadly. Such experiences have included opportunities to engage through a range of practical activities including fencing and land maintenance.12 In a number of cases where practical farm-based activities have been offered, teaching staff and education officers have identified improvements in learners behaviour. One education officer noted that the behaviour of a group of disaffected year 10 learners had improved since they had been taking part in a farm work programme. It was his belief that the practical work involved was more appropriate and engaging than the activities that they were required to undertake in class.10

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Dillon, J et al. National Foundation for Education Research (2005) Engaging and Learning with the Outdoors The Final Report of the Outdoor Classroom in a Rural Context Action Research Project 12 White, R. Department for Education (2012) The back on track alternative provision pilots -Final report DFERR250

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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Developing skills
In their report of March 2004, Ofsted highlighted their interest in pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural (PSMS) development. The report indicated that as part of their inspections, Ofsted would gather evidence on pupils development through a variety of activities including lessons in PSHE, career education and extra-curricular activities.13 A visit to a farm offers an exciting and inspirational setting where practical, vocational and artisan-based activities such as tree planting, gardening and livestock husbandry can be delivered. As well as assisting with PSMS development, these activities can also assist learners in preparing for post-16 progression. In order to support progression into further education and employment, some farms host sessions and work experience placements in support of vocationally accredited qualifications. These include the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN) Environmental Short Course and work-based Diplomas in Agriculture and Environmental & Land-based Studies. Farm sessions also provide opportunity to develop transferrable and functional skills including team working, communication and numeracy. The Soil Associations School Farmers Markets project, in partnership with the Mid Wales Food and Land Trust allows learners to take ownership of their own Real-world farmers market. Enterprise projects such as this one, provide a chance for children to research food and farming whilst taking charge, showing initiative, working together, being creative and making important decisions.

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Ofsted (2004) Promoting and evaluating pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development HMI 2125.

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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School Feedback
Throughout the five years of phase one of the programme, the Food for Life Partnership collected and collated farm visit feedback from a nationwide network of enrolled schools, which used their farm visits to develop a range of educational and social opportunities.

It was an excellent day and the kids were really involved and engaged at all times.

The walk fitted well with our physical Activities Health Day and certainly showed the benefits of exercise to the children.

Children were involved in meaningful discussions with each other about where their food comes from and their views on animal welfare.

These visits have been one of the best opportunities the children have had to see that there is another life outside the estate. A true nurturing activity.

The children had a fantastic time; they couldn't stop talking about it when they returned to school. They learnt a huge amount and the hands-on experiences that they had on the farm put everything they learnt into context.

The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.

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The Food for Life Partnership is a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture. Together we are revolutionising school meals, reconnecting children and young people with where their food comes from, and inspiring families to grow and cook food.