Rural Activity Centre
Our Cayuga ducks have been laying eggs for a couple of months and we are now seeing them change colour, due to the season progressing. They have been producing blue eggs, but now they are turning grey and black! This is very exciting for the pupils to observe. This also tells us that our ducks are happy in their environment
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We have a new accessible storage cupboard in the barn for the students to collect their tools for the job they are tasked to do on the farm. This is labelled with symbols and enables the students to learn tool recognition and to build on their confidence and independence
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The Equine dentist, Matteo visited last week. He checks the donkey's and pony's teeth and mouth hygiene and is fantastic in supporting the students to learn more about his job. All four patients behaved very well for the dentist and their teeth were in good health.
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We have been working hard to develop our fish tank, which is situated in the boot room off of the farm classroom. The pupils have been enjoying watching the colourful fish and spotting the water snail as they prepare for their farm sessions.
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Penny and Danny, our farm cats have been keeping cosy and warm on the straw bales in the barn. This is their favourite place to be snuggled up together, when they are not exploring the farm.
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All staff at Abbey Court School took part in a challenge afternoon on Larkin Farm!
In teams the staff had a range of tasks to complete, such as; making demonstration videos on how to groom/handle various animals, completing a scavenger hunt, making a collage out of natural materials, learning how to fill & tie up a hay net safely & securely, making up feeds for various animals and much more...
The farm was buzzing with excitement and it was a great opportunity for staff to develop their skills on the farm, ready for a new year of learning with the pupils at Abbey Court School!
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You can see Larkin Farm on KMTV news. Click here - Medway school receives thousand pound grant for swift conservation project (kentonline.co.uk)
We are extremely proud of our school farm!We opened The Abbey Court Rural Activities Centre in 2020. This long awaited project came about from a desire to enrich our curriculum and offer pupils a learning environment that would engage, motivate and prepare them for the future. Animals and the outside environment are strong motivators for many of our pupils. They provide a rich and broad range of learning opportunities, including developing life skills, the chance to work with others, to be a part of a community, to develop new and existing skills in different contexts and to nurture hobbies and interests they can take into adulthood.With a bespoke classroom, dedicated farm staff and a fully accessible farm, we have developed a curriculum to enable pupils to:• Learn how to care for animals, plants and wildlife• Learn important life skills• Have real work experience opportunities• Develop their communication skills• Be a part of whole school projects• Enrich and embed their classroom learning• Use and apply skills from subject such as Mathematics, Geography, Science and PSHE in a real life settingOur farm is constantly growing and developing. We currently have a number of different animals living on the farm, including, Donkeys, Shetland Ponies, Goats, Rabbits and Chickens. The pupils are also helping us to develop the polytunnel, where we have already successfully grown a range of fruit and vegetables, which many of the pupils have enjoyed tasting!The curriculum for our Rural Activities Centre is made up of two elements:The Curriculum Overview: Outlines core areas of learning and experience that will be available for all pupils to access when they visit the farm. Progression has been mapped to outline how different age groups will be provided with progressive and age appropriate learning opportunities, whilst retaining opportunities to re-visit key elements as they progress through the school. The overview aims to give focus to key ideas within farming whilst allowing pupils to access these ideas at an ability level appropriate to them.Whole school termly projects are a rolling programme of topics, accessed by the whole school. These give the opportunity to promote team work, inclusion and offer the opportunity for pupils of different age groups to work together. Each topic offers the opportunity to develop a range of skills as well as linking to the National Curriculum and enriching pupils’ existing class based learning. |
