Breadcrumbs
SCHOOL’S OUT ON THE FARM - 4 July 2004
School-friendly farms are being celebrated at the Royal Show today by Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael and Countryside Agency chair Pam Warhurst. The first group of farmers to be accredited under the Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme receive their certificates today (Sunday 4 July).
Organised farm visits by schools are an effective tool in connecting young people to the rural environment. Launched at the show last year, the Countryside Agency is today celebrating the success of a pilot training scheme for farms wishing to open their gates to educational visits by presenting accreditation certificates to the first group of farmers, including Sir Don Curry.
Congratulating the newly accredited farmers at the Royal Show, Countryside Agency chair Pam Warhurst said: “Young people have an amazing capacity for learning through experience, and a visit to a farm can provide them with a fascinating change from a day in the classroom. Creating an understanding of where our food comes from, and the process of getting food from farm to plate, helps their educational development and turns them into informed consumers of the future.
“I am personally delighted that the Countryside Agency has been able to play its part in securing Vocational Training Scheme funding for the initiative from the England Rural Development Programme. This mainstream funding will enable the training scheme to be rolled out across the country.”
Rural Affairs Minister, Alun Michael said: “This has proved to be an excellent example of partnership working that benefits both students and farmers alike. The accreditation scheme meets many of the Government’s objectives for a sustainable future for agriculture. At the same time it provides a stimulating and informative environment for young people who might otherwise have little opportunity to visit and understand the complex nature of the rural environment and economy.”
Robert Kynaston, who farms on the Shropshire/Wales border said: “Seeing the children delving into the ponds, digging in the woods and taking such a delight in everything they learnt, confirmed that going through the accreditation scheme was well worth the effort. I learnt how to work with the school and to give them what they needed to meet their curricular requirements. The kids may have had fun learning – but so did I.”
Pam Warhurst concluded: “The outdoor classroom is a tremendous way of reinforcing academic learning, and farm visits, particularly those supported by preparatory and follow-up activities, offer a wide range of learning opportunities. But there are barriers which need to be overcome, such as health and safety concerns, litigation and public liability, concerns about the relevance of the visit to the national curriculum, as well as issues concerning demands on school funds and teacher time. Farm accreditation will help address most of these issues, so that visits to the countryside can generate benefits to education, child development and the agricultural sector that will be well worth the effort.” The Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS) was implemented on behalf of the Countryside Agency by Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) in partnership with the Access to Farms Consortium.
The Countryside Agency is the statutory body working to make the quality of life better for people in the countryside and the quality of the countryside better for everyone.
