Thinking about a winter residential for your school? A visit during the colder months isn’t always top of the list, but it offers a wealth of benefits – both on the farm and back in the classroom.
At Farms for City Children, we firmly believe winter residential weeks offer unique outdoor learning opportunities that build resilience, independence and confidence. But don’t just take our word for it! Our Farm School Managers asked teachers from three of the schools who visited us in January and February why they chose to come to our farms at this time of year. See what they told us in this short video:
We’re very grateful to the wonderful teachers featured in the video for sharing their insights with us. Here are some of the highlights:
“I’ve had so many comments already from children who say ‘I will remember this forever. I will remember getting up early in the morning in the darkness, feeling so cold and thinking, is this really something I want to do’? To then moving towards ‘This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever done and I will always remember it.'” Janet Hayward – Headteacher, Cadoxton Primary School.
“One of the benefits for our children at this time of year is they are part of the planting season. So there’s getting everything ready for when the other schools come later on in the year to harvest those crops…They love being able to plant all of those seeds knowing that somebody else is going to benefit from that further on in the year.” Ceri-Ann Ellis – Headteacher, Gladstone Primary School.
“We can see the impact of the trip and the independence, the compassion and confidence that they’ve gained from the trip. We can remind them of that for the rest of the year – when we’re doing an activity or we’re getting to the end of the year and they might be feeling nervous about what’s coming next. You can remind them of that resilience they had and the confidence that they built.” Antonia Howell – Teacher, Elm Academy.
Considering a winter residential for your school next year? Find out more about visiting us or get in touch with our bookings team for further information and availability bookings@farmsforcitychildren.org / 01392 276381
