School Trips to Farmer Gow's

'A very enjoyable experience, the children really enjoyed feeding the goats and lambs' ~ St Margaret's Pre-school, Swindon - Monday 14 June 2010.

Farmer Gow’s is a wonderful venue for National Curriculum field trips, particularly for Key stages 1 and 2. The farm’s principle focus is the handling and feeding of farm animal species but there are also a range of activities which will keep young students interested and busy for the duration of your visit.

The farm has facilities for up to 100 children and is happy to arrange additional 'Meet the Animals' sessions for different year groups. Schools are welcome to bring several classes to the farm.

'Excellent opportunity for our children to experience farm animals first hand - difficult to do this in class.' Caldecott Nursery, Abingdon - Wednesday 16 June 2010.

At the Farm

Oxford Reading Tree's children 'Kipper and Anna' visited Farmer Gow's on a School Trip. Read about their experiences in 'At the Farm' the new children's reading book. A great classroom resource. Bring a school trip to Farmer Gow's alive with the adventures of Kipper and Anna when they visited the farm. At the Farm ~ PDF

'Fantastic visit with pre-school children. Lots of fun had by all. For myself it's my first time and I will definitely be returning either through work or with my family.' Ladygrove Day Nursery, Didcot - Thursday 24 June 2010.

'A fantastic, fun, educatonal visit. A great range of activities. Great hands-on experience handling the animals.' Charlbury Primary School - Monday 28 June 2010.

Farmer Gow's Visits to Schools

If you can't come to us we can come to you.

Farmer Gow's can visit your group with a range of farm animals from - chickens, ducks, lambs, goats and ferrets - to give your children a 'hands on' learning experience.

1-2 hour visits, depending on your establishment size and location - from £100.

Call Anne - 01793 780 555 - to discuss your visit.

General Information for School Trips

KS1 and KS2 Learning Opportunities and Curriculum Links

Topics for pre-trip study might include ~

Farm animal species ~ cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, ferrets and ducks
Farm equipment ~ tractors, trailers, fencing, gates, animal housing
Feed and bedding ~ grass, hay, water, straw, composite feeds
Textures ~ wood, hair, feathers
The Think Breakfast website has information for schools, including some delicious recipes
The Grain Train website has lots of classroom activities including lesson plans, & activity sheets

The Health & Safety Executive, HSE, has produced an excellent booklet called ‘Stay Safe on the Farm, which is ideal for classroom based study prior to a school trip. Have a look at the Health & Safety Executive's current advice on school trips.

Think Food and Farming ~ a great website for all sorts of countryside matters

FACE ~ Farming and Countryside Education

Open Farm Sunday ~ Sunday 13 June 2010

'Why Farming Matters' ~ a fantastic introduction for Primary Schools with classroom activities for KS2 Science, Geography and Citizenship.

UK Agriculture ~ is a very useful web site, lots of easy to follow photos with short text, especially the 'field to fridge' pages.

~ have a look at the web site for recipes and other ideas

Farm Profile

Booking Form

Questionnaires

Points to Consider for Risk Assessments

Evaluation Form

Links to other countryside learning

Growing Schools ~ growingschools

RSPCA's New farm animal resources ~ rspca

Food - a fact of life ~ foodafactoflife