WESTBURY Leigh Primary School’s own in-house farm is going from strength to strength, allowing pupils the opportunity to experience and learn outside the classroom in a more natural environment.
The school started ‘Shearwater Farm’ in 2017 with a few chickens and a team of keen staff looking to bring animals and the outdoor life into the life of the school. Now it boasts a farm club and a farm holiday club, is home to rare breed goats, ducks, guinea pigs and rabbits and helps the children learn about plants and wildlife.
The farm supports social and emotional development, enabling children to work together, with staff and with families in a nurturing environment. The school more recently installed bat boxes in the farm to encourage even more wildlife into the area.
A spokesperson for the school said, “In 2018, the school secured some funding from the Friends of Westbury Leigh School to put down a more permanent base and with the help of staff, volunteers and sheer hard work with wheelbarrows, shovels and a woman with a digger, we created a drier set up for our animals and children to spend time in.
“Over the years, we have fundraised and had some really generous donations to enable the farm to grow. We are grateful to our amazing and hard-working volunteers who give their time tirelessly and support both the animals and children.”
Headteacher Mrs Grimsey explained, “We are lucky to have a dedicated team of volunteers enabling our farm and gardens to be developed and our offer to children to be increased. As well as helping on a practical level, our volunteers also run a farm club four afternoons a week and, more recently, a farm holiday club, where children can spend more time accessing the animals and learning how to take care of them.”
The farm lead and school business manager, Miss Thurman, added, “The farm is home to two rare breed Golden Guernsey goats, who are extremely friendly, called Cinnamon and Nutmeg, who the children reared from kids; they now share their home with Rosemary and Basil, two Pygmy goats, who are mother and son and our most recent arrival, Basil, who our volunteers rescued.
“We have six ducks, four ducklings and an assortment of chickens who live in ‘the Quackery’ but roam around the farm and garden; we also have guinea pigs and rabbits. Each class gets involved in looking after the animals and sometimes, if they are lucky, the animals have a story read to them too!”
A school spokesperson added, “Being part of the school farm is helping our pupils to build on our core values by understanding responsibility, having respect for themselves and others as well as being courageous in facing new challenges every day. Being on the farm is an adventure and a responsibility in which our children flourish.
“For children with additional needs or those who are having a tricky time, the farm provides a safe space to grow and develop. It is a space that is learner-centred, focusing on the curiosity of the child rather than a list of tasks to be done and completed. It is a place where every child can ‘thrive’ building resilience and self-esteem that enhances learning and engagement in the classroom.
“Thanks to our fabulous team of volunteers the school gardens are ready for spring planting and we have recently put up five bat boxes with the help of Wiltshire Bat Group to help encourage these amazing mammals to visit the wooded area around the farm.
“Going forward we are hoping to construct an outdoor ‘green’ classroom which will enable larger groups of children to access the outdoors in all weathers, learning about the plants and wildlife in our special school grounds in a less restrictive environment that is still a positive learning experience. We know that outdoor learning can have a hugely positive impact on the well-being of children. At Westbury Leigh we want our school community to be inspired to be the best they can be, aspire to get involved in making a difference and achieve their dreams in everything they do.”
