Wheat farmer and children calculating yields with children Wheat farmer and children calculating yields with children

What is a Farmer Host?

As the leading education charity which connects children to the land, we rely on the amazing network of host farmers, to enable us to reach 10,000s children each year.

On visits, children learn how and where their food is produced. They learn how farmers work through the seasons planting and growing crops and looking after animals to produce food.  

As well as the curriculum links, children enjoy real-life experiences, vital building blocks for personal development. The awe and wonder of seeing an enormous beef breeding bull, or a newly hatched chick, a lamb being born, the excitement of time spent with a farmer, the space and size of a field, fresh air, silence, are all rich, new experiences that with your help, we can offer children who might lack opportunity, but certainly don't lack potential.

We hope you will also benefit, should you decide to become a Country Trust host. You'll meet children from communities geographically not far away but who you might otherwise never meet. You'll see the excitement and joy you bring to children who may never have been beyond their neighbourhood. You'll see them begin to shine as they experience the transformational affects of learning outside the classroom, and see them grow in confidence as informed consumers of the future.  

 

Watch this short film to hear why these farmers host for The Country Trust.

 

I'm interested, what's the next step?

Get in touch with the Country Trust: info@countrytrust.org.uk. One of our team will advise you on:  

  • How we support you and what other support is available. 
  • The learning opportunities on your farm, including the crops that you grow and the livestock you raise, wildlife, history, geography, environmental features, and other enterprises that might be included in the visit. Children love to see animals, even ponies and chickens! They also love meeting farmers and people who work on the farm.
  • Shaping a programme for the day, including activities that will showcase your farm and the way you make your living.
  • How The Country Trust can help

    We have more than 40 years’ experience in organising farm visits

    We undertake all the liaison with schools, including pre-visits, timetables and curriculum links

    The Coordinator is always present on the day of the school visit. We work with you to ensure the visits go smoothly and that you feel confident welcoming a class of children to your farm. 

    We will share our generic risk assessment to help you prepare your own for your farm or estate.

  • What kind of schools might visit my farm?

    The Country Trust works with schools in areas of social and economic disadvantage, and schools catering for children with Special Educational Needs. Schools are responsible for the supervision and behaviour of their children at all times during the visit.

  • What does my farm have to offer?

    The Country Trust staff can discuss curriculum links with teachers, and help farmers and teachers to develop activities for the day of the visit. The farm visits can link to all subjects, especially science and geography, design technology, even history, and many teachers use the visit experiences to inspire creative writing, and to give children practical applications for mathematics. Art and creativity, role play and drama can all be part of the visit.

     

  • What happens on a visit?

    A class of children (or 2 classes if you have space) from areas of high deprivation visit your farm for a hands-on day of discovery. The benefits to the children are immense, providing them with unique experiences of the countryside that just would not be available to them in the normal course of their lives. They see some of the most beautiful parts of the country and meet the people who are responsible for growing our food and managing the countryside.

  • Is my farm, estate or setting, suitable?

    We are looking for Farmer and Grower Hosts who can work with us to bring all aspects of the countryside and farming alive for children.  

    We work with a range of Hosts, from large estates to small one-person and peri-urban farms. Our Coordinators can discuss with you what your setting can offer and suggest ways to enable visits to happen.

  • What funding is available?

    The Country Trust is a charity and fundraises so that its Coordinators can support schools and farmers, free of charge.

    DEFRA offers Educational Access Payments (ED1). From January 2024 this payment increased to £363 per visit, for up to 25 visits per year.

     

    Find out more about: Payments and Grants