Organising A Farm Visit
We endeavour to make the planning and organisation of a farm visit as easy for the teacher as possible.
When a request is received from a teacher for a farm visit, it is passed to the relevant RHET Project Co-ordinator for the area.
Please be aware that farm visits can take a number of weeks to organise, particularly during busy periods of the year. We would ask that you please book as far in advance as possible to give the Project Co-ordinator time to organise your visit.
Once initial contact is made our local RHET Project Co-ordinator will:
- Take details of preferred dates and type of farm requested
- Tailor each visit to any desired learning outcomes or topic
- Assign a relevant farm and farmer from our network of RHET volunteer hosts
- Walk both the farmer and teacher through a risk-assessment at a 'pre-visit'
- Provide resources and ideas for making the most of the visit
NB: In some cases RHET can provide assistance with transport costs (please ask your Project Co-ordinator for details).
THE PRE-VISIT
In order to ensure a farm visit is a successful and a worthwhile educational experience, a 'pre-visit' will be arranged no more than two weeks prior to the day of the visit.
The farmer, RHET Project Co-ordinator and teacher will meet on the farm to discuss the format of the visit and to walk the route that the children will take on the day. This is an opportunity for any questions to be asked and for all Health & Safety aspects to be covered, including the completion of the risk-assessment.
During the pre-visit, the following points will be covered:
Background:
- Learning outcomes for the visit
- Topics and activities
- The level of knowledge and ability of the group
Logistics:
- Arrival and departure times
- Parking
- Arrangements for wet weather
- Route the children will follow around the farm
Health & Safety:
- Risk assessment
- First Aid arrangements
- Hygiene - provision of adequate hand washing facilities with running water, soap and paper towels
- Footbaths with Virkon S. for washing footwear
- Appropriate clothing
NB: for health and safety reasons a teacher or other adult who will be attending on the day of the visit must be present at the pre-visit to sign the risk assessment. If a representative from the school is unable to attend the pre-visit then unfortunately the farm visit cannot go ahead.
