The rural charm of a city farm - 18/01/2010

Gorse Hill City Farm in Leicester can provide an interactive, living classroom experience, without having to venture right out to the countryside. In the eighth instalment of our Quality Badge series, we discover why.

A recipe for success

Gorse Hill City Farm in Leicester signed up to the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) manifesto last year following its application for the Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS). Awarded the CEVAS accreditation in December 2008 by Farming and Countryside Education, this also made the attraction eligible for the LOtC Quality Badge.

To qualify for both the CEVAS accreditation and the LOtC Quality Badge, the farm was required to provide certain evidence. This included having appropriately trained personnel on site, providing copies of its safety policy statement, risk assessments, child protection policy statement, as well as health and safety records. Any farms which qualify are also required to have a visit plan in place, with details on how educational trips will be conducted. Records of any complaints must also be submitted for scrutiny. Needless to say, after going through this rigorous process, Gorse Hill City Farm is extremely proud to have been awarded the accolade of the LOtC Quality Badge.

The farm is committed to its four main principles: community involvement, organic principles, humane treatment of animals and co-operative working. A registered charity, its farm membership and animal adoption schemes help to raise the £150,000 required each year to keep the farm running. Gorse Hill City Farm also offers educational, volunteer and work placement opportunities for both children and adults.

Gorse Hill City Farm is constantly developing and improving, and 2006 saw some major changes courtesy of a Heritage Lottery grant. The farm now boasts a new open-fronted, dual-purpose building, providing shelter for the animals in the winter, and an outdoor classroom for visiting school groups the rest of the year. Recently added signs and interpretation literature further add to the experience for students, as does an audio trail giving information about the farm's rare breed residents, which include sheep and pigs.