The farm at MVFS plays a vital role in developing the whole child by offering a rich, hands-on learning environment that supports emotional, social, physical, and cognitive growth. Through daily animal care, pupils build responsibility, empathy, and self-confidence, while regular interaction with animals supports emotional regulation by reducing anxiety and cortisol levels. Observing professionals such as vets and shearers raises aspirations, fosters curiosity, real-world understanding, and communication skills.

Beyond the animal care, the kitchen garden, forest area, and wider farm setting promote wellbeing through regular outdoor exposure, which enhances physical health (through increased physical activity and Vitamin D intake), reduces stress, and improves focus and engagement. These natural spaces also provide carefully tailored sensory and occupational therapy opportunities to meet individual needs, supporting regulation, independence, and resilience.

Spring & Summer at Meadow View Farm School

As we step into the Spring and Summer terms, excitement is building on the farm! With the changing seasons, our outdoor learning spaces are coming to life—Nicole has been busy planting, ensuring a vibrant and thriving environment for hands-on experiences. While we say goodbye to our piglets, we may soon be welcoming goats, adding to the rich learning opportunities for our pupils.

John has been hard at work tidying and preparing the farm for a busy and exciting summer, ensuring that our pupils can fully engage in outdoor activities, animal care, and nature-based learning. From planting and growing to caring for our animals, these months promise plenty of exploration, discovery, and fun.

Spring at Meadow View Farm School
Looking ahead to the spring and summer terms, we are excited to welcome our new lambs, expand our animal family with pigs and goats, and establish a secure goat enclosure. These developments will provide even more opportunities for our pupils to engage with animal care and learn about life cycles first-hand.

On the allotment, our focus will turn to planting the ordered fruit and vegetables as they arrive, including strawberries, raspberries, asparagus and potatoes. We also plan to plant a range of annual vegetables to maximise the use of our beds and polytunnel throughout the growing season. These ongoing improvements and additions reflect our commitment to providing rich, hands-on learning experiences that promote responsibility, nurture curiosity and build practical life skills for all our children.

We look forward to sharing this journey with our pupils and families—watch this space for updates!

 

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Autumn at Meadow View Farm School
Throughout the autumn term, we have focused on developing and improving our animal care and allotment areas to enrich the children’s learning experiences. We welcomed a new ram last year, and as a result, our ewes are now in lamb, with lambs expected to arrive around 1st April. We have been exploring natural ways of raising chicks, attempting to hatch them without the use of an incubator. Plans are also underway to acquire goats and a replacement pig following the recent slaughter.

Significant improvements have been made to the chicken coop, including adding fleece and hard core to half the area to enhance drainage and welfare. Once the path to the cabin is finished, woodchip will be spread on the remaining half. Additionally, a new shelter has been installed in the chicken coop to replace the old tarp arrangement, providing better protection for our birds. The main shelter has also been moved to the middle field, allowing us to separate the sheep into different fields while ensuring each group still has suitable shelter.

On the allotment, beds have been dug and cultivated, and an order has been placed for early strawberries, autumn raspberries and asparagus, although we are currently resolving some issues with this order. Potatoes are chitting, ready for planting, and Nicole has been busy planting various crops in the polytunnel to prepare for the coming seasons.