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The Farm
Summer on the farm 2020
The farm takes on a whole new light in the summer. The grass is lush and green, the animals are energetic and it is time to do light repairs and repaints ready for the coming year.
The sheep have now gone to slaughter as part of our 'farm to fork' initiative which leaves us with goats (which will be heading to pastures new soon), the pig, chickens, ducks and of course our two male alpacas.
Reducing the animals allows the ground time to rest and regrow which helps with autumn and winter feeding.
The alpacas have been shorn of their thick coat to prevent them over heating as well as getting fly strike which is common in farm animals at this time of year. Alpacas have a light fine coat which is used for making blankets and soft 'close to skin' garments.
Our peahen 'Pearl' has not returned yet, however 'Percy' our peacock isn't showing any signs of distress or calling for her so that gives us a good indication that she is still close to the farm. We hope she is busy incubating eggs!
Nora our large white sow is enjoying wallowing during this warm weather. The children enjoy filling her outdoor enclosure full of water for her to roll around in!
As well as our animals, the allotment has started to flourish and will hopefully soon provide us with tasty fruits and vegetables to eat and sell. We have planted green beans, courgettes, sweetcorn and many more delicious treats ready to harvest in the Autumn.
Spring on the farm 2020
There has been lots going on over the past few months on our lovely farm. We have had a number of baby goats born- one of which was our special hand reared goat Sooty. Sadly, mum found herself too poorly to care for Sooty so the staff at Meadow View took over raising Sooty from 2 days old. At first, he was being bottled fed every two hours but has moved onto hard feed now thankfully! Sooty enjoys spending lots of time in the classrooms with the children and enjoys playing outside!
The new kids on the block!
We have also welcomed two more goat kids to the school this year. These lovely pair are now over four months old and have stopped relying on mum for milk. They are foraging on the lovely spring grass as well as goat mix. The children have named the female (black and grey) Rose and the male (black and white) Pikachu. They love exploring and jumping around and will soon be of to their new homes.
The Allotment is springing into life!
As well as the farm animals enjoying the spring weather, the plants are making the most of it too! Lots of the children have been planting tomatoes, cucumbers and chilli plants in the polytunnel where they will stay until harvest. Meanwhile, outside there are lots of developments in the Allotment.
The children and adults have been planting courgettes, green beans, potatoes, cabbages and sweetcorn as well as tending to the existing rhubarb, strawberry and blackcurrant bushes. Lets hope we have a bumper crop to harvest come autumn time!
Autumn on the farm- 2019
Meet Bernard...
Update after the Easter break...
Some pictures from the Farm- April 2019
The farm is an imperative part of our learning at MVFS. Many of our pupils benefit hugely from learning outside and away from the classroom. Each class across the school is timetabled to participate in daily farm jobs; where they learn and build on existing skills, as well as work together to look after the animals by feeding, treating them and cleaning them out. These daily jobs ensure that the farm is well looked after and all pupils then gain a shared responsibility in taking care of the animals. A large majority of our pupils enjoy spending their break times on the farm and thrive when working 1-1 helping adults on the farm. Every year, select animals have offspring. The children are a part of this as they help with the birthing and care off the offspring. This gives the children a sense of ownership and pride over the development of the farm as they witness first-hand the effect of their care and hard work. The farm is also used in the curriculum as a way to further children’s knowledge in practical hands-on way. As well as our daily farm jobs, we also have a farm club. Different children across the school who share a passion for animals and the farm will come together to learn outside. Lucy, our farm leader, will run an in depth session and provide the pupils with new skills needed to look after our new and existing animals. This session is thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils and staff across the school.
Look at the perfect little surprise we found on Tuesday. A little earlier than expected but mum and baby doing well.
