Come explore our Garden & Land Management Alternative Learning Activities
Stress & Anxiety relief
Gardens can be a relaxing place; it creates a safe space for young people to feel calm and help reduce stress & anxiety. Seeing plants, vegetables and fruit grow over time can create a sense of achievement.
Communication & Interaction
Gaining new or developing skills in a quiet calm space, creates a platform for young people to interact and communicate easier with their fellow young people and staff.
Self Esteem & Independence
Plants, fruit & veg all needed to be cared for to help them grow. Seeing plants grow or fruit & vegetables ready to harvest gives young people a sense of achievement that helps with their self-esteem. As the young person gets more confident doing the activity, they can lead the gardening activities which will help with independent skills.
Fun
All activities are designed to be fun and social, whether you want to gain experience about the everyday care of the garden or make new friends, our goal is to make everyday a fun day.
From seed to harvest, you can learn how to grow fruit and vegetables. Young people learn how to plant seeds in grow bags and in the green house, through to potting out, planting in the grow tunnels, and harvesting.
Different flowers grow at different times of the year. Young people can learn how to grow flowers. From planting the seeds and growing the flowers, through to planting the flowers out in the garden.
The garden needs all year-round maintenance from pruning the flowers, to keeping the grass at the right length. The flowers and trees need care, with regular watering and feeding.
Part of the farm is divided into paddocks for the animals. The paddocks are post and railed fenced and need maintenance across the year to make sure the animals are kept safely in their paddocks. Activities include, installing new fencing, maintenance, and repair.
The farm is across four fields, separated by hedging & trees. The hedges need management to make sure they don’t get overgrown and support the natural borders of the fields. Young people can learn how to manage the size of hedges, and how to trim and care for them.
We can support AQA qualifications aligned with gardening and landcare learning from entry level, onwards. Classroom sessions can be on a 1:1 basis or small groups depending on a student needs. All sessions are carried out by a qualified SEND Professionals Teachers or SEND TA’s.
Daily Routine
Each sessions students will get chance to take part of all the gardening & landcare activities. Young people are also given the opportunity to take part in classroom time during one of the sessions in the day.
Garden Fun
AQA certification's
The AQA Unit Award Scheme (UAS) empowers young individuals to gain valuable work experience and receive certification for their efforts. Through this scheme, they can compile a portfolio of certificates, each bearing testament to their skills, insights, and experiences. Participating in this program not only boosts their self-confidence but also heightens their engagement and amplifies their motivation, guiding them forward on their lifelong journey.
Celebration Stories
If you would like to know more information about our alternative service, what we do or how we could help. Please feel free to give us a call or send over an email. We would be more than happy to help or answer your questions.
