Farming and Countryside Sector Partnership
The Farming and Countryside sector has a strong network of organisations, known as Access To Farms, which is committed to improving the number and quality of visits to farms and the countryside by school groups. Access To Farms was established with support from DCSF to encourage the sharing of information, expertise, knowledge and experience.
The network has regular meetings and organisations involved include: Countryside Foundation for Education; Farming and Countryside Education (FACE); Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens; Groundwork; Defra; the National Trust; and the Soil Association.
The partnership has worked together in order to develop a shared database of farms hosting school visits and this is hosted by the TeacherNet Growing Schools website.
It has also identified the needs of schools in relation to farm visits and as a result has developed the Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS). CEVAS accredits both the farmer and the farm. The individual attends a three-day training course and completes a portfolio of evidence which is accredited by the Open College Network. Currently 850 farmers have been trained which equates to approximately 700 farms in England, with plans in place for an additional 150. There are nearly 1,500 farms currently offering educational opportunities for schools, some only to their local village school. The accreditation of the farm premises is through the supply of an agreed simple list of documents and completion of a basic written form to demonstrate their compliance. This demonstrates a real commitment from the sector to encouraging quality visits to working environments.
This was a firm foundation for the sector to support the LOtC Manifesto. The sector group has since expanded to include organisations such as the RSPB, Wildlife Trusts and HSE. The group is looking forward to developing its partnership and to working together to help achieve the aims of the Manifesto.
