Whirlow Hall Farm Trust is an educational trust based on a 140-acre farm in Sheffield. Each year we support over 10,000 children and young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and the inner city, to grow. Our mission is to enrich the educational experience and personal development of all children and young people, regardless of their circumstances, and to improve knowledge around food, farming, and the environment. Our job is to inspire and expand horizons to give children the confidence that they can achieve what they want to achieve. For many of our young visitors they have never been on a farm so holding a freshly-hatched chick, bottle feeding a new-born lamb or seeing a pig with her piglets is an unforgettable experience. For many, it will change their lives forever.
We are thrilled to have received £2,500 from The Pixel Fund. The funding will contribute to the salaries of our specialist education team. The education team are responsible for developing and delivering all the activities on the farm with the children and young people, along with the support of the farm team who provide livestock expertise.
The children we support through our Alternative Provisions are among the most disadvantaged in our region, facing a complex combination of difficulties which can include mental health conditions, severe poverty, developmental difficulties such as autism, anxiety, additional learning needs like ADHD, and heart-breaking personal circumstances including abuse and bereavement. In many instances they are experiencing traumatic events commonly described as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). These include physical, sexual and emotional abuse, physical and emotional neglect, domestic violence, parent abandonment through separation or divorce, a parent with a mental health condition, a member of the household being in prison or growing up in a household in which there are adults experiencing alcohol and drug use problems. All our learners experience high anxiety levels that can produce fight or flight responses if not managed sensitively.
Our priority is to reduce anxiety. Through our work we support children to understand why they are feeling anxious and help them build a strategy to help them manage their anxiety at school better. From this we see improved behaviour in class which has a knock on effect of improved behaviour out of class. This leads to improved self-esteem.