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INSPIRE, EDUCATE AND INVOLVE

Education

Bore Place helps young people connect with nature and enjoy the outdoors. We believe there is huge value in getting children outside the classroom and exploring and learning in an outdoor environment. We cater for all children and aim to ensure that our activities and residential stays are accessible to all. 

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School Day Visits

A regenerative farm tour is at the heart of every school day visit

Your class can explore food production on a working organic farm, learning about dairy farming and vegetable growing in a market garden.

Choose a theme to complement the farm tour and tie in with your topics in school. All themes are differentiated and linked to the KS1 and KS2 curriculums. All visits are designed for a maximum class size of 30 pupils.

Activities will vary by season, weather, access and the natural resources available (examples are given below). If there is a specific activity or curriculum focus you would really like to look at, please make a request and we will work to incorporate this.

SEN classes: Our tutor team has experience working with children and young people with SEN. All programmes are available for SEN classes and most activities can be adapted to meet various needs. Due to the nature of our site and facilities, the maximum group size for an SEN visit is 20 pupils, though this depends on the needs of the group. Please contact us to discuss the needs of your class.

*NEW* Team Challenge Day

(KS2 only)

A fun day out on a woodland adventure! Explore the farm together, and work in teams to complete mini challenges.

 

Example activities

  • Orienteering style challenge trail
  • Milking parlour quiz
  • Free play with mini activity stations in the woods
 

 

 

Programme benefits for KS2

  • Physical and mental wellbeing from spending time in nature
  • Learning through first-hand experiences
  • Problem solving when working with others
  • Independence and self-discovery

 

KS2 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • How our food is grown, reared and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce
Meet the Calves!

(Available September to December)

Join us during the most exciting part of our faming year! Spend time wiht the newest additions to the farm, and meet our adorable calves. Take a full tour of the organic dairy farm and taste some of the dairy products made with our milk.

 

Example activities

  • Visit the milking parlour, cows in the field/barn and our market garden.
  • Spend time with our calves, taking part in their care.
  • Dairy product taste testing.
  • Optional: adjust the session timing or stay on to watch the herd being milked between 2.30pm and 4pm

 

KS1 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • Animal life cycles

 

 

KS2 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • How ingredients are grown, reared, and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce
  • Animal adaptations and characteristic
  • Where food comes from
  • How our food is grown, reared and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce
Marvellous Minibeasts

Take a walk into the farmland and hunt for some minibeasts! Find out how they live and why they thrive at Bore Place.

 

Example activities

  • Minibeast hunt in logs, leaf litter or grassland
  • Meadow walk (summer)
  • Pond dipping (limited number of sessions in spring/summer)
  • Predator-prey and camoflage games

 

 

 

KS1 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • Food chains
  • Carnivores, herbivores and omnivores
  • What animals need to survive
  • Habitats and microhabitats, and how they provide for animals
  • Animals have offspring

 

KS2 curriculum links

  • Food chains plus consumers, producers and decomposers
  • Predator-prey relationships
  • Adaptations to suit environment
  • Life cycles and stages
  • Where food comes from
  • How our food is grown, reared and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce
Habitat Detectives

Let's look at some of the habitats we have on the farm. Become an ecologist or countryside ranger, and help us monitor the animals that call Bore Place home.

Example activities

  • Seasonal survey e.g. worm, dung beetle, hedgerow
  • Habitat trail, comparing types
  • Footprint survey tunnels and mammal ID
  • Nest building
  • Animal signs scavenger hunt

KS1 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • Food chains
  • Carnivores, herbivores and omnivores
  • What animals need to survive
  • Habitats and microhabitats, and how they provide for animals
  • Animals have offspring

KS2 curriculum links

  • Food chains
  • Predator-prey relationships
  • Adaptations to suit environment
  • Classification and using a key
  • Where food comes from
  • How our food is grown, reared and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce
Sow and Grow

Spend some time in the garden with us.
Find out about how plants live and how we
can help them to grow.

 Example activities

  • Parts of a plant, germination and pollination games
  • Visit the garden to see the range of plants and what parts we can eat
  • Seed sowing
  • Wildflower seed bombs
 

 

KS1 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • Basic structure of plants
  • What do plants need to grow
  • Adaptations to suit environment

KS2 curriculum links

  • Functions of parts of a plant
  • What plants need to grow plus nutrients and space
  • Lifecycles - pollination, seed formation and dispersal
  • Adaptations to suit environment
  • Where food comes from
  • How our food is grown, reared and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce
Field to Fork

This day is all about where our food really comes from. You'll think about how we know our food is healthy, and have a chance to try some foods made from ingredients produced at Bore Place.

Example activities

  • Foraging or harvesting ingredients
  • Look at natural vs. processed foods
  • Cook a simple food
  • Dairy product taste testing
  • Butter making

KS1 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • Healthy eating
  • Nutrition
  • Basic cooking skills

KS2 curriculum links

  • Where food comes from
  • Healthy eating
  • Nutrition
  • Practical cooking
  • Food seasonality
  • How our food is grown, reared and processed
  • How living things grow and reproduce

Most programmes are suitable, or adaptable, for wheelchair users and visitors with limited mobility. Teachers are welcome for pre-visits (please book via education@boreplace.org). 

Policies, procedures and risk assessments 
Please click here for our School Day Visits Handbook.

Need help with costs or transport?
Bore Place is committed to being an affordable educational venue. We offer a subsidised rate for small-class state schools and classes with a high number of children receiving pupil premiums. East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership is a not-for-profit company offering very competitive prices to schools in a number of areas.

School Day Visits School Day Visits School Day Visits 

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Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Making full use of every aspect of our 500-acre countryside estate - from the organic dairy farm, to the woodlands, gardens and beyond - we offer weekly outdoor learning programmes for young people with SEN. We work with a number of local SEN schools with young people visiting weekly over a 34-week programme in line with the academic year. Our courses are designed to develop essential life-skills and work-related skills, as well as building confidence, resilience and self-esteem through programmes tailored to each individual.

We recognise the importance of young people receiving accredited qualifications as part of their outdoor learning programme at Bore Place. For those students able to access an accredited programme we currently offer two recognised qualifications, LASER Awards and Arts Award. We also offer a non-accredited course, the John Muir Award, as well as other bespoke (non-accredited) programmes focusing on outdoor experiences and practical- and soft-skills development.

In academic year 2022-23, we had a 100% pass rate for all students on accredited programmes.

We work closely with the each visiting school to ensure that the programme is appropriate for students' needs, adjusting the level of content and pace of delivery as required. Our weekly programmes are accessible for students from pre-entry level to Level 1, with a wide range of needs. Our indoor and outdoor teaching spaces, toilets and changing space are accessible.

The main focus of all of our programmes is to learn in an outdoor setting, and for the natural and farming landscapes to be accessible to all. We have three all-terrain wheelchairs available for visiting students to use, so that everybody can participate in all outdoor activities.


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Accredited Programmes

We offer accredited courses for SEND school groups attending Bore Place on a regular programme.

John Muir Award

 John Muir Award is an environmental award scheme that encourages people of all backgrounds to connect with, enjoy and care for wild places. It is inclusive, accessible and non-competitive. The Award’s ethos encourages participants to minimise their impact on the natural environment – from considering access and responsibilities in the outdoors, to making sustainable lifestyle choices. With a focus also on health and wellbeing, the award is something we are really excited to be able to offer at Bore Place.

Laser Qualification

We currently offer two accredited programmes through the Awarding Organisation LASER:

LASER’s Independent Living programme is designed to develop life and learning skills through a variety of units around the subject areas of horticulture, ecology, conservation and independent skills development. 

LASER’s Learning, Employability and Progression (LEAP) qualifications offer a wide variety of personal development and vocational taster units including personal and social development, employability and land-based subjects as part of the programme.

Arts Award

The Arts Award encourages the growth of artists and arts leaders. The programmes we offer at Bore Place support groups from local schools to develop their own creative pathways. Students work on projects aiming to foster independent working and progression into further education and employment. Students are assessed on developing art form knowledge and understanding, creativity, planning and reviewing, and communication. We have experience in delivering all three Arts Awards (Bronze, Silver and Gold) - and can adjust the level of content and pace of delivery as required. Each student produces a portfolio or arts log to record their journey.

Bore Place Club

The Bore Place Club offers weekend and holiday drop-off sessions for young people with mild to moderate additional needs. The club is open to young people aged 8-17, living in Kent.

Activities are fun, engaging and tailored to individual and group needs. The club encourages young people to develop a love of the natural world and enjoy being outdoors, whilst learning and having fun.

Activities change with the seasons and include things like exploring the dairy farm, hands-on cooking, arts and crafts, harvesting fruit veg from the garden, den building, minibeast hunts, bushcraft activities and gardening. We regularly visit our herd of dairy cows and calves!

All activities are led by our team of tutors with vast experience teaching children with a variety of additional needs. The sessions are designed to help develop life skills, confidence and self-esteem in a safe, fun environment.

Young people attend independently and parents/carers are not required to stay.

The club is suitable for young people who:

  • Can take part in and enjoy a practical sessions – nature walks, bushcraft, art, gardening, cooking etc.
  • May have speech and language difficulties – we can use communicate in print resources.
  • Can take part in a group session, and whose behaviour will not disrupt the session.
  • Are able to take care of their own personal needs.
  • May lack confidence or self-esteem.
  • Enjoy being outside!

The club is subsidised thanks to funding from Kent County Council. Each session runs from 10:00-14:00 and can be booked via our What's On page. We meet all young people prior to booking, in order to ensure each attendees' needs can be met, and then share a code to enable booking. 


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Residentials

Set within 500-acres of organic farmland, Bore Place has diverse landscapes including fields, meadows, hedgerows, ponds and woodlands to explore.

Activities
Our tutor-led programmes offer fun, safe, curriculum-linked activities with options to tailor your stay to your own learning outcomes. Our activities are focused on outdoor learning, designed to allow pupils to connect with each other and their environment. 

Accommodation and catering
We can accommodate up to 25 guests in The Old Stable, a sensitively converted historic building on the estate. There are 8 shared bedrooms for pupils and 3 single rooms, perfect for accompanying adults.

We provide seasonal, organic and locally-produced food and consider the impact of our food choices on the environment. We create healthy, balanced meals and snacks for hungry children and can cater for special dietary requirements.

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Evaluation

Bore Place has a track record of delivering innovative projects in education and wellbeing working with over 2500 pupils annually.  All our activities are evaluated through a variety of methods including participant feedback gathered informally and through specific surveys. We also seek feedback from teachers, parents and pupils themselves. This feedback allows us to adapt, improve and strengthen the programmes we offer in line with our vision, values, strategic plan and local demand.  

Testimonials

“

Lovely environment. Katie took so much care to make sure she tailored the learning to match our objectives and was so kind and helpful with the children. Brilliant!

Speldhurst School, April 2023
“

We enjoyed how the day was organised and led by the leaders, as well as the beautiful surroundings. The children did enjoy seeing the cows in the field and learning about how they are milked.

Palace Wood, May 2023
“

I loved the fact that the children had time to be outdoors and to explore and learn at the same time.

Pluckley Church of England Primary School, June 2023
“

The children enjoyed all the activities as the environment was so different. They particularly enjoyed walking through the woods (much denser than our school 'forest'), learning about where milk comes from and bug hunting in the long grass.

St Thomas More Primary School, June 2023
“

There was a very good variety of activities for the pupils. The sessions were very well organised by the session leader, who was great with the pupils. They loved being outside and working in teams with their peers. They particularly enjoyed using the tools and building a fire.

Solefield School, September 2023
“

[We have particularly enjoyed] Exploring the grounds and the students being able to really get involved with everything, the new outdoor wheelchairs you have are amazing and mean that everyone gets to explore.

Marjorie McClure School, weekly programme 2023-24
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LOTC

OUR PARTNERS

Bore Place is home to the Commonwork Trust (reg. charity 1160725) and Commonwork Organic Farms Ltd

Copyright © 2023 Bore Place Chiddingstone Kent TN8 7AR