Lower Drayton Farm Park Learning Outdoor Education Staffordshire

Lower Drayton Farm offers school trips that bring farming to life! If you’re looking to escape the classroom for a day that will engage and inspire pupils, you’ve come to the right place.

This 700-acre working farm is surprisingly easy to reach – set just 1 mile off J13 of the M6 – but will feel a world away from the classroom. The Bower family is passionate about teaching the next generation all about farming and its role not only in food production, but in protecting the environment.

Farmer Richard and his dad Farmer Ray take a progressive approach; embracing the latest technology to help reduce the farm’s carbon footprint as it produces traditionally reared, grass-fed beef cattle and sheep kept to the highest welfare standards. On the arable side, sustainably grown crops include wheat, oil seed rape, maize and sweetcorn alongside potatoes, carrots and pumpkins to ensure a diverse crop rotation. Conservation is taken very seriously too, with trees regularly planted and wildlife actively encouraged to make the farm their home.

This forward-thinking model forms the basis of educational trips on the farm, with schools able to choose from a number of topics to suit different age groups and curriculum themes. Older groups can focus on STEM topics; seeing how the farm is adapting to mitigate against Climate Change and strive to hit the target NetZero in terms of carbon emissions by 2040. Topics for younger children include food’s ‘Farm to Fork’ journey, discovering New Life on the Farm and meeting baby animals, or learning about a ‘Day in the Life’ of a farmer. Hands-on activities like planting trees, enjoying a farm trailer ride, picking veg or planting seeds change with the seasons.

And trips to Lower Drayton Farm aren’t all about learning – children will also enjoy access to the huge indoor and outdoor play areas in the farm’s award-winning PLAY@ farm attraction as part of their visit – making it truly a day to remember!

• Location – we’re very easy to find
• Accessibility, inclusive for all children and SEN groups
• Fun way of learning
• Undercover, so all year round the schools can visit
• So much to do, not a dull moment
• Incorporate learning and play in our role play area
• Help children socialise outside of school
• Children using all their senses, see, smell, hearing
• Using large and fine motor skills
• Interact with animals, and see animals children may never have seen before
• No age restrictions, children of all ages can enjoy the farm
• Friendly, trained staff
• Hands on learning
• Structured programs based on what the children are learning in the classroom
• Activities that changes with seasons, seasonal talks,
• Activities like, planting, animal talks, Farm to fork topic, new life topic, farming for the future, the working farm
• Events for schools to participate in: Pumpkin, lambing, Christmas, Easter
• Tailor made visits, to suit age and level of learning.
• Free return tickets and educational material
• Broad range of curriculum-based , seasonal topics.
• Farming, the environment and STEM specialty
• Discounts to schools visiting multiple times throughout the school year.
• Friendly staff
• Trailer ride and farm walks

Every one of Lower Drayton Farm’s school trips is unique, with a dedicated schools coordinator working with you to tailor a trip with activities that support the curriculum and are suited to the age and abilities of your group.

Visits are built around children experiencing ‘live’ farming – so the activities will depend on the topic you choose and what’s happening down on the farm at the time of your visit. Whatever the time of year, you can rest assured of a great mix of interactive learning, ‘hands-on’ activities and exploring our large & small animal zones before letting off steam in the play areas. Here’s a rough guide of what to expect throughout the farming calendar:

September & October – Harvest time! Get hands-on picking potatoes, carrots, sweetcorn or pumpkins. Children will also see the planting of winter crops – Wheat and Oil Seed Rape – and have chance to ‘meet the machines’.

November – November’s ‘hands on’ activities include planting bulbs and trees.

December – Christmas is a magical time at the farm, with an immersive festive experience is perfect for younger children –meeting Santa, enjoying festive crafts, watching a Christmassy tale and having indoor faux-snowball fun.

January – Plant bulbs and trees, hop on the farm trailer ride to see how the winter crops are growing and help to feed the wildlife.

February & March – With lambing season well underway, you’ll head to the purpose-built lambing barn to meet the new arrivals – and their mums! Planting potatoes may also be an option at this time of year.

April & May – With Spring in full bloom, now’s the time for planting pumpkin, sweetcorn and sunflowers seeds, with trailer rides to the livestock fields to see the animals and their babies.

June – This time of year sees the legendary trailer ride really come into its own – see the crops before harvest, plant some wildflowers, and meet the machines before making the most of the farm’s outdoor adventure playground.

Various – we’ve had groups as small as 15. Our average group size is around 50 but we have also catered for whole school visits of over 300 on the same day. Happy to discuss individual requirements.

We offer NFU farming booklets and activity sheets, developed by the National Farmers’ Union – happy to provide samples if required.

There are no restrictions on photography, filming and audio taken on the farm by schools as long as only children in their own group are featured and the school has full parental consent. We are happy for these to be shared on social media and other platforms, and to be tagged in as venue.

Schools/groups are invited to do a pre-visit during which they complete their own risk assessment; we also send them a copy of our own risk assessment,

Learn@lowerdraytonfarm.co.uk

Jaunine Campbell – Schools Manager

Pricing as of March 2023 (please contact Jaunine for up to date pricing):

• £12.50 per child
• Teachers pay half price
• 1 in 5 teachers are free
• 1:1 staff and carers are free
• Large groups can email us and we can negotiate the price

Pricing includes complimentary hot drinks for adults and bus drivers. Squash and water for children.

We recommend that children have their arms and legs covered (dresses not recommended). Socks required and we recommend bringing wellies for planting activities/ farm walk.

We have a first aid room, and all our staff are first aid trained

• Souvenir and toy shop – bring £2-£5 but many schools don’t use the shop
• Honey Pots café
• Dining areas
• Picnic areas
• Toilets
• Party rooms/quiet rooms
• Facilities to eat packed lunches
• Play areas
• Animal zone
• Outdoor play areas

We are DDA compliant

We have qualified SEN staff

We are Wheelchair friendly andd have fully accessible toilets

Schools/ groups Monday – Friday 10:00-2:30

Weekend booking available 10:00-2:30

“We all had such a fantastic time today! Thank you for making us all so welcome, the children had such a lovely experience and have made so many memories! The staff were all so complimentary of the activities you had to offer, the organisation of the day, facilities and your staff too. The play leaders were excellent and all staff we came into contact with were so welcoming and accommodating to our needs. Pass on our thanks to all the staff today, they really added to a wonderful day.” Mrs Emily Dean, Reception Year Leader / EYFS Phase Leader

“We had a fabulous day at the farm. The children all had a great time from our youngest 2 year olds to our 5year olds. We enjoyed the range of activities from looking at animals, the trailer ride through to the indoor play area ( great for a drizzly March afternoon). We were impressed how friendly and welcoming all the staff were and by the cleanliness of all the hand washing and toilet areas. There was a good space for us to have lunch. Thank you for a fun day out from all the staff and children in the Early Years at Mayfield Preparatory School.” Alison Roberts, Mayfield Primary School

“I didn’t get chance to send this on Friday as we went straight into a meeting when we returned to school but I just wanted to say thank you for the excellent service we received on our school trip to Lower Drayton Farm.

“The children had a lovely day (and the staff!) and you were very accommodating to our child in a wheelchair who got to experience a day out with his peers and not miss out on any of it.” Lacey Glover, Veritas Primary Academy

“WOW. What an incredible day! Thank you so much to you and the team for making us feel so welcome. We were blown away by the organisation, time and general running of the day. The passion for the farm and everything you guys do was infectious and our children are still talking about the experience now. Thank you so much for everything!” Attiye Passey, St Albans C of E Academy

“From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, we were utterly impressed.

“The facilities were incredible, the staff were so knowledgeable and accommodating nothing was too much trouble and their manner with the children was superb. We were filled with lots of information that will help with our writing activity back at school (I will certainly send some examples over to you).

“The children had a fantastic experience and were full of beans, albeit a little tired from the play zone.

“I have spoken with several staff members regarding our experience and I believe our early years department are hoping to come and do a trip in March. The lady who will be in contact is Sadie Stoddart.”

Once again please thank all staff involved in our visit 🙂” Rachel Cartwright, Assistant Head Teacher, Cheslyn Hay Primary School

 We encourage many schools to visit us multiple times in the year to see the progress of our crops and animals, as the farm changes through the seasons, the Christmas and Summer visits are more of a treat for the children and teachers to enjoy.