The Food and Farming Discovery Trust teamed up with Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership and Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association to help young people once again learn about livestock. This hands-on opportunity offered schools the chance to look after ewes and their lambs at their school, for five days.

The project, sponsored by Clan Trust, is aimed at giving children, ranging from Reception to High School age, the chance to learn about animal husbandry and to engage schools in food and farming education.

Fourteen schools across Norfolk and Suffolk took part in this project from Monday 21st March to Friday 25th March and breeds included Southdowns, Norfolk Horns, Greyface Dartmoors and Ryelands.

This year Gail Sprake, from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the Food & Farming Discovery Trust Advisory Board has been the driving force behind the project, liaising with schools and farmers to ensure the success of the project. Gail has been overwhelmed with the level of response and as expected, the project was once again oversubscribed.

Participating schools were provided with everything they needed to care for and look after the animals and staff were given a comprehensive briefing, to ensure that they adhered to the very best health and safety and husbandry practice. A variety of ideas on how to incorporate the project into the curriculum were provided, to help schools make the most of their livestock visit.

This year the sheep were kindly provided by members of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust East Anglia Support Group, which included Southdown sheep from Tricia & Les Newman’s Snowden flock, and Gail & Michael Sprake’s All Saints flock. Farmers have been instrumental in ensuring that animal movement licences have been acquired and they supported the delivery of the animals to the schools, thereby strengthening relationships between schools and their local farms.

Matt Frost, from Harford Manor School who is a new participant in the project, says: “Here at Harford Manor, we are currently engaged in a whole school topic all about ‘farming’ so participating in the Learn about Livestock project creates a perfect opportunity to quite literally, bring our learning to life! We hope that by taking part in the project, many of our students, who may not have been able to access farm visits off site, will be able to engage in first hand experiences whilst caring for livestock. Many of our classes will also be exploring every aspect of sheep farming, from woolly fleeces to Shepherd’s Pies and beyond.”

One recipient was the Clare School in Norwich - a specialist school for pupils with complex physical and sensory needs. Class teacher Julie Hatfield actually helped sheep owner Gail Sprake deliver the twin lambs when they were born at Meens Farm in January. She said the animals’ arrival with their mother at the school gave the children access to a valuable sensory experience, particularly as many use wheelchairs which could otherwise prevent them getting close to farm animals.

“We are talking about the sheep and increasing the children’s vocabulary and language, so to be able to do all that through an actual real-life learning experience is amazing.”

This project forms part of the Food and Farming Discovery Trust’s wider programme of events and initiatives run throughout the year, which help promote focused educational learning about food, farming and the countryside, to young people across Norfolk.

This year the South of England Agricultural Society under the guidance of Mary Masters have also taken part in the ‘Learn about Livestock’ project, building on the foundations established by the RNAA and FFDT team. A number of other agricultural associations around the country are interested in getting involved, so perhaps even more schools may welcome ewes and lambs in to their schools in Spring 2023.

For more information on the activities and educational opportunities available through the Food and Farming Discovery Trust, please go to www.rnaa.org.uk to learn more, or email Shannon Woodhouse or telephone on 01603 731974, or Gail Sprake.