Manor Farm Heritage Educational Farm School Visits Hampshire

Free Parking, use of our purpose-built Cabin (where you can leave bags and eat packed lunches) for the day, fully-trained educational staff who will lead your chosen educational sessions, and the opportunity to experience our beautiful venue, which includes a Victorian Farmhouse, Wartime Cottage, Anderson Shelter, outdoor Privy, 13^th Century Church, and several ancient barns. Our lovely ancient farm is a calm, happy place with healthy, friendly animals, beautiful heritage buildings, experienced staff and the chance to learn all sorts of new skills, while having great fun in the fresh air!

Manor Farm Heritage Educational Farm School Visits Hampshire
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Our beautiful heritage farm is steeped in history, the origins of which date back to medieval times. The historic farmyard keeps the feel of a traditional Hampshire farmstead, and offers valuable insight into times gone by. Today, our modern facilities and rural setting encourage children to connect with nature and learn how to care for farm animals, while experiencing what life was like for farm children throughout the 19^th-20^th centuries.

Our taught educational sessions are appropriate for early years, KS1 and KS2. We can adapt activities for KS3 as well as higher education,  home education and SEN groups. We are delighted to tailor visits specifically to the needs of groups. Below are the subjects and activities we offer. Using your learning objectives, we will work with you to put together a session plan that flows well. Sessions generally run between 30-45 minutes. Large groups will be divided into groups of 18 or fewer. Our maximum number of children per visit is 72 – if your group is larger, we recommend coming over two or three days.

Victorian Life: the day will focus on an average day for a Victorian child living on a farm and includes such activities as:

• Domestic household chores and introduction to a typical Victorian farmhouse
• From cottage garden to pantry: learn how Victorians preserved fresh foods for lean times
• Victorian school lesson with our Victorian schoolmistress
• Victorian farm tour with an opportunity to meet (and feed if possible) animals and see farm machinery
• Rag rug making using recycled materials – learn how to make your own rag rug
• Victorian toys and games
• Victorian etiquette: try out Victorian polite social graces and enjoy singing some Victorian songs
• Try milking Milly, our training cow, and learn how butter is made.

Farming and Nature: the day will focus on farming produce, animal care and being outside, learning about nature, including such activities as:

• Farm tour: meet a variety of farm animals, giving you an up-close experience. Find out names for each gender and for young animals.
• Poultry: Chicken and Egg game (KS1); Life Cycle of a Chicken (KS2). Look at the eggs laid on the farm and try feeding chickens.
• Plants & Food: explore the Granary building and learn what plants need to be healthy. What do plants give us? Plant a seed to take home and grow.
• Sheep: meet our woolly friends, feel the delights of their produce, and learn to card wool.
• Animal Care Game: learn how to care for animals through a role play game. What do farmers do to keep animals fit, healthy and happy?
• Meet Milly the Milking Cow and learn where butter comes from.
• Tour of the Victorian farmhouse.
• Explore different habitats and see what plants and animals we can find living here.

Wartime Farm: the day will focus on what life was like for children and adults during World War II. Possible activities are:

• Billeting: on arrival, the children are sorted into groups through the billeting process, as it was done in WWII. Experience the chilling sound of the air raid siren.
• Rationing: looking at how food and supplies were rationed using weighing measurements and money.
• Secret Messages: try becoming a secret spy and learn how to code break.
• Wartime Farm: meet some of our friendly animal residents and learn about Pig Club, Digging for Victory, and the Land Army.
• Tour of Wartime Cottage, Anderson Shelter, Privy and Cottage Gardens.
• Try simple 1940’s-style dancing to fun music.
• Make Do and Mend Crafts: make a rag rug using recycled materials.

We welcome school groups (early years, KS1, KS2, and KS3/higher education/SEN/home school) of up to 72 children per visit. Larger groups will be divided into groups of 18 or fewer for learning activities. 

We provide all materials and resources for our educational sessions. We can link these to specific elements of the National Curriculum/Key Stages as required. These were developed by our experienced education team, headed by Dr Devon Campbell-Hall, a professional educator of more than 20 years’ experience.

Groups are welcome to photograph, film or audio record our sessions.

We provide a set of risk assessments, which teachers use as a platform for creating their own risk assessments, specific to the needs of their students. We welcome teachers to visit us at the Farm for a pre-visit risk assessment visit.

For all educational queries, please contact our Senior Visitor Services Officer, Devon Campbell-Hall, via email at: manorfarmlearning@hants.gov.uk, or at (01489) 787055

A minimum charge of £140 will apply for guided educational groups with fewer than 15 children. Booked school groups will be charged £9.50 for each child. Booked school groups are entitled to 1 free adult for every 5 paying children; any additional adults are charged an entry of £12 each. 

For children within the group with an ECH plan, there will be no charge for their 1:1 carer. 

Booked educational sessions run from 10-1, including a 30-minute break (if required).

Please dress for the weather (rain jacket / coat / hat / sunblock as required) and wear comfortable walking shoes.

We have qualified First Aiders on site, but you are most welcome to bring your own First Aiders.

Our facilities include a gift shop, café, toilets (including two disabled toilets), handwashing stations throughout the farm, the Play Barn / café, plus our purpose-built educational Cabin, where booked school groups can leave their bags throughout the day, and where they can eat their packed lunches.

We are delighted to put together a series of small pocket-money items from the gift shop (at under £2 each), for children to choose from.

Manor Farm is a predominantly pram- and wheelchair-friendly site. Our tarmac car park, around 100 metres from the farm entrance, has parking spaces reserved for visitors with mobility issues. From here you can easily reach the café and accessible toilet facilities. 

Wheelchair access into the farm is via a short slope. Once inside the farmyard, the ground is mostly level. The ground floor of the farmhouse and cottage are accessible to wheelchair and pushchair users, as are many of the barns and outbuildings.

Although we are not formally qualified as SEN staff, we do have many years of experience in supporting our visitors with SEN to have an enjoyable time on our farm. Please contact the farm if you would like to discuss details.

1 March to 31 October: open daily, 10:00 – 17:00

1 November to 31 January: open Thursday to Sunday, 10:00 – 16:00

1 February to 28/9 February: open daily, 10:00 – 16:00

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL ACCEPT SCHOOL BOOKINGS M-F THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR, EXCEPT FOR SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.

We are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day.