In The News
- The Bath Magazine: The farm's finest harvest
- First News: Farm life turning vulnerable children's lives around
- Children In Need - Where does the money go? Jamie's Farm's Ruth Carney on BBC Radio Wiltshire
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What is Jamie's Farm?
Jamie’s Farm exists to transform the lives of vulnerable children in challenging urban schools, by providing a unique combination of ‘farming, family and therapy’ through a short stay residential and follow up programme. We aim to re-engage children with educational life, and enable them to fulfil their potential both in school and the wider social setting.
A National Problem
- Every year, 8680 children are permanently excluded from school; many of these are on the SEN register and are in care
- The cost of exclusion is £300,000 over a child’s lifetime; once excluded, risk of criminal activity and unemployment drastically increase
- Educating a child in care = £2428/week; one child in custody = £140,000/year; youth unemployment = £10million/day (NPC report)
The Solution
Jamie’s Farm believes that when children are not engaging fully with their education it can be difficult for them to see their potential as successful people. Children are rarely given the time and space to reflect, renew and change course and this situation is particularly severe for those children growing up in deprivation and attending large secondary schools. To combat this, through a residential visit to a working farm offering a unique combination of family, farming and therapy, Jamie’s Farm acts as a catalyst for change. Children see their futures in a new light and their teachers to develop the skills needed to support the continuation of change for their students.
As well as the ‘family, farming and therapy’ strands of our residential programme, Jamie’s Farm is committed to:
- A preventative approach
- Building long term partnerships with schools and charities that bring children to Jamie’s Farm
- Giving children a framework of support that will allow the impact of the farm on self-esteem, relationships and behaviour to continue
Jamie’s Farm leads to:
- Fewer fixed term and permanent exclusions
- Reduced teacher stress
- A happy classroom, for all students
- Reengagement with teachers, school and educational life
For more information on outcomes, see our impact section.
