Day Services
Day Service and educational facilities
We promote and implement an inclusive approach to the design and management of our home and the outdoor space on the farm and in the garden. This helps to ensure equality of access for all our students, regardless of age, disability or background.
Our day service is available to non-residents and those living in other supported environments.
New for 2010 in addition to our regular activities we have joined up with the Local Learning Club to set up a new cookery club:
Experience Cookery at Hillview Farm
Experience Education aims to raise the awareness of the importance of healthy eating and nutrition through hands-on experience. Experience Education welcomes all students especially encouraging those with physical, learning, behavioural and emotional difficulties. Our students learn to cook healthy, delicious dishes from scratch, using fresh ingredients. Although there is a large emphasis on nutrition education and savoury food, cooking the healthier sweet dishes is not overlooked! In addition to the practical side of the sessions/workshops, students take part in ‘food therapy’. This gives the students the opportunity to smell, taste and touch different foods, as well as learning about their origins and how they move from farm to fork. Not just about cooking Experience Education adopts a multifaceted approach to food education. Through the combination of health, educational and social benefits, we aim to empower students to take responsibility for what they eat and drink, how they learn and how they live. In educational terms, Experience Education offers courses to meet the needs of each student. But it's not just about cooking. Students learn about the health benefits of having a good diet including preventative medicine such as dealing with food allergies/intolerances, multicultural cuisines, basic hygiene, health and safety and the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. Students learn about the social benefits of a good diet and how it can affect behaviour, for example the importance of eating breakfast and eating together as a means of socialising. In addition, students develop personal independence, self-esteem and confidence when developing and practicing the skills they are taught. They learn to have respect for multicultural cuisines, discovering that food is an important element of culture. Our students are from a variety of backgrounds and abilities and work together in the cookery school promoting inclusion, teamwork and team learning. Overall, this approach to food education empowers the student to be responsible for their own choice of lifestyle and the foods they choose to eat Experience Education teaches students a vital life skill - one that will stay with them and play an important role in the prevention of the illnesses and diseases that stem from poor eating habits.
Some of our teaching may be less obvious such as helping to improve literacy through a simple task, such as listing ingredients and finding recipes in books or on line. There are some who simply want to enjoy cooking but need practical advice and skills to get started or to progress. This approach can open doors to the future for those who demonstrate a stronger ability to learn and we aim to help students to move on to work placements in the community.
Workshop & Resource room
Our workshop and resource room facilities offer a range of opportunities based on basic woodwork and metalwork skills, this can be combined with computer and general studies.
Recording day to day activities
Our many varied activities generate a sense of achievement which the students can chose to record in whichever format they feel most comfortable with. Currently a word document is used for either the student or support worker to record the activity. This can be recorded in a written or pictorial format. Photographic evidence is also added to the student’s files and the use of widgit symbols. Widgit has given us the opportunity to create accessible information in signage and for use as educational records.
Greener Matters
We recycle all our paper, which is then shredded and used as bedding for the chickens and ducks. When they are cleaned out the paper goes onto the compost heap to rot before being dug into the vegetable garden.
A variety of other materials go onto our compost heaps, they include our horse and pony droppings, grass cuttings, hay, straw and discarded plant material.
We have 9 water butts around the farm to catch valuable rain water. This is used to water our tomatoes, cucumbers and melons (growing in the greenhouses) and the various pots, planters and hanging baskets we have on the farm.
All staff and Service Users are encouraged to recycle wherever possible. We have a Recycling Point where we collect paper, plastics, glass and tins. When they are full they are taken to the municipal refuse site.
Our Day Service provides a good grounding for students wanting to further their education and move on to work placements in the comminity, we are happy to say that we have strong connection with Newbury College & Link Up, which is a work skills project.
For more information on visiting us at Hillview Farm call us on +44 (0)1635 861496 or let us contact you.
