Case Study: Goodheart Animal Sanctuary
Class: Year 7 and Year 9
Number of students: 11
Gatsby benchmarks: 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6,
As part of our lessons on Environmental Careers the students paid a visit to Goodheart Animal Sanctuary in Milson to learn about animal care and sustainable farming.
The students learnt some facts about the Animal Sanctuary and some information about some of its residents and their individual needs and personalities.
The animals on the farm included:
- Alpacas
- Horses
- Sheep
- Goats
- Chicken
- Turkeys
- Cows
- Pigs
Students also had the opportunity to stoke a horse, feed the chickens by hand and then massage the pigs (purely for the pig’s enjoyment) and make up food parcels for them which included pig nuts and food parcels with scent drops to entice the pigs into eating hay.
Impact on the Students
Students engaged well with Alisha and Dave who ran the day, and they also got involved in feeding the chickens. Most students also took on the experience of massaging the pigs and feeding them. A few students have since commented that they think they might want to work with animals or in an outside environment at some point in their future.
We also found that some children used more vocabulary and communication skills within the farm and outdoor environment than they do in the classroom.
Next Steps
We will continue to look at environment careers over this half term and look to arrange more experiences like the animal sanctuary to follow the students’ interests.
