1. How much space do you need?
2. Are you insured?
3. Which animals will you bring?
4. Do the animals bite?
5. What type of experiences will the children have?
6. Is your visit relevant for older children? KS2?
7. Will you do a pre-visit?
8. Would we be able to arrange specific activities?
9. Will you provide lesson plans and objectives?
10. What pre-information will you need and provide?
11. Will you provide follow-up activities?
12. Do you have a letter for parents to explain what is happening?
13. How can you involve pupils with Special Educational Needs?
14. Are you DBS checked?
15. What do we need to provide you with?
16. How large a group can you work with?
17. How will the groups be organised?
18. How many pupils can you see in a day?
19. Can you do additional activities?
20. Are you teachers?
21. Are your staff experienced with children and animals?
22. Will you do a lunch time session?
23. Will you do an after-school session?
24. How much do you cost?
25. How do you book a visit?
26. What is your cancellation policy?
27. How do you accept payment?
28. How many staff will there be with you?
29. Who is in charge of the children?
30. What happens if it rains or there is bad weather?
31. What sort of places have you been to?
32. What is the maximum distance you will travel?
33. Can you do a visit over more than one day?
34. Would you be able to bring part of the farm?
35. Are your animals inspected by DEFRA/Animal Health Inspectors?
36. Do you have an animal welfare policy?
37. What happens if some of the animals are not available?
38. Can we take photographs or videos?
39. Do you attend assemblies to give out information about the day?
Health and Safety, Risk Assessments and FAQs
Health and Safety is central to Allday’s Farm and we are determined to ensure your organisation’s safety and the safety of our animals. A key part of this is by pre-visiting each of the venues that will host our farm and assessing risk and planning for a safe and enjoyable day. We have a standard risk assessment that we will discuss with you and then email you after our consultation and visit.
Frequently asked questions...
1. How much space do you need?
We will need an outdoor space about a third of a netball court in size. In this we will house the animals and trailer. If we don’t have space for the trailer we will bring the animals in and put them in their pens.
3. Which animals will you bring?
Normally we will bring the following animals:-
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Sheep
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Pygmy Goats
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Miniature horse(s)
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Rabbits
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Chickens – two sizes
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Ducks
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Guinea Pigs
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Tortoises
We can if you wish us to, bring along a well-behaved dog!
2. Are you insured?
We have Public Liability Insurance to £10million from AmTrust Europe. For further details of our insurance then please contact us.
4. Do the animals bite?
Having taught for 20 years, the most important thing for me is that the children, you and our animals are safe. No animals will be brought who will bite. The children will be instructed in how to handle the animals and what they should and should not do. However, good as our animals are, children must not put their hands in or near an animals’ mouth.
5. What type of experiences will the children have?
Depending on the time of the year the children will have a range of experiences. They are as follows:-
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Feed the chicks and chickens
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Hold the chicks and chickens
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Brush the miniature horse
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Get in the pen with the chicks and ducklings
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Stroke the pygmy goats
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Stroke the rabbits in their pen
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Stroke and hold the guinea pigs
6. Is your visit relevant for older children? KS2?
As a former teacher for 20 years, deputy headteacher and Science Subject Leader, I believe that there are many opportunities during our visit to stimulate and enhance the learning of older children. I will happily plan sessions that develop their learning about adaptation, food chains and evolution. In addition to this we are keen to deliver sessions that stimulate the children to write and we will provide drama and sessions for persuasive writing on a range of issues and even be interviewed or present information that can be used for reports or presentations.
7. Will you do a pre-visit?
I am very keen to carry out a pre-visit where I can assess the space we will be working in and also receive your input on the aims of the visit. I will then create a bespoke package for your event and email this to you – amending my ideas to meet your needs.
8. Would we be able to arrange specific activities?
As a teacher I believe that this is a great opportunity to bring the curriculum and your children’s learning to life. I am happy to plan and present any activity that you feel will be of most interest to your children. Please email or call me to discuss your priorities.
9. Will you provide lesson plans and objectives?
Once the aims of the sessions/visit have been agreed and the deposit has been paid I will provide you with plans for the sessions that you will be receiving. I will provide these 2 weeks before the visit so that ‘tweaking’ can be undertaken if your needs change.
10. What pre-information will you need and provide?
We will need information about the aims of the sessions, the number of children, how long you wish each session to be, any information about children with specific needs and how we can enhance their experience. We will also need to agree a timetable and any additional activities you may wish us to undertake – e.g. After school session to parents.
In return we will provide you with information about the activities and some pre-visit reminders and information eg. What to do or not do with animals, the importance of washing your hands etc. We will also provide you with a letter for parents to explain what is happening and how they can be involved.
12. Do you have a letter for parents to explain what is happening?
Once the visit is booked, we will provide you with a letter that can be adopted by your school for the visit. In this we will advise parents of the need to inform us of allergies or any other information that might be required.
11. Will you provide follow-up activities?
We will leave follow up activities or suggestions with you after our visit. We will also allow you to copy any information we have given or images that we have used.
13. How can you involve pupils with Special Educational Needs?
My background as a Primary School SENCo means that I have a range of experiences and knowledge about how to meet the needs of children who have additional needs. Children who have specific needs can be involved in a variety of ways. Depending on the need we will respond in ways that allow them to access the sessions. We are happy to work with smaller groups so that children with additional needs are able to be more hands on and we are happy to structure sessions to best meet their needs.
14. Are you DBS checked?
I have enhanced disclosure and you can check this on the update service. Please look up Steven Allday. My other members of staff have been vetted by myself and I have trained them personally in how to behave around children. Permanent members of staff also have DBS checks carried out on them.
15. What do we need to provide you with?
A space in which to work. Water for the animals. Children who are aware of what is expected of them and support in managing behaviour. We recognise how your input in managing their behaviour will support our role as facilitators of their learning.
16. How large a group can you work with?
We would prefer to work with groups of 8 or fewer children. We can work with whole classes but this will dilute the impact of the visit and prevent the children having the maximum experience.
17. How will the groups be organised?
We will work with a group for between 20-45 mins and up to an hour at a time depending on the age and aims of the sessions. Groups of 10 at the most (6 being optimum) will be best but we will adapt to meet your needs. Normally we will see two groups at once, one focusing on small animals and the other on the larger animals.
18. How many pupils can you see in a day?
Depending on the style and type of activity we can see 100 children in a day. However in small groups we would be able to see 60 children or the equivalent of two classes.
19. Can you do additional activities?
We are happy to plan additional activities that link to your needs and areas of the curriculum that you feel could be enhanced by a visit from Allday’s Farm. At the pre-visit please mention your aims and objectives and curriculum areas you wish us to cover and we will create a bespoke plan for your visit.
20. Are you teachers?
I am a qualified teacher who has taught for 20 years. I have also been a deputy head for 6 years, Science Subject Leader and Educational Visits Coordinator. All sessions will be planned by me.
21. Are your staff experienced with children and animals?
All our staff have varied experience of working with children and animals and have received training in how to deal with children and animals. If you have any concerns please speak directly to me (Steven Allday) and I will address them sensitively and thoroughly.
22. Will you do a lunch time session?
We are happy to do a lunch time session providing that the children are supervised. Please mention this when we do the pre-visit.
23. Will you do an after-school session?
We will happily do an extra session at the end of the school day provided that the animals are happy and not tired. Please mention this at the pre-visit.
24. How much do you cost?
A whole day visit is £750. This includes any resources that we agree to provide.
A half day visit is for three hours and costs £550.
A one hour visit is £200-£250 depending on the animals we need to bring
A two hour party session is £325
Allday's farm Chick Experience - £150. Includes 7 eggs, incubator, brooder, cage, bedding and feed.
25. How do you book a visit?
There are a variety of ways to book. You can book via telephone, directly on the website or by sending an email to us. Please be aware that a deposit of 25% is required within 7 days of booking.
26. What is your cancellation policy?
We will try to always ensure we meet a booking – nobody enjoys disappointment or explaining why an event is not happening to expectant children. If we need to cancel we will refund in full and promise an alternative date at half the rate we had agreed if it was our fault for the cancellation. For cancellations as a result of weather etc we will return your deposit and aim to set up a new date as soon as possible.
If you need to cancel, then we require 1 months’ notice as it is very difficult to find an additional booking on a short time scale. Where there is over a month’s notice we will refund in full the deposit providing a new date is booked and the deposit is paid. Bookings cancelled with less than a month’s notice will not be refunded.
30. What happens if it rains or there is bad weather?
We have our own pop up gazebos that can be used to shelter the children. If the weather is really bad then we can move some of the animals inside – especially the smaller ones.
29. Who is in charge of the children?
Although Steven is a trained and experienced teacher, the children’s behaviour is the accompanying staff member’s responsibility.
28. How many staff will there be with you?
There will always be at least two staff attending each event unless you have asked for a smaller booking.
27. How do you accept payment?
Payment must be made before we leave a venue. We will accept bank transfer, cheque or cash and we can accept card payments at the event.
31. What sort of places have you been to?
We have attended special events, schools and care homes. We are happy to consider any event where our animals will be safe and secure and we can provide a positive service.
32. What is the maximum distance you will travel?
We will travel up to two hours away from our home or up to 70 miles. Please contact us with your details, and we will advise you.
35. Are your animals inspected by DEFRA/Animal Health Inspectors?
Our animals are registered with DEFRA and we follow their guidance and rules and they are inspected as required. We also have our animals regularly checked by our local vets to ensure their health and well-being.
34. Would you be able to bring part of the farm?
We can bring which ever animals you wish and focus on specific ones. We will gladly tailor the event to your requirements.
33. Can you do a visit over more than one day?
We are happy to have a visit over more than one day – please contact us with your wishes and we will make a plan to enable us to meet your requirements.
37. What happens if some of the animals are not available?
Depending on which animals are not available we will bring other animals or arrange different experiences and events. We will not travel any animals that are sick or unwell.
36. Do you have an animal welfare policy?
We have an animal welfare policy that is available for email to interested parties. We are extremely focused on ensuring our animals are healthy and happy.
38. Can we take photographs or videos?
We are happy for you to take photos and videos but we would appreciate you allowing us to get on with our job and to try not to disturb the children. For children’s parties please be aware of the concerns and wishes of other parents who may not wish their child’s image to published on the internet.
39. Do you attend assemblies to give out information about the day?
Prior to the event we are happy to attend an assembly or host one to explain what will be happening on the day. We can also do an assembly that is for the rest of the school if only a number of classes were being involved in the visit.