Home Ed Sessions
Come and spend time in nature with a likeminded community enjoying this beautiful space and getting to meet our alpacas up close.
The farm is a truly unique experience for children and their carers/families.
We work in a holistic and multi-disciplinary way with our alpacas to facilitate animal experiences and encounters for enjoyment, education, wellbeing and healing.
Through the use of Animal Assisted Activities, Animal Assisted Interventions, time spent in nature and land based activities, we hope to offer a unique and engaging hands-on educational experience.
But what we really specialise in is a spacious, flexible, autonomous, natured based experience where children and their adults can play freely, connect if they choose to and retreat if they need to.
We are understanding of the needs of SEND children and our environment and offerings are inclusive and welcoming of a diverse range of sensory and emotional needs. Unfortunately we are not yet fully accessible though we're working on that! Your children (and you!) are welcome as they are.
These sessions are for all ages.
Read on for more.
What to Expect
These sessions are flexible and fluid to the needs of the group but as a rough guide to how the sessions might unfold...
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Gathering together round the fire at The Hideout for a short welcome, introduction to the day, health and safety briefing and opportunity to connect/ask questions (there are spaces for children to break away if this feels overwhelming and they need time to settle).
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We will then have time to explore an activity whether it's meeting the alpacas, working with the fibre (fleece), learning how to handle and halter alpacas, mini-alpaca walks or something else (with quiet spaces for children to retreat to for calm activities or free play in the meadow if the activity doesn't suit them)
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There will be time to toast marshmallows on the campfire (weather dependent) and have some snacks (after hand washing of course!).
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We tend to then offer time for free play in the ancient woodland by the stream. Time for paddling, playing with the natural clay, den building, slide, tuff trays, mud kitchen etc. and there are hammocks and picnic benches for the parents enjoyment.
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In between times and whenever wanted children are free to roam in the meadow in front of us, play the piano, card games, table tennis, do some colouring, read books or rest. Whatever they feel.
Tweens and Teens
Older children are very welcome to join our sessions.
We can support the older children (10+) a little more with a variety of activities to choose from...
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Hands on learning on how to herd and handle the alpacas using our gentle, respectful handling style
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Learning how to halter and lead - taking them on a short walk
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Learn about alpaca husbandry tasks
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Fibre crafts using our alpaca fleece including needle felting, knitting and spinning
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And of course plenty of free time to roam, socialise and chill whenever needed/wanted
The younger children can continue their usual free play whilst we do this or can come and observe/join in with suitable activities depending on what we're doing.
Of course these older ones are also welcome to just freely roam and socialise too as it's one of the beautiful things about home education that multi-age groups get to benefit from being in one another's company. But we get that it can be nice to have something directed to you specifically too.
Scroll down for FAQs.
Hand washing and bathroom facilities available at The Hideout.
Please note, parents must stay with and supervise their children at all times. The walking route to the woodland is not suitable for prams, so we recommend baby carriers.
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Details
Duration: 3 hours
Frequency: Monthly
Cost:
View individual events and ticket options (sibling discounts available).
Contact us for large family discount (4+).
Facilities: Composting toilets, hand washing, undercover areas for eating.
What to bring: a packed lunch/snacks, sensible closed toe shoes, appropriate clothing for the weather, hat/suncream for warmer months, water bottle.
Please wear sensible footwear suitable for uneven ground and dress for the weather as this day takes place outdoors.
The farm is not yet fully wheelchair accessible and some areas have uneven ground. We are always happy to discuss individual accessibility needs and explore whether we can adapt an experience to make a visit possible.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Nicola
I have been searching for this type of event for the past three years and I feel so lucky to have finally found it.
R’s only complaint was ‘it went too fast, it felt like 5 minutes!’ A sure sign that she loved every minute and she’s already planning what she’ll be doing when she gets to the stream next month!
Esme
We just loved this morning (and so did all of our friends!) Truly, what a beautiful place and vibe. It is easily one of the most wholesome affirming moments I've had in choosing home education. We will be back for sure.
S
Thank you for today, the girls absolutely loved it!
Especially learning about the alpacas and helping out. They both love animals! A wants to work with animals when she is older so getting to work with the alpacas made her day today.
They have both asked me to book onto the next session :)
FAQs
What ages is this session suitable for?
All ages are welcome but we do tend to find the session is predominantly attended by those between 4-11.
We have lots of teens and tweens drop in but they keep missing each other so we're trying to build our community to include more older children.
As such we can cater to teens and tweens specifically at the last session of the month as we have more support.
Do you offer sibling discounts?
Yes! Our pricing is reflective of market value for such experiences but we want the session to be as accessible as possible (home ed can be expensive!) so we offer sibling discounts and the session is free for under 2s. You can select these options in the ticket section of the booking process.
We also offer a discount code for bookings more than one session at once (email farm@hideawaywood.co.uk for the code) and remember to use it on all relevant bookings!
Do you cater towards neurodiversity?
Many of the children who attend this session are identified as neurodiverse and being neurologically spicy ourselves the session naturally supports those who need time, space, autonomy and understanding. The alpacas and the land do wonders for those of us who struggle.
What can we expect?
We follows the needs and wants of the group after a check in (totally optional!).
Sometimes we farm together learning about all of the tasks that are required to take care of alpacas by doing them together.
We offer handling sessions where the children (and adults!) learn to make contact with the alpacas using our gentle and respectful handling approach.
Sometimes we explore fibre crafts such as needle felting together for those who enjoy getting creative.
We generally always find plenty of time to play freely in our ancient woodland and stream and we can't close out the session without toasted marshmallows round the fire.
Most importantly - everything is optional and the children (and adults!) are free to choose where and how they spend their time on the farm (within our safety guidelines).
Is this session suitable for those who follow British Curriculum?
There are a plethora of home ed sessions offering curriculum based education offerings and very few offering spaces that prioritise autonomy and space. What I hear from the parents on the ground more often than not is that they want a place for their children to be children as children once were. And so this is what we offer here at Hideaway Wood Farm.
This session is more therapeutic (not therapy) than educational but there are certainly many things to be learned. Through the use of Animal Assisted Activities, Animal Assisted Interventions, time spent in nature and land based activities, we hope to offer a unique and engaging hands-on educational experience.
But what we really specialise in is a spacious, flexible, autonomous, natured based experience where children and their adults can play freely, connect if they choose to and retreat if they need to.
However - if you would like to attend the session and you would like us to provide any evidence for reporting purposes we can certainly support you with that.