Home Ed sessions
Farm and Nature Club
Please be aware that due to staffing issues our Home Ed club is not running in 2026. We still have our free Educational Visits available (one-off, 2 hour sessions) and if you would like to arrange for a group of home-edders to have a bespoke session please contact Liz on liz@valleyfarmowl.co.uk. Thankyou
We are hosting two standalone, one-off morning visits specifically for home-educated children and their families this October at Valley Farm.
Each independent, two-hour interactive workshop offers a practical, mud-on-the-boots morning designed to connect young learners directly with where food comes from. Blending kitchen science, traditional preparation skills, and gentle outdoor animal care, each one-off date provides a complete, hands-on experience in a calm and supportive small-group environment.
What to Expect: Farm to Food
Both standalone sessions follow the same interactive schedule, giving children a rich, sensory exploration of real food production and daily life on the land:
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Scratch Food Making: Learners get hands-on in the kitchen, discovering how raw ingredients transform into everyday staples by making their own fresh bread, butter, and cheese from scratch.
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Working Farm Connection: While the bread bakes, we head outside together to tend to our farm animals, learning about animal welfare, feeding routines, and hands-on care.
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Small, Supported Groups: Places on each date are deliberately limited to ensure every child can participate comfortably, ask questions, and learn at their own pace without feeling rushed.
Upcoming Session Dates
Families are welcome to book onto either of our standalone October dates:
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Friday 9th October: 10:00 – 12:00 – FULLY BOOKED
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Friday 30th October: 10:00 – 12:00 FULLY BOOKED
- Friday 6th November: 10:00 – 12:00 SPACES AVAILABLE
Location: Valley Farm OWL, Oldham Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL7 9RS
What to Bring: Please ensure children are dressed in warm outdoor layers with sturdy boots or wellies suitable for working on the farm.
How to Book
Spaces on each individual morning are strictly limited to keep group sizes manageable, hands-on, and calm.
To secure a place for your child or ask any questions about accessibility and session suitability, please contact Liz:
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Email: liz@valleyfarmowl.co.uk
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General Enquiries: info@valleyfarmowl.co.uk
Please include your chosen date (9th or 30th October) along with the number and ages of children attending in your email.
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Our Home Ed club runs fortnightly during term time (Tameside dates), on alternate weeks for the two different age groups. If you have children across both age groups but would prefer them to attend a session together please contact us to discuss which group is best for your age range.
Our sessions run on Thursday mornings. The 5+ group is one hour, from 10:00-11:00 and the 9+ group is 90 minutes, from 10:00-11:30.
5+ session
The session starts with visiting our hens and sheep. The hen house is cleaned out, and fresh water and food put out. The sheep are checked and given fresh water and a sprinkling of sugar beet pellets.
We then take our weekly climate measurements, recording the soil temperature, weekly high and low air temperature and weekly rainfall on a chart so that we can see the changes over the year.
The last half of the session is an activity and short talk, on a different theme each week to do with farming and nature.
Parents/Guardians: we encourage an adult to stay with children in the younger session, but for children aged 7 and over if they are happy to stay without an adult and will follow instructions closely then they can do so.
Siblings: 4 year olds may attend if coming with an older sibling, but should have a ticket bought for them and they will be included in the session. 3 years and younger may come for free, please ensure they are carried/in a pushchair/under close control.
9+ age group
The session starts with visiting our hens and sheep. The hen house is cleaned out, and fresh water and food put out. The sheep are checked and given fresh water and a sprinkling of sugar beet pellets.
We then take our weekly climate measurements, recording the soil temperature, weekly high and low air temperature and weekly rainfall on a chart so that we can see the changes over the year.
We then have an activity and talk, on a different theme each week to do with farming and nature.
We finish with some of the regular maintenance jobs on the farm such as checking and mending fences, muck spreading, and removing weeds from the fields.
HOW TO FIND US
We are directly opposite Hartheads Plant and Services, off the A627 between Oldham and Ashton.
From Oldham, as you head down the hill you will see Hartshead P&S on your left and a sign for Tameside. We are on the right BEFORE you cross the bridge at the bottom of the hill.
From Ashton, you will go down a hill and cross a bridge. We are IMMEDIATELY on your left after the bridge, it’s a concealed entrance and is BEFORE the sign for Oldham. Hartshead P&S will be on your right.