Funding window opens for school visits to farms
© AdobeStock Farmers are being urged to apply for educational access funding when Defra’s latest Capital Grants scheme opens in July, helping more schoolchildren experience life on working farms.
The reopening of the scheme gives eligible farmers in England another opportunity to secure funding for educational farm visits through the VED1 Educational Access item.
This grant pays £363 per visit to help cover the costs of hosting school and community groups, allowing visitors to learn about farming, food production, conservation and woodland management.
See also: Farm open days teach schoolchildren about practical farming
VED1 criteria
- Eligible farmers enter a three-year agreement and can host up to 25 funded visits a year, worth a maximum of £9,075 annually or £27,225 over the lifetime of the agreement
- Applicants must already have a separate agri-environment or woodland agreement with eligible management actions
- Hosts are required to deliver a guided tour lasting at least two hours using the farm or woodland as an outdoor classroom
The educational access item forms part of the £225m Capital Grants scheme for 2026, an increase from £150m last year.
Ministers have warned that demand is likely to be strong after last year’s funding allocation was exhausted within a month of applications opening, making early preparation essential.
Lasting benefits
The Country Trust is encouraging eligible farmers to get involved, pointing to the enormous long-term benefits visits can have for many children who would otherwise never have the opportunity to visit a working farm.
The charity’s latest independent evaluation, Indicators of Change, found the benefits of farm visits can last for up to two years.
Researchers gathered evidence from 122 children and teachers across eight schools in some of England’s most disadvantaged communities.
The study found children retained knowledge about farming and food production, spent more time outdoors, became more willing to try new foods, and developed greater confidence after taking part in farm and countryside programmes.
Anna Gawthorpe, senior lecturer in teacher education at the University of East London, said hands-on food and farming experiences build children’s confidence, deepen their knowledge and shift their relationship with food and the outdoors, with effects lasting well beyond the programmes themselves.
“Together, schools, skilled facilitators and the curiosity of children themselves are creating moments that children carry with them, towards the outdoors, new foods and a clearer sense of what they can achieve,” she said.
