Personal Story - Lower Bush Farm

Esti Pope started attending holiday club aged 7, ten years ago. The farm was the first social place her parents had left her and they were very apprehensive. She had a history of various mental health and behaviour difficulties which made most social events and clubs impossible. Esti immediately became a regular at holiday club. The farm became her, ‘safe space’. She needs to be active and busy whilst being able to get away from people when she needs her own space. Forest School gave her this opportunity. The site is in a valley and is designed so that line of sight is good whilst not having to be next to children at all times. This gave Esti the freedom to be a kid, making mud pies, climbing, running, learning to build fires and use tools. Over the years Esti started taking on more responsibility. She was great at showing new children how to feed the animals and show them around Forest School. She learnt to read people so she could recognise when they needed space away from people. Esti became one of the older holiday club children we could rely on to have extra responsibilities including collecting equipment to take to the woods, handing out hot chocolate and helping clear up at the end of the day. This progressed to Esti taking more of a young leadership role. She helped the younger children with their coats, showed them how to use equipment, stood back so others could go first. We noticed Esti had started to do jobs without anyone asking, jobs she could see needed doing like filling up animal feed bins or collecting forgotten coats from the Forest School. We were particularly impressed with Esti’s developing coping strategies. Everyone at times needs to take a few minutes out when working with children! We explained to Esti that when she needs a break that’s perfectly normal and discussed with her what she could do. She came up with a list of simple, independent jobs that would take her away from the main group. Jobs such as cleaning the guinea pig bowls, for example. Other times she would take herself off to the garden for a breather. Learning her own triggers and implementing coping strategies has enabled her to take her farm placement to the next level. During lockdown Esti thrived being home schooled and did not want to go back to school. It was thought at although she was more than capable of passing her GCSEs, the actual process of sitting in a room and being able to do it would be a stumbling block. Therefore, it was decided that she would start attending the farm during term time as a volunteer and work towards the level 2 Award in Volunteering (GCSE A-C level). At home Esti wrote her letter of application and CV and attended an interview at the farm. Esti has been volunteering at the farm two or three days each week since. She has her own jobs that she works through independently. She can feed the animals independently. More recently Esti has been assisting with various groups including leading short sessions, with staff within line of sight. She often asks to lead the animal feeding with holiday club or the ALD groups. Christmas 2022, she asked if she could make some decorations with some of the ALD group. She engaged each person, ensured they succeed and praised their work. As well as developing skills with the animals, tools, etc. Esti is so much better at all those important social skills that will enable her to progress to employment and a good social life. The farm is a safe place for her to practice work place banter, learning where the line is with different types of people, putting the needs of others or deadlines before her own at times, etc. Recently Esti achieved a level 8 in her GCSE English. As well as continuing to volunteer at the farm, she also volunteers for an animal park with members of the public, school groups, etc. This is a massive step up from the farm, with many more unknown factors cropping up each day. Esti is excelling there, especially getting to grips with how to deal with difficult customers, lots of staff, changing routines and all the other unplanned occurrences working with animals and the public! Everyone is so proud of Esti. Yes, some difficulties will always be there but her understanding of her own triggers, recognising when she needs to implement her coping strategies and having the confidence to discuss what she is feeling is enabling her to have a rich and fulfilling life.