School Facilities

AstroTurf

Lower Farm has an AstroTurf sports arena in the playground. The AstroTurf is not only used by our children at playtimes but also allows us to host many sporting events and tournaments.

Performing Arts Hall

Lower Farm has a large Performing Arts Hall which is used for many school and community events. The Hall allows our children to not only experience performing to a large audience but also to learn backstage skills such as lighting, props and sound. Every year the school hold a school production which involves all of our children across the whole school, the productions are very well attended and tickets are usually very high in demand!

We are a Forest School

Forest school was initially introduced to Lower Farm Primary school in 2015. We have an exciting forest area for the children to explore which we are always looking to develop and improve. Our forest has lots of trees which the children love to climb, we have built a permanent fire circle, our older children designed and made a mud kitchen using items found from around the school site, one of our forest groups made a small pond area to encourage pond life to our forest and for all other children to enjoy. We also have a permanent shelter which can provide some protection from the elements so that we can enjoy the forest in most weather conditions.

The provision has been extended from primarily being used for early years, into a whole school extracurricular activity which the children can access during the afternoons in year groups and also we offer an after school session, with a small charge, for year groups throughout the academic year.

Forest School offers a unique educational experience using the outdoor environment of the forest as a classroom. It provides the children with different kinds of activities that they may never experience in their usual routine. Some of the activities include: shelter building, planting, tool use including bow saws, pen knives and loppers, fire building, cooking different foods on the fire such as s’mores, hot dogs, quesadilla’s. Children are given the opportunity to experience the outdoor environment, to learn about responsibility and decision making by doing their own self-risk assessing and maintaining the forest area.

Forest Schools influences education in the following ways:

Communication: Language development is prompted by the children’s sensory experiences.
Knowledge and understanding: The children develop an interest in the natural surroundings and respect for the environment.
Confidence: Children have the freedom, time and space to learn and demonstrate independence.
Social skills: Children gain increased awareness of the consequences of their actions on peers through team activities such as sharing tools and participating in play.
Motivation: The woodland tends to fascinate the children and they develop a keenness to participate and the ability to concentrate over longer periods of time.
Physical skills: These improvements are characterised by the development of physical stamina and gross and fine motor skills.

Nurture House:

Lower Farm has it's own well established nurture provision which is based in our onsite Nurture House. This is an attractive and well resourced (indoor & outdoor) space with a calm and purposeful atmosphere. Children who require nurture access the facility regularly and benefit from the excellent support provided by our pastoral team. The 6 principles of nurture provide the basis for the curriculum which includes all national curriculum subjects, ensuring that no child misses out. Our nurture provision is locally and nationally recognised as an example of outstanding practice, achieving the Platinum Standard from Walsall Virtual School and being shortlisted for the Timpson Award in 2019.

Specially Resourced Cabin:

In 2022 Lower Farm added a specially resourced cabin to our site. This space provides a wonderful base for some of pupils with special educational needs. Experienced staff plan meaningful and interesting learning opportunities to meet the needs of these children in order that they are included in school life as fully as possible. The specially resourced cabin has allowed Lower Farm to become even more inclusive.