‘It takes a village’ – Offaly farming community urged to help teachers deliver farm safety education
AgriKids and Irish Rural Link are calling on communities to register their interest in a new farm safety education manual designed to support primary school teachers, and members of their local farming communities, with
the tools needed to co-deliver an effective farm safety education programme in the classroom.
Seamus Boland
Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine with additional funding from Flogas, the launch of the resource will include two pilot events this week, in Clontibret National School, County Monaghan (yesterday) and Kilmihil National School County Clare (Friday 8th November).
Offaly based Irish Rural Link, CEO, Seamus Boland said, “Irish Rural Link has a long history of tackling key social issues in rural Ireland such as safety, wellbeing and socio-economic challenges. By partnering with AgriKids and activating our combined network of farmers, educators and advocates, we aim to deliver a successful community-led approach to help educate children on the importance of farm safety.”
(L-R) Reuben Reed, Leah McCullagh, Daniel Carleton, Alma Jordan, founder of Agrikids and , John Murphy, Mentor from Farmers4Safety at the launch of a new community-led farm safety education resource created by Agrikids and Irish Rural Link at Clontibret National School, County Monaghan,. This manual has been designed to equip local communities with the tools needed to deliver effective farm safety education programme in the classroom. Register your interest at agrikids.ie/
The manual includes information on how teachers and members of the community can work together to co-deliver the programme; ideas for topics which can be covered; tips for making the information accessible for children; and much more.
It is just one of several new learning supports in development under the Engage, Educate & Empower pilot, a community-led learning initiative in farm safety education. As well as the creation of the manual on community-led learning, a farm safety gaming app and a video animation to the farm safety song, ‘When You’re Working on the Farm’ are also in development and due for release later this month.
These new resources will be freely available to schools and communities and add value to AgriKids’ existing suite of supported learning farm safety programmes, where the Engage, Educate & Empower ethos originated.
The community led learning strategy has been collated with input from an advisory panel made up of members of An Garda Siochana, teachers, farmers, community development officers and farm accident survivors, all of which have been involved in or participated in farm safety events in the past.
Their unique insight is invaluable in creating a high impact and relevant resource, so teachers can have support in delivering curriculum linked lessons on farm safety with assistance from members of their community.
AgriKids founder, Alma Jordan said, “When it comes to farm safety the saying ‘it takes a village’ is so apt. The fact is no one teacher, school or individual can deliver the farm safety message alone. We need our communities to come together to make sure that the message gets home and is relevant. I get so many requests to visit schools and all too often I must refuse as it’s simply not possible to visit them all. By adopting a more community led approach we can not only encourage education of farm safety in schools, but also support people in the area who may be invited to schools to deliver talks and make sure they feel confident and assured while doing so.
Interested in getting involved?
AgriKids and Irish Rural Link are calling for primary schools and individuals in the community who may be invited to their local school to carry out a farm safety talk to register for a training manual which contains all the information the schools and community members need to deliver a relevant and engaging farm safety programme. https://form.jotform.com/
Schools who wish to find out more about AgriKids and their existing suite of supported learning programmes can do so at www.agrikids.ie
About AgriKids
AgriKids is a farm safety educational platform for children. It was founded in 2015 by Alma Jordan with the ethos that we positively engage, educate and empower our children to become Farm Safety Ambassadors.
Through supported learning programmes for schools, utilising age-appropriate resources such as workbooks, storybooks, digital games and workshops, the AgriKids approach has become the leader in farm safety education for children.
About Irish Rural Link
Irish Rural link was established in 1991 to represent the interests of locally based rural groups in disadvantaged and marginalised rural areas at local, National and EU Level. Their mission is to influence, inform on local, national and European development policies in favour of rural communities, especially those marginalised as a result of rural poverty, exclusion and isolation, and support rural communities to implement appropriate strategic programmes that improve their circumstances.
