Children with Special Educational Needs blossom when gardening becomes part of their school timetable, says a new RHS report.
The findings from the year-long project showed that the pupils involved participated more in activities and embraced a new interest in learning. Those who had preferred to work independently developed improved team working skills. They also gained confidence and were happier to persevere with challenging tasks.
The outreach project, Growing Together: Gardening with Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs was undertaken by the RHS in 2009 -10, and included children aged from four to 16.
The pupils involved had conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC), Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) cystic fibrosis, hearing impairment and dyslexia. The emphasis of all sessions was to give students practical, hands-on gardening experience and for teachers to learn skills so that they could work with the pupils between visits.
Hayley Young, RHS SEN Schools Project Officer said: “I could see my young gardeners changing as the year progressed, growing in confidence, being more interested in what was going on and interacting better with other children and adults.
“For me, the past year has been a career highlight. Working with 95 eager children and young people and their enthusiastic teachers has been demanding, fun and very, very productive – and I don’t just mean all the crops they produced!”
Funding the project
The project was made possible by a generous legacy from the late Mr Peter Rees, who was a member of the RHS for more than 30 years, along with his late wife Moya. The legacy enabled the charity to fund an SEN Schools Project Officer to work with six Special Education Needs schools in Sussex. She worked with 95 pupils and their teachers throughout the school year, leading both student sessions and teacher training. The publication of the report was funded by the Department of Education’s Growing Schools initiative.
The findings have enabled the RHS to support two further SEN projects over the next few years. A Project Officer has been appointed to work with SEN pupils in mainstream schools in West Yorkshire and Hayley Young will look at opportunities for older secondary pupils to follow accredited horticulture courses to increase their chances of work experience and employment.
