Spring 2025
- libertylearning
- Jul 22
- 3 min read
We at Liberty Learning take pride in our animal care. Having the animals allows our students to learn the importance of taking proper care of them, which they can incorporate this into their own daily lives and self well-being. We have continued our dog training, teaching students how to trim animal hooves, pony therapy and also enjoyed some pond dipping to see what natural wildlife we could find.
Now it's warmed up, our students have enjoyed more social interaction by taking part in big group games, sports and having lots of competition. We have all enjoyed playing football, basketball, pool, catch, and so much more. The students have managed to take the lead in the students vs staff sports competitions and this really helps them thrive in their social interaction and confidence. It also allows them to build relationships with other students and staff.
Each week, Liberty has brought more fun and exciting activities for the students to keep them engaged and involved. Science week learning about different animal adaptations and what coins are magnetic. They ran a Bric-a-Brac sale and were able to communicate well with the public and learn the importance of money handling, this allowed them to gain some experience in the charity working sector. They also enjoyed seeing all the staff dressing up as different characters for comic relief.
Our post-16 students have continued to work hard in maintaining the war memorial by cleaning, raking, and some general maintenance. We have also spent time cleaning headstones at the graveyard, and students were challenged to find the oldest one there. They worked alongside the local community as a team and learnt about different history and what it takes to maintain a graveyard.
Some students have continued to learn how to cook on a campfire. They have cooked all sorts like pancakes, damper bread, pizza and just enjoyed some Marshmallows. Teaching them valuable life skills and the importance of being able to clean up after themselves. Alongside this they have enjoyed some metal detecting and same pancake racing.
Some students have also been learning how to plant different crops and when they require sowing, harvesting and maintaining them throughout the growth period. They have also learnt about polytunnels and have been able to successfully maintain this and grow their own crops.
We have welcomed many new animals this term to Liberty and our students have absolutely loved these. By adding new things, we are able to keep interest high. This has also allowed the students to work together to try and make them all feel safe and at home.
We have gained -
Neil - Chinchilla.
Toast - Highland Calf.
Snap, crackle and pop - Axolotls.
Baby goats, pigs and lambs.
Finally, we have had many new students join us so a big welcome to those and a sad goodbye to those that have unfortunately had to leave us. Seeing our students making so much progress during the time they spend with us is amazing and we are pleased they are able to progress further with their life.
Very exciting to see some of them able to pass their driving test, get jobs and generally progressing really well. We are proud of every single one of them.
