Co-production and Engagement 

Woodgate Valley Urban Farm

Woodgate Valley Urban Farm is a registered charity dedicated to offering a range of practical work and volunteering experiences for those within our local community. There is a special emphasis on supporting young people with additional needs and who struggle with social exclusion, educational exclusion, and poor mental health.

The farm holds and manages farmland, orchards, and woodland within Woodgate Valley Country Park under licence from Birmingham City Council. The farm’s survival relies entirely upon donations from the public, grant-giving organisations, benefactors, service-level agreements and partnerships.

Date of visit

On Monday, 30 October 2023, Lakhvir Sahota, Participation and Co-Production Officer for Birmingham City Council, visited the farm and met with Sue Hawkeswood, the farm’s Trustee and Project Manager.

The farm project is funded by  All Age Autism (This service is funded by NHS England and managed via the BSol ICB, managed by Landau Limited. This service aims to provide a reliable and accessible point of contact for autistic people, their parents, families, and unpaid carers.

The charity farm project supports 90% of children who are unable to attend school and are trying to get specialist provision. 10% are on part-time timetables. 

There is currently no formal accreditation for the pupils, however, they have grant applications in the pipeline so that they can offer AQA awards. Although these don’t offer ‘credits’ they do provide evidence of achievement and support well-being.

Sue mentioned that ‘some of the families have asked them to offer something like this so that their children can once again feel pride and achievement and have a goal’. Also, some parents are seeking EOTAS/ EOTIS packages and want them as a provider within those packages.

Thank you to Sue and Woodgate Valley Urban Farm for granting us permission to film and use the footage for the Local Offer website.

SEND and Inclusion Strategies

We know that children and young people with SEND are some of the most vulnerable in our society and it is our collective responsibility to provide them with the support they need to thrive. The SEND Strategy 2023 – 2028 has been developed with this in mind, and it sets out a clear vision for improving outcomes for our CYP.

The Inclusion Strategy sets out our shared vision, key principles, principles of practice and contextual factors, to ensure that, as partners, we are working together effectively to identify and meet the needs of Birmingham’s children, young people and young adults. The strategy commits the partnership to promoting inclusion and excellent outcomes for children, young people and young adults to achieve their potential, and fulfil their dreams and aspirations

Finally, we are delighted to share Birmingham’s five-year Children and Young People’s Plan. This plan sets out the strategic actions we will take together to achieve our bold ambition: to make Birmingham a great place to grow up for all our children and young people.

All strategies have been co-produced with our stakeholders to ensure all partners make a positive difference for our children, young people and their families.