KSF linked with Teagasc through KSF Working Group member Claire McAuliffe (Teagasc Advisor, Listowel) to provide a pilot session of Health and Safety training for our social farming participants. Training took place on John & Catherine Fleming's dairy farm at Muckross on October 9th. Stephen Flattery (Teagasc training officer) and Claire took the lead in sharing advice on safety on the farm. The Teagasc training was adapted to a two-hour session, to avoid overloading participants. Training was hands on and discussion based to support concentration levels and promote active participation. Each participant had support alongside, either a KSF facilitator, host farmer or service provider support staff. Participants learned about staying safe around the tractor, the possible risks around a farmyard, including around slurry and agitation points, how to be safe around cows with newborn calves and using equipment for handling livestock i.e. crushes, calving gates. It is envisaged that this training will be rolled out to all social farming participants.

First Aid Training was completed by host farmers in Tralee and Killarney during November 2024. This training was supported by Kerry Education and Training Board Community Education Fund.

10 host farmers completed First Aid training in April 2023. Nealie Warren a registered paramedic and trainer was the instructor. Certificates were presented upon completion. Further training is planned on an ongoing basis.

Congratulations to all students who completed this Level 6 course and graduated from UCC on 28Th March 2023. We know some of you could not be there on the day but you are all a valued part of a very beneficial course for social farming. Well done on completing this unique course.

Well done our host farmers and participants who have been busy with training in various elements of Biodiversity awarenss and actions with our Eco-Social Farming project officer Luke Myers. Some farmers also completed First Aid Training with support from Kerry Education and Training Board.

A new group of students who began their learning journey on 7th February. This is the third intake for this unique and innovative course. We wish them well in their studies throughout the coming year. For more information on the course here.

Eight KSF participants took part in Manual Handling Training at Barna, Ballybunion in February 2022 and another nine participants came to Scotia Glen Farm, Tralee in March for training. It’s vitally important that we all learn to work safely on the farm and correct any bad habits we may have picked up along the way.

Two groups of participants completed Manual Handling Training during October and November 2021. These training sessions were held on host farms and featured practical demonstrations and advice on how to work safely on the farm.

The second year of UCC Certificate in Practice Support in Social Farming was completed in May 2021. Students engaged with the entire course online and are to be commended for adapting to new ways of learning and for their commitment to the course. The group built up a great camaraderie, despite the distance involved. They look forward to meeting up as soon as circumstances permit them to safely do so and we wish them well. Enrolment is now open for the upcoming year of this unique course, running from September 2021, with more details at https://www.ucc.ie/en/ace-cpssf/

Many of our host farmers completed First Aid responder (FAR) training with Safety Matters, Tralee in late 2020, using a mixture of online and classroom learning (when restrictions allowed for this).

Social farming participants availed of Manual Handling Training during late 2020. There were two training days with participants learning more about how to work safely on farms. Well done to all who took part.

In 2019 we had an exciting and unique development as host farmers began a new Level 6 Course developed by Kerry Social Farming in collaboration with UCC, Certificate in Practice Support in Social Farming, (co-ordinated by UCC Skellig Centre for Research and Innovation). Host farmers availed of preliminary training with Kerry ETB in February 2019, before commencing the UCC course the following month. This Certificate course on social farming and care practice in disability is the first of its kind in Europe. The course is now well underway, with 12 participating host farmers and has included classroom based learning, project work and farm visits. Students are due to graduate in Spring 2020. Modules covered during the course include:

Environment & Well-Being
Communication in Disability Studies
Social Farming in Practice
Disability Models, Education & Work
Disability and the Law

Training is provided for host farmers to assist them with their practice of social farming. Host farmers attended First Aid Responder (FAR) and Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults courses in late 2017 and early 2018. Further training in this regard will be rolled out for new host farmers and those already qualified as in FAR will be renewing their certificate later in 2019.

Manual Handling and farm skills training was delivered by Joseph McCrohan to a group of participants on a host farm in 2018. Further Manual Training will be rolled out for new participants during 2019. All training is tailored and delivered to meet the needs of the participants within the farm environment. Work is also under way with UCC with a view to developing a new course for Kerry Social Farming participants, encompassing a farming element/blended learning though farming skills.