Please Find Enclosed the Following

Dear Applicant

Thank you for your interest in Freightliners Farm and your enquiry regarding the post of Young Farmers Club Leader and Assistant.

Please find enclosed the following:

History and background information
Job Description and Person Specification
Application Form
Equal Opportunities Statement
Monitoring Form

Please indicate on your application form if you are applying for one or both of the available posts.

The closing date for applications is: Saturday 17th November

Interviews will be held on:Wednesday 20thNovember

Please note that applications must be made using our Application Form, and CV’s will not be accepted.

These posts are subject to satisfactory Disclosure and Baring Service (DBS) checks to protect the safety of vulnerable adults and children. Please inform us of any unspent convictions in your application.

Due to our limited resources, please assume your application has not been successful if you have not heard from us by Wednesday 20th.

If you require any further information visit our website , telephone us on 020 609 0467 or email

Good Luck!

Yours Sincerely,

Elizabeth McAllister

Chief Executive

FREIGHTLINERS FARM LTD

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Freightliners Farm was founded in 1973 on wasteland behind Kings Cross station, in London. Originally the animals were housed in railway goods vans - hence the name. The Farm moved to this site in 1978, and new purpose built farm buildings were erected in 1988.

Islington’s tradition of close links with farming and animals

The borough of Islington was once an area of major agricultural importance right up to the early part of the 20th century. It is mostly famously renowned for dairying and the largest livestock market in the country. The cattle sold at these markets were driven, over a number of months, from as far away as Scotland and Wales. During the Tudor period, Islington supplied much of London with milk, cream and cheese.

In the mid 18th century several small grass farms in Upper and Lower streets and Holloway had herds of 20-100 cows. The cows were fed grain twice a day even in summer in addition to grass, and also ate turnips, hay, and other supplements. Cowkeepers' meadows were mown two or three times each summer from early May onwards and heavily dressed with manure, to obtain a soft, grassy hay. Demand for milk fell in the summer, when the milk was rich and much was used for butter, the buttermilk being fed to pigs.

By 1810, many small dairy farms had been replaced by the concerns of Richard Laycock and Samuel Rhodes, who held extensive land in Islington. Both men needed large acreages for hay and pasture. Laycock, whose farm lay on both sides of the lane later called Laycock Street, occupied more than 500 acres in Islington, with land at Enfield, and in addition to his farmstead used premises in Hornsey Road to stack hay. He kept 600-700 cows and also more than 100 heavy horses with carts for carrying turnips, potatoes, and grains, mainly for cattle-feed. His premises extended from Upper Street to Liverpool Road and included loose boxes, stables, barns, cowhouses, crop storehouses, grain pits, blacksmiths', wheelwrights', and carpenters' shops, timber yard and sawpits, and the Angel and Crown inn. On the west side of Liverpool Road, he owned houses and some building land used as sheep pens in 1835. By that date much of his income came from his covered cattle lairs (often spelt layers), used for keeping animals overnight on their way to Smithfield market. The lairs had been built by the 1820s to hold several thousand bullocks and sheep, and were more advantageous thanlairage in the open pens used elsewhere along Liverpool Road. By 1895, there were no cattle kept in Islington.

The new Metropolitan Cattle Market opened in 1855 on the site of Copenhagen House. It replaced Smithfield Market in the City of London as the main livestock market. It was 30 acres and very well organized with massive pens for cattle and sheep and sheds for calves and pigs. The last livestock were sold in 1939 and the market became an internationally famous flea market, the Pedlars Market, which relocated to Bermondsey in the 1960s.

The Farm is next to Paradise Park. Paradise was a term used for a place to rest animals on their way to market.

In the 17th and 18th centuries the availability of water from springs and the new waterway, the New River, made Islington a place for growing vegetables to feed London.

The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs, founded by a Mrs. Mary Tealby, a penniless divorcee was originally established in a stableyard on the site of the farm. She was concerned by the plight and sheer numbers of animals then roaming the streets of London. At that time, in Victorian Britain, it was a brave thing to do since it was considered quite immoral to be concerned about the fate of 'Dumb Animals' given the poverty and squalor so many Londoners lived in. Sadly, Mrs Tealby died of cancer only five years later, but not before author and journalist Charles Dickens penned an article called Two Dog Shows in his newspaper in support of the Home. Despiteall the odds,Mrs. Tealby was able to see her passion succeed before her death. The Home moved to Battersea in 1871 and was renamed the Battersea Dogs Home.

City Farms

City farms in Britain owe their origin to the work of Joe Benjamin who, in the 1950’s, combined adventure play with animal keeping. Over time the two aspects have developed side by side with a similar core ethos but a different activity focus, the city farming movement has gone from strength to strength, most recently becoming strong and leading partners in areas such as learning outside the classroom sustainable development, local food and bridging the rural urban divide.

Freightliners City Farm today

The funding for this community led farm and garden comes from Islington Borough Council, fundraising, trading, visitor donations and sponsorship. Generating sufficient income and controlling operating costs is a constant challenge and a constant priority.

Surprisingly, Islington is one of the London boroughs with the least green space and one of the poorest in Britain. It combines some very attractive streets, properties and squares with some of the most deprived areas. Islington is an exciting, multicultural borough and this is also reflected in our 45,000 visitors each year.

We are one of sixteen city farms and over one hundred community gardens in Greater London, which vary in size from 1 to 30 acres. Freightliners is a Registered Charity No. 1014216 and is managed by a voluntary Management Committee. The current staff team consists of a Farm Manager, community cafe manager, livestock and yard co-ordinator, targeted youth worker and education assistant. Our volunteer programme enables all sections of the community to get involved and also offers accredited training in horticulture and animal care.

Our current site is half a hectare with a sister garden project, St Mary’s Secret Garden in Hackney. We have sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits. We also grow a variety of crops and plants for sale as well as running a nationally recognized Community Composting Scheme. The Farm has a modern animal house as well as a classroom, café and various out buildings.

The Strawbale Cafe, a new sustainable strawbale and local green oak building opened in May 2007 with the cafe menu and objectives reflecting the building's sustainable background. The cafe is a new trading wing of the farm aimed at providing good quality home cooked food at reasonable prices to people in the local community as well as increasing the economic sustainability of the farm. It uses local and organic produce where possible, is staffed largely by volunteers and provides training for young people in cooking and food preparation for life and employability. The cafe has also inspired the further development of the produce garden from a model plot to a productive growing space to supply a portion of the produce initially for the cafe and possibly in the future other local restaurants.

Included in our 45,000 visitors each year are some 300 school and community groups, who participate in activities linked to the National Curriculum and beyond. Outreach work with schools is increasing, including supplying fertile eggs and incubator kits. The Farm also runs After School Clubs based around farming, animal care and gardening for individuals and as part of St Mary Magdalene Academy's enrichment programme. The farm Under 5’s sessions focus on family learning, involving parents and older siblings in activities together with young children. The farm runs a programme of drop in holiday activities for visitors which are very popular alongside targeted youth sessions for local young people. We are developing a programme of adult groups which include carpentry and, gardening.

We offer work experience placements for young people including long term placements and training opportunities for young people who are not in mainstream education or are not in education, employment or training.

Our volunteer team has always been key to running the farm as an open facility and enabling people to actively participate in farm life. Over recent years the volunteer team has grown and the opportunities for involvement have diversified. A new project was also established aimed at encouraging people with disabilities to access volunteering at the farm by identifying and working to overcome the barriers they met in doing this. The farm works with people from around the world offering volunteering placements, study visits and networking, skills and experience sharing to field specialists, students and for general interest.

Most visitors have little experience of the realities of farming and staff spend a considerable amount of time interpreting the modern industry to them and answering questions. At a time when the world and in particular the agricultural industry is looking to the environment, sustainability and climate change the farm places a high priority on raising these issues within our local urban community. We consider safety to be very important, for both livestock and visitors, and acknowledge that city people do not always appreciate the dangers of animals and farms. A shortage of recreational and play facilities in the area does sometimes result in challenging behaviour and occasional vandalism, but our policy of involvement can often turn a situation around.

Our livestock policies follow ethical commercial practice, where appropriate. Freightliners is a member of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Where possible we try to keep rare breeds and present as wide a range of animals as possible. Our aim is to breed high quality genetically diverse native rare breed animals to maintain breeding lines and maximise the species gene pool. It also recognises the heritage value and role in habitat conservation of these animals and their potential importance in the more extensive future of agriculture and food production. We do not use intensive methods and although we are not totally organic aim to use organic processes in all our horticultural work and most of the livestock work. Staff are expected to carry out routine procedures such as calving, lambing, shearing and injections but veterinary advice is sought as needed.

We hold, host and participate in many special events throughout the year including Farm Open Days, Community Composting days and the Annual Festival of City Farms and Community Gardens. We sometimes work with TV and Media and feature in many guidebooks.

Job Title:Young Farmers Club Leader

Salary:20,000-21,000 pro rata based on 37.5 hour week

39 weeks term time plus 7 days holiday

Hours:7.5 hours a week at the weekend

Location:Freightliners Farm, Sheringham Road, London, N7 8PF

Responsible to:Farming Families Project Manager

Main Purpose of the post

To plan, set up and deliver weekend young farmers club sessions for 11-16 year olds particularly those disadvantaged by poverty, low educational attainment and disability

Main Duties and Responsibilities

To enable young people to access the facilities and opportunities for learning and community involvement at the farm
To provide children and young people with opportunities to have hands on experience of farm animals
To train children and young people in farming and animal care
To encourage participation in positive activities and a positive peer group
To provide young people with opportunities to gain new experiences and discover potential career paths.
To support completion of accreditation for skills learned in farming, gardening and volunteering.
To work with the Young Farmers Club assistant to ensure that all young people are engaged and succeed.

Prepare equipment and materials for young farmers club sessions
To undertake any necessary administration, research and preparation in connection with family drop in sessions
To liaise and work with individuals, groups and organisations outside the Farm to ensure that those families most in need are provided with the support they need to take part in activities and use the facilities at the farm.
To liaise with the farm administrator to ensure that high quality activity supplies are maintained.
Any other duties as appropriate

Outline of tasks:

To establish a weekly young farmers club for local young people in particular those most in need.
To support children and young people to participate in farm tasks and assist with running the farm.
To train young people in practical animal care, gardening and customer services.
To support young people in recording their learning and participation in order to gain accreditation through ASDAN and LOCN.
Prepare young people to take part in events and agricultural shows with the animals.
Ensure all activities are set up with due regard to health and safety particularly with regard to the farm setting.
Ensure that sessions are run in accordance with farm policies and procedures and relevant legislation including non-discriminatory practice, safeguarding and health and safety.
Maintain registers and collect feedback from participants to enable the evaluation of the project.

Conditions of Employment

The post will be one day per week
7.5 hours per day
The post is funded until July 2017

Experience & Qualifications

We are looking for an experienced play, youth or educational specialist with qualifications or training in animal care or farming.

Desirable skills, knowledge and abilities

Excellent communication skills.
Experience of creating activities for children and young people
Ability to train young people in animal care and gardening
Good customer service skills in dealing with the general public
Good planning and organisational skills
Knowledge of farming and gardening

Personal Attributes

Flexible and adaptable
Ability to prioritise workload and work in a busy, hectic environment
Ability to work under own initiative
Ability to work as part of a team
Satisfactory DBS check

Job Title:Young Farmers Club Assistant

Salary:19,000-20,000 pro rata based on 37.5 hour week