The Pennyhooks Farm Trust (formerly known as the Pennyhooks Project) is a farm-based programme for children with autism spectrum disorders in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. [1]
A usual day for the students involves mainly farm-based activities including animal care and countryside skills such as conservation, as well as training in craft skills and horticulture. The farm specialises in raising Aberdeen Angus cattle and also sells organic eggs locally.
Open Days such as a Plant Sale and Christmas Fayre are held annually, providing opportunities for the students' products to be sold to local people and to raise some extra funds for Pennyhooks Farm Trust.
The farm offers the students the Open College Network-accredited Countryside Stewardship Course, [2] and assists in the transition between school and adult life by offering work-based training opportunities within a green working environment that is adapted to enable successful engagement for its students.
The owner of the farm is Lydia Otter. [2] The Pennyhooks Project was founded in 2001 by Otter and Richard Hurford, previously a probation service officer, who now manages the farm. [2] The decision was made to incorporate Pennyhooks Project into a charity (Pennyhooks Farm Trust) [3] in 2011. The Autism Centre Manager, Emma Masefield, was appointed in 2018.
The Pennyhooks Farm Trust currently offers daytime student services. Planning permission has recently[ when? ] been given to convert farm buildings into accommodation, so that the farm can offer support to students from further afield who will be able to live on site during term-time, as needed. Fund raising has begun, so that the evolution of Pennyhooks Farm Trust can continue and more people can benefit from the skills and confidence giving experience they can gain at the farm.
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity based in Devizes, England which owns and manages 40 nature reserves in Wiltshire and Swindon. It also works to encourage Wiltshire's communities to live sustainable lifestyles that protect the environment.
Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about 7 miles (11 km) east-northeast of Swindon. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 2,347. The parish is within the historic boundaries of Berkshire; the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire for administrative purposes.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to autism:
Pathlight School is a special school for children with autism in Singapore. Founded in 2004, it is run by the non-profit Autism Resource Centre and comprises one half of the national educational provision for autistic children. The school educates students in social and life skills, teaches them mainstream curriculum subjects and prepares them for employment in an autism friendly environment. With more than 2000 pupils enrolled, the school has been noted for its achievements in special education in Singapore.
Autism therapies include a wide variety of therapies that help people with autism, or their families. Such methods of therapy seek to aid autistic people in dealing with difficulties and increase their functional independence.
Kisharon is a British charity, founded in 1976 by Chava Lehman. Its resources are all in London. Kisharon specialises in caring for and educating Jewish children and adults with disabilities.
Cogges Manor Farm is a one-time working farm in Cogges near Witney in Oxfordshire, England, now a heritage centre operated by a charitable trust and open to the public.
Founded in 1967, Earth Trust is an environmental charity which was originally known as the Northmoor Trust for Countryside Conservation. Earth Trust was initially established by the British engineer Sir Martin Wood to promote environmental conservation through land management, education, and land science. It is a registered charity under English law.
The Donkey Sanctuary is a British charitable organisation devoted to the welfare of donkeys. The charity, which is based near Sidmouth in Devon, England, was founded in 1969. It is one of the largest equine charities in the world with an annual income and expenditure of £37 million.
St Andrew's Healthcare is a large independent charity based at St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton, which provides psychiatric services. It also has sites in Essex, Birmingham and Nottinghamshire. It runs specialist services for adolescents, men, women and older people with mental illness, learning disability, brain injury, autism and dementia and hosts the National Brain Injury Centre. It is a psychiatric hospital and service provider that caters for individuals requiring inpatient care and rehabilitation, and step-down housing.
Canterbury Oast Trust (COT) is a registered charity in England providing accommodation, care and training for people with learning disabilities in Kent and East Sussex.
Autism Anglia is an organisation and registered charity that provides services to those affected by autism in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge. It began life in 1973 when Anthony Boobier discovered there were no specialist autism services for his newly diagnosed son. Its first establishment opened in 1977 and it opened adult services in 1983 when the original children grew up and it was realised that there was no specialised adult autism provision for them. In 2008, The Essex Autistic Society took over the Norfolk Autistic Community Housing Association and the Norfolk Autistic Society and changed the name of the new charity to Autism Anglia to better reflect the enlarged area of operation. In 2013 Autism Anglia took over the Cambridge-based charity East Anglian Autistic Support Trust (EAST).
North East Autism Society (NEAS), previously Tyne and Wear Autistic Society (1980–2009), is an English public service organisation established by parents in 1980 to provide educational and residential programmes to children with an Autism spectrum Condition. The Society bought Thornhill Tower as its base on Thornhill Park, Sunderland creating a residential school. After which, The White House was purchased at South Shields that was subsequently sold to buy Thornholme House, a former hospital, establishing a comprehensive base within the Sunderland region. Thornhill Park became the location for the Society's main bases when in 1994, the Adult Services was established with the opening of a small specialist college at number 14 Thornhill Park. Community Services was then formed in 2009. As of the present day the Society has developed rapidly and is now one of the primary providers of specialist care and support for individuals with an ASC in the North East of England. The Society has recently opened the North East Centre for Autism in County Durham which has increased the operational area and range of the services it provides.
The Kennedy Krieger Institute is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, Johns Hopkins affiliate located in Baltimore, Maryland, that provides in-patient and out-patient medical care, community services, and school-based programs for children and adolescents with learning disabilities, as well as disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and musculoskeletal system. The Institute provides services for children with developmental concerns mild to severe and is involved in research of various disorders, including new interventions and earlier diagnosis.
Brandon Trust is a United Kingdom charitable organization working with and for people with learning disabilities. They focus on helping people with said disabilities to live life how they want to.
Autism-friendly means being aware of social engagement and environmental factors affecting people on the autism spectrum, with modifications to communication methods and physical space to better suit individual's unique and special needs.
Autism Cymru was Wales' national charity for autism with offices in Cardiff, Wrexham, and Aberystwyth. The charity was established in May 2001 through an initial 3-year grant provided by The Shirley Foundation. The founder chair of the Trustees was Dame Stephanie Shirley of the Shirley Foundation.
Scotland's Rural College is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organisation came into being through a merger of smaller institutions.
Sunfield is a private special school, Children's Home and charity on the border of Worcestershire and the West Midlands in England. It was founded in 1930 and now supports boys and girls, aged 6 – 19 years, with complex learning needs, including autism.