Help us make the Rare Breeds Centre farm attraction a truly inclusive space

This year, as Canterbury Oast Trust celebrates 40 years of pioneering work supporting adults with learning disabilities, we're launching a fundraiser to align our farm attraction with our vision of inclusion for people with disabilities.

The Rare Breeds Centre is at the heart of our charity, providing life skills training for our supported people in customer service, animal care, horticulture, art, retail and culinary skills. As a farm open to the public, it also attracts over 130,000 visitors a year, and offers a safe space for parents of children to bring their youngsters to enjoy animal interactions, adventure playgrounds, learning about nature, and much more, in 100 acres of beautiful Kent countryside.

A great place for families of children with special needs

As our farm team works with our own learning disabled and autistic students, we've long been known as a great location for families of children with SEN and disabilities, offering a welcoming, inclusive environment where visitors feel safe, supported, and able to enjoy meaningful experiences together.

Last year we were able to obtain funding for an accessible tractor-trailer so that one wheelchair user can enjoy a tour of the farm on each trip. We've also been fundraising for a Changing Places toilet so that visitors with complex disabilities can use the toilet safely and comfortably without having to cut their visit short, or consider not visiting at all. We'll be part of just 1% of attractions in the UK providing these facilities once full funding has been obtained - we're currently 50% there!

We've also launched a new website this year with a fantastic accessibility plugin to help people navigate and understand the content in a way that works for them.

Accessibility expansion for our 40th anniversary

So, this year, in honour of our 40th anniversary, we'd like to make some major upgrades to the entire site, making the farm accessible to a wide variety of disabilities. Here are just a few of the goals we are fundraising for:

- More wheelchair accessible playground equipment

- A Changing Places facility enabling wheelchair users to access bathroom facilities with dignity and independence

- Designated calm and quiet spaces to help with sensory overload

- Improved wayfinding and signage system on the farm making navigation more user-friendly

- Ear defenders / sensory backpacks for use around the site

- Development of large-print, braille and audio information guides for visitors

We would love to have your support. Please consider helping us achieve this major milestone that will mean so much to our supported people who live and learn around the farm and to families of children with disabilities who are limited in the places they can visit. Any donation, large or small will be put to great use towards these goals!