Changing lives through horses
Encouraging alternative learning for children and young adults
Calvert Stables are on the Human & Equine Interaction Register
Calvert Stables are proud to offer Changing Lives Through Horses sessions to children and young people aged 5-25. This innovative programme was created by the British Horse Society (BHS) to encourage alternative learning for children and young adults with special educational needs or struggling in a mainstream school environment.
Through structured, practical equine activities participants can develop confidence, responsibility and work on relationship-building. Sessions go beyond just horse riding, and include horse care, grooming and stables management too, teaching new skills in a safe and supportive environment.
The benefits of spending time with horses are numerous, and our ponies are specially selected for their calm and nurturing personalities. Spending time with horses offers unique opportunities for growth by helping young people build better self-awareness, regulating emotions and inspiring trust.
Our experienced and inclusive stables team ensure every session is nurturing and tailored to the needs of every group. Achievements are recognised through certificates linked to educational outcomes which provide a positive pathway to learn and succeed. These Changing Lives Through Horses (CLtH) sessions give young people the space and tools they need to unlock their potential, creating meaningful, lasting change.
FAQs
Take a look at our most frequently asked questions.
Who are Changing Lives Through Horses sessions for?
The programme welcomes children and young people aged 5-25 years who have additional needs in the widest sense who would benefit from access to equine facilitated learning. Participants may include those with special educational needs, including social and emotional mental health needs, those who may be disengaged or excluded from education, those who are without a school place or are electively home educated and those who may have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences.
However, we offer different wellness and horse care options for people who don’t fit these criteria. Get in touch with the stables team to find out more.
What do sessions involve?
The main aim of the programme is to develop and support 6 key life skills: communication, confidence, teamwork, building relationships, perseverance, and responsibility. The programme is structured around two frameworks – the Achieve and Explorer awards. Both offer horse care and ridden modules with structured awards and certificates that recognise and reward achievement. Activities contained in each award provide opportunities for the participant to develop in the six key life skills that are widely transferable back to school, further education opportunities or socially, practice learning skills linked to their school curriculum and build a portfolio of equine knowledge and experience that could lead to a pathway of further industry qualifications.
Are these sessions accredited?
We are also able to offer the BHSQ, an Ofqual accredited Personal Development Qualifications integrated within the programme at Entry Level 3, Level 1 and Level 2. BHSQ works in partnership with a variety of organisations to develop and award qualifications for the equestrian industry. This contributes to ensuring BHSQ qualifications are fit for purpose and meet the needs of the sector.
BHSQ is responsible for ensuring learners are registered and certificated accurately and fairly. It has many systems, policies, and procedures in place to ensure it does this. These are checked closely to ensure assessment is accurate and fair by verification and monitoring of BHSQ approved Centres.
BHSQ qualifications are:
- nationally recognised
- quality assured
- vocationally-related
- mapped to national occupational standards (NOS) where appropriate
- designed to meet the needs of employers
- regularly reviewed by industry practitioners.
BHSQ qualifications provide valuable opportunities for learners to:
- develop new skills
- develop existing skills
- gain underpinning knowledge and understanding
- progress to further study, education and training
- progress into employment
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