CLtH Parent FAQs

The British Horse Society Changing Lives Through Horses is an alternative education programme, where children and young people can learn in a safe and nurturing environment. The BHS believes that horses and equine facilitated learning can have a remarkable role to play in impacting on a young person’s life.

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, or those who are neurodiverse, 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.

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 which are linked to the National curriculum – the Achieve and Explorer awards.  Both offer horse care and ridden modules with structured awards and certificates that recognise and reward achievement.

The six key life skills are widely transferable back to school, further education opportunities or socially, practice learning and build a portfolio of equine knowledge and experience that could lead to a pathway of further industry qualifications.

We are also able to offer Ofqual accredited Personal Development Qualifications integrated within the programme at Entry Level 3, Level 1 and Level 2.

There may also be the opportunity for some participants to undertake their BHS Stage assessments – the first step on the BHS professional career pathway.

The programme can be accessed at BHS Approved Riding Centres, where the experienced staff are inclusive and passionate about helping young people thrive. All the CLTH centre staff receive training and support from our dedicated Changing Lives Through Horses team at the BHS.

Our Changing Lives Through Horses centres all follow a core programme structure but will be operationally different – from offering full school days for small groups to 1:1 sessions at certain times depending on the needs of the individual. The programme is a part time educational provision, and all centres must comply with the maximum number of hours set by the DFE and their local authority.

Find your closest Changing Lives through Horses centre here: https://www.bhs.org.uk/support-us/our-campaigns/find-a-changing-lives-approved-provider/

The programme welcomes all children and young people, those who have little to no equine experience and those who have more experience. The breadth of the programme really can cater for everyone that would benefit from developing their personal skills through equine facilitated learning. The BHS Approved Riding Centre can provide riding boots and hats for the sessions if required.

You can join the programme at any time during the year. There is no set time to stay on programme, this is very much dependant on the needs of the individual.

All Changing Lives Through Horses centre staff will have the appropriate safeguarding training and employment checks for them to work with children as part of an educational programme. If your child is on role at a school the designated safeguarding lead and SENCO will also have an overview of the alternative provision placement to ensure it is appropriate for your child. If your child is on role at a school the school will be registering their attendance at the riding centre as alternative provision.

The cost of sessions can differ between each centre based on the geographical area, staffing and horses so please get in touch with your closest BHS Changing Lives Through Horses centre to find out about the options.

There are many ways to access funding for the programme:

1. School or Local Authority funding – schools and local authorities may commission alternative provision to support special educational needs or to provide educational provision if your child is out of school for any reason. The SEN Code of Practice requires schools to make reasonable adjustments for children with special educational needs and this may include access to alternative provision such as Changing Lives Through Horses.
2. If your child has an EHCP (Education, health and care plan) access to the programme may support plan outcomes and meet the needs that have been identified in the plan. Some local authorities and schools receive additional funding for children with EHCPs.
3. Bursaries – bursaries may be available from time to time, depending on charitable donations received, through the BHS which are there to assist young people with no other funding options. Please discuss with the centre directly as they will be able to apply for you. 
4. Private funding. Parents and carers may choose to pay for sessions if they are able to do so.
5. Other local charities may support access to the programme.