ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

We offer bespoke Alternative Education Provision for KS3– KS5 and for 16+ young people. 

Group and Individual Learning Options

Where possible, our education services are delivered in a group setting, with an individual offer available for those who struggle to engage in a group environment.

Empowering Young People Through Qualifications

Our educational offer empowers young people to achieve accredited qualifications and develop the skills required to ultimately successfully engage in education, volunteering, or employment.

Ambitious, Confidence-Building Approach

The offer is ambitious for young people and boosts self-esteem, with a view to creating a mindset of “Anything is Possible” and improving the long-term trajectory of young lives.

Practical, Accessible Learning

Sessions are practical, involving hands-on learning with all theory taught in a practical, accessible way—without the need for classroom-based work, where students struggle to engage in classroom settings.

Alternative Education Provision - September 2026

Bespoke education packages for individual young people who struggle to access mainstream education.

Designed to sit within a student’s wider education offer, providing a break from school in an outdoor setting where young people develop practical skills, confidence and resilience alongside horses.

Programme Overview

Each programme is tailored to the needs of the individual learner and can include:

  • AQA Unit Award Scheme (UAS) project-based learning, including English and Maths

  • BHS Changing Lives Through Horses Awards

    • Bronze

    • Silver

  • Personal Development Qualification

Programmes are designed to complement existing educational provision rather than replace it, helping young people engage in learning through practical, hands-on experiences.

Who Can Access the Programme?

The provision is suitable for young people including

  • Personalised Education Plan (PEP) learners

  • Home educated students

  • School refusers

  • EAL (English as an Additional Language) students

  • Looked After Children (LAC)

  • NEET young people (Not in Education, Employment or Training)

If you’re unsure whether a young person is eligible, please contact us to discuss their individual needs.

Programme Times

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

10:00am – 2:30pm

Flexible attendance options are available to meet individual needs.

Fees // Attendance // Cost per Term

4 days per week - £4,500

3 days per week - £4,000

2 days per week - £3,500

1 day per week - £2,500

Bespoke packages are also available. Please contact our Education Service Lead to discuss individual requirements.

Learning Through Horses

Our Alternative Education Provision offers young people the opportunity to reconnect with education through meaningful, practical learning experiences alongside horses.

Sessions focus on developing confidence, communication, emotional wellbeing, teamwork, responsibility and transferable life skills while working towards recognised qualifications. Every programme is personalised to support the learner’s educational goals and personal development.

Referrals

Email: referrals@strengthandlearningthroughhorses.org

Telephone: 07356 224121

How alternative education works

During education programmes, students are taught how to care for and train horses, including learning about horse psychology and similarities with human brains and behaviour.

The horses pick up on the body language of the young people and give feedback on their behaviour and emotional state, helping them develop interpersonal skills.

Our experienced staff uses the horses’ responses and structured, hands-on tasks around the yard to help students gain the life skills they need to pursue education, training, or employment. 

Who can benefit from

alternative education?

Education Programmes for groups are suitable for young people referred from schools and alternative education provisions, especially those who find the traditional classroom setting challenging. We design these sessions to empower young people to develop the skills required to re-engage with education and thrive once back in school.

Education programmes for individuals are suitable for any young person for whom classroom learning is challenging, including those who are school refusers and permanently excluded from education.

“The students learned so much about themselves as well as acquired the confidence and skills to work with the horses. They’re always surprised and proud of their own achievements when they receive their certificates”
— Teacher, Park High School
““SLTH has been a complete lifesaver. It has given my child hope for a future where previously they saw none. It has given structure to their week, a reason to get out of bed. They have formed relationships and their confidence has grown. It has really built them back up from a place of utter distress and hopelessness””
— Young Person
“I’m deeply grateful for the experiences you’ve provided, honestly it’s been quite pivotal in changing the trajectory of my life. Being amongst such lovely, caring, safe people, witnessing that the world isn’t all dark and scary, has made me feel more comfortable to exist in it. The opportunity has allowed me to prove to myself that I can be strong and independent when travelling through traumatic areas to me, effectively conquering profound fears”
— Young Person
“My daughter has been engaging in home tuition online for two years and she now feels ready to move back to a small educational setting. SLTH has been an amazing for her confidence and anxiety. She has also learnt to horse ride over the last year and now wants to become an equine vet. The staff at SLTH are amazing and J calls it her second home. Equine therapy really does work, when nothing else does”
— Parent
“SLTH has helped my child feel that they are adequate and that they are not different, just special, caring, important individuals. She finds it hard to fit into normal school life where she have started to feel different and misunderstood. The staff at SLTH have worked so hard with her, and this clearly shows as there has been so many positive changes to her behavior and attitude. SLTH has given her something to look forward to each week, which is great due to her feeling so deflated and anxious, which caused her to be upset daily”
— Parent

Qualifications our young people can work towards

  • Changing lives through horses logo

    Changing Lives Through Horses

    Young people who are at risk of becoming disengaged from mainstream education or training. This is a one-year programme; suitable for EHCP, PP, SEND, mainstream, and Electively Home Educated students. 

    Visit Website
  • AQA logo

    AQA Unit Awards

    Entry-level qualification with a focus on skills; a 12-week programme, particularly suitable for students with SEND. 

    Visit Website
  • BHS logo

    The British Horse Society Personal Development Qualification

    The course supports the development of life skills that enable learners to become valuable contributors to society. Young people who are either permanently excluded from or at risk of permanent exclusion from education, SEND, NEET, and Electively Home Educated students.

    Visit Website

“Ofsted have been really impressed by the project at SLTH and the impact on our students”

- Head Teacher

“This is the most successful part of our alternative education curriculum, the students want to come!”

- SENCO

Skills for life and work

Young people gain a wide range of practical and transferable skills, including:

  • Communication and teamwork

  • Confidence and leadership

  • Resilience and time management

  • Literacy and numeracy

  • Presentation and interview skills

Together with our staff, students build a portfolio to evidence their skills, experience, and learning. This portfolio supports them to achieve accredited qualifications — see the qualifications we offer.

At the end of the programme, every student receives a personal reference and, where appropriate, support to find work experience, volunteering, or employment opportunities.

OCN Level 2 Certificate in Equine Welfare and Management

This qualification has been developed to provide learners with a strong foundation in ethical, welfare-focused horse care, integrating knowledge of the Five Domains of Animal Welfare, practical stable management skills, and an understanding of equine behaviour and communication. 

This qualification is regulated by Ofqual, the qualifications regulator for England, and is registered on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF). 

Who the qualification is for:

  • anyone over the age of 14

  • learners in schools and colleges where GCSE-level vocational options are sought - and alternative provision

  • school leavers wanting to develop their career into land-based and animal care studies

  • adults looking to retrain or gain CPD in animal care and equine-assisted services.

The qualification covers:

Introduction to Horse welfare and nutrition

Safe handling and leading of horses

Horse behaviour and communication

Grooming and hoof care

Housing and management routines

Equine monitoring and first aid

Working practices in equine environments

Optional:

Planning Horse Care programmes

Yard organisation and Team work

Ethical Practices when Working with Horses

Functional Skills qualification: Available from Entry Level 1- Level 2 in Maths and English

Cost: £1,500 for the year (£500 per term)

How the Course is Delivered

This programme is delivered one day per week at SLTH, combining hands-on, practical learning with real-world experience. Learners also take part in regular visits to a range of professional equine settings, including:

  • Equine colleges

  • Racing yards

  • Veterinary colleges

  • Breeding farms

  • Competition stables

The OCNLR Level 2 Certificate in Equine Welfare and Management comprises mandatory and optional units. Learners must achieve 22 credits in total. [18] credits must be taken from the mandatory units; [4] credits from the optional group of units.

Interested?

Secure your spot today. Complete the referral form below, and a member of our team will contact you shortly.

OCN Level 2 Certificate: Referral Form

FAQs

  • You make a referral to us, and we’ll work closely with you to understand the individual needs of your student(s). From there, we’ll design a tailored education programme that supports their learning, development, and personal goals. 

  • Our tailored education offer includes the opportunity to gain recognised qualifications, with a strong focus on developing key skills such as teamwork, functional skills, and emotional awareness. Each young person receives a progress report during their programme, as well as a comprehensive End of Programme Outcomes Report. This includes data on improvements in areas such as wellbeing, confidence, teamwork, and more. 

  • At the end of a programme, each young person receives accredited qualification(s) where applicable, a personal reference, and the SLTH Employability and Horsemanship Skills Certificate. They’ll also be awarded a rosette to recognise their achievement and participation. 

  • Programmes typically run for a term (Autumn, Spring, Summer) with students attending for 2 – 3 hours one day a week. We can combine programmes to span the full academic year and our new alternative education offer includes a full day for KS3 (Thursday) and a full day KS4/5 (Tuesday), where students attend SLTH for 4 and ½ hours a day (10-2.30pm). 

  • Our group education programmes are for KS3 and for KS4. Should the need arise we can also offer KS2 group programmes in the future. 

  • Following completion of a course, we have a range of further qualifications and educational courses for young people to progress onto, including our new Level 3 1st4sport Principles of Horse Care and Management qualification (16+). We can of course offer guidance and support for those leaving us and looking for apprenticeships, volunteering or further education outside of our organisation. See our Next Steps document for further details. 

  • Our Education Service Lead, Desrae Le Roux, would be the best placed person to answer your queries and to advise of suitability of courses based around the needs of the individual young person. She has over 24 years experience as a teacher in secondary schools, including 7 years experience as a Deputy Headteacher, and understands the needs of young people in schools and the services and programmes schools are looking for: Desrae@strengthandlearningthroughhorses.org  

  • We empower young people to achieve accredited qualifications and develop the skills required to ultimately successfully engage in education; volunteering or employment. The programmes boost self-esteem and develop a mindset of “Anything is Possible” whilst they take on daily responsibilities including mucking out stables and fields, grooming, equine first aid, and feeding and nutrition. Through these tasks, students build essential life skills such as confidence, perseverance, communication, teamwork, responsibility, and relationship-building. 

  • Any student can benefit from SLTH services. The most important thing when selecting students to bring to SLTH, if bringing a group, is to choose students who can gel as a group. Programmes are less successful when there is a lot of variation of need and age within a group. 

  • Education groups - 8 students completing the Group Employability & Horsemanship 

    Skills Programme, 3 hours per week, for 12 weeks = £6,031 (£62.75 per person per session). If schools bring 2 x groups of 8 students (16 students) = £9,046 (£47 per person per session). If schools commit to bringing students for the full academic year there is a 35% discount offered. 

     

    Alternative education groups - schools can send individual students to join a group for a full day group education programme (10.00 - 2.30pm), with costs being £1,500 per 12 week term per person, 1 day per week. If schools commit to sending a young person for a full academic year a 20% discount is applied, with the total cost being £3,600 per person (three terms: Sept - July). We also offer alternative education for young people on a 1-1 support basis for £120 per 1.5 hours. This can be adapted to the young person/schools need to be 1.5 – 4.5 hours per day, depending on the needs of the young person. 

    If you have any further questions that have not been answered please email: Desrae@strengthandlearningthroughhorses.org who will be happy to help.