Alternative Education 

We offer bespoke Alternative Education Provision for KS2 – KS4 and for 16+ young people. 

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

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

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.

  • Available to groups of 8 young people (we can run two programmes at a time on site, so that we can deliver support to up to 16 young people at a time). 

  • Available to groups of young people referred from schools and other support organisations, designed to develop the skills required to successfully engage with education or employment, whilst supporting young people to achieve a qualification. 

  • Developed for young people who struggle to access mainstream education. Programmes are delivered in small groups of young people with similar abilities or can be delivered on an individual basis where appropriate. 

  • This is a one-year programme to support students who dream of working with horses to develop the personal skills and professional qualifications required to make this dream a reality. 

REPLACE WITH WHO THIS IS FOR

Education Programmes for groups are suitable for young people referred from schools and alternative education provisions to support young people for whom a school setting is difficult to access to empower young people to develop the skills required to thrive back at school.

Education programmes for individuals are suitable any young person for whom classroom learning is a challenge including young people who are school refusers and permanently excluded from education.

Individual Alternative Education

Tailored educational support for individual young people designed to support the unique needs of students.

  • Curriculum linked learning

  • Range of qualifications available to suit individual needs including AQA Unit Awards; Kings Trust Qualifications; British Horse Society Changing Lives Through Horses Awards and British Horse Society Stage Qualifications.

  • Programmes are designed by a qualified teacher and are bespoke to the needs of young people

  • Where possible young people are supported to join a group of other young people of a similar age and ability level

Full Day Group Education for Individuals. 10 - 2.30pm

TERMLY RATE: £1,500 per 12 week term per person. 1 day per week.

Full Academic Year: 20% discount = £3,600

One to One Support

£120 per 1.5 hours (can attend for 1.5 – 4.5 hours per day).

  • Bursaries available – if cost is a barrier, please complete the bursary form when making a referral

Group Alternative Education

12 week employability and life skills programmes for groups of 8 - 16 young people.

  • Develop Life skills including: Teamwork; Communication; Time Management; Leadership

  • Achieve an accredited Employability Skills Qualification (Kings Trust Personal Development & Employability Skills Award) or achieve AQA Unit Awards.

  • Available to private groups referred by schools or other organisations

  • 2 - 3 hour sessions once per week for 12 weeks

  • Groups of up to 8:

    Total cost of 12 week programme = £6,031. £62.75 per person per session.

    Groups of 16:

    Total cost of 12 week programme = £9,046. £47 per person per session.

    Full Academic Year Bookings: 35% discount

    Bursaries available – if cost is a barrier, please complete the bursary form when making a referral

Group of young children watching a white horse in SLTH arena

“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

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. 

Our education programmes use real-world equine tasks to develop both practical and personal skills.

  • Horse Psychology & Training: Students learn how horses think and behave, then apply this knowledge to train horses through activities such as obstacle courses and helping horses overcome fear of new objects.

  • Stable & Yard Management: Students take on daily responsibilities including mucking out stables and fields, grooming, equine first aid, and feeding and nutrition.

  • Life Skills Development: Through these tasks, students build essential life skills such as confidence, perseverance, communication, teamwork, responsibility, and relationship-building.

  • Cross-Curricular Learning: All activities are designed to support learning across key subjects:

    • KS4: English, Maths, Science, Computing, Citizenship

    • KS3: English, Maths, Science, Computing, Art & Design, Geography, Citizenship

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.

Alternative education programme outcomes

“Learning to Learn” - equipping young people with the confidence, skills and motivation to enjoy learning

Qualifications and certificates

Interpersonal skills including teamwork & communication skills

Resilience

Interpersonal skills including teamwork & communication skills

Get in touch

Get in touch to explore how we can support the young people you work with. We’ll work with you to design a bespoke alternative education programme tailored to their needs and goals.

No two programmes are the same — each one is tailored around the individual or group, ensuring the support we offer is relevant, meaningful, and impactful.

Qualifications our young people can work towards

  • King's Trust logo

    King's Trust Personal Development and Employability Skills Award

    Equivalent to a BTEC qualification; 12-week programme suitable for EHCP, PP, SEND and mainstream students.  

    Visit Website
  • 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

Breaking Down Barriers Programme

This course is ideal for learners who already have some experience working with horses and are looking to build a career in the equine industry.

Designed as a one-year programme, it helps students develop the professional knowledge, practical skills, and confidence needed to work with horses independently. On completion, learners gain an industry-recognised qualification that enables them to care for horses without supervision — a key step toward employment in riding schools, yards, or other equine settings.

The course covers six mandatory units:

  1. Principles of Employment Rights and Responsibilities in the Land-Based Industries

  2. Principles of Health and Safety in the Horse Industry

  3. Principles of Routine Horse Care

  4. Principles of Horse Health and Welfare

  5. Principles of Training and Preparing Horses for Work

  6. Principles of Transporting Horses

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 monthly visits to a range of professional equine settings, including:

  • Equine colleges

  • Racing yards

  • Veterinary colleges

  • Breeding farms

  • Competition stables

The course comprises 156 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) and is designed to provide students with an in-depth introduction to working in the equine industry.

Qualifications Gained

Learners will work towards the following accredited qualifications:

Cost

Course fee: £200 sign-up fee, which is matched at the end of the course to give £400 to spend on equestrian equipment.

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

  • Programmes typically run over one term with students attending for 2 – 3 hours. We can combine programmes to span the full academic year.

  • Absolutely! After completing an education course with us, our team can support young people onto further educational courses at SLTH and beyond. 

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  • 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 that can gel as a group. Programmes are less successful when there is a lot of variation of need and age within a group. 

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