Rachel and Charlie's Story
"Kayleigh saw Charlie as a boy, rather than through his diagnosis”
Rachel fought for her son, Charlie, to receive alternative learning at HorseWorld’s Discovery programme after years of disrupted mainstream education. By the age of ten, Charlie had attended three different primary schools and Rachel was struggling to get his needs met. Through the mediation process with her local authority, she was able to have alternative provision funded through a personal payment plan for specialist support.
Rachel explains why the Discovery programme is so important to them both
"By the time we could access the Discovery programme, Charlie had not attended full-time education for two and a half years. He was unwell, his needs could not be met in school and he was highly anxious. I came across the provision through an online discussion thread for parents who had children with autism.
Charlie had not had any interaction with horses before but had always loved domestic animals. He had nothing else going on to support him at that time so I was determined that he should try it. Although he had a legal right to some alternative provision there was a lot of discussion between ourselves, the local authority and his school to sort the payment. HorseWorld were helpful from the outset by providing all the relevant information which supported our bid for a place. Until then, although his needs were relatively low-level, Charlie was at home because of the emotional and physical attacks at school."
"On his first day at HorseWorld, Charlie was really anxious. He had no trust in adults apart from myself and his dad. We asked him to go in for at least five minutes to give it a go and we managed to get him out of the car. Straight away we were impressed by how his facilitator, Kaleigh, met him at the gate and spoke to him on his own level. She saw Charlie as a boy, rather than through his diagnosis.
She asked him what he liked to do and because he was practising the splits, that is how they started the session. Kaleigh walked side by side with him rather than staring face to face, which is really helpful for Charlie. Starting with a Shetland pony, they accessorised it and took it around the courtyard which was the start of his joyful time at HorseWorld.
“From that first session he was desperate to go back”
As we were not going out as a family it became his one regular contact with the outside world that he looked forward to. He wasn’t frightened and his confidence built through a sense of purpose by caring for the animals. As Charlie benefited from the non-verbal connection with the horses and it felt refreshing and healthy to be outdoors the programme worked for us from the outset.
As the first six-week programme was such a success we were able to fund two more terms through Charlie’s personal budget, provided by the local authority. Leading his favourite horse, Archie, around the arena without reins was the most significant sign for us that HorseWorld was working for Charlie. All his schools told us that Charlie had could not concentrate, which impacted his ability to learn, but here he was able to relax and lead a horse only through body language. Since then he has been able to catch up academically.
"I really appreciated the way the HorseWorld staff stepped up at different points to support Charlie when he was having a difficult time with a transition to a special school. It shows a real commitment to young people that they care enough to be involved with detailed reports and visits even though their official programme has completed.
Thanks to their ability to bridge any gaps in Charlie’s educational journey and keep in touch, he is now an ambassador for HorseWorld. The bespoke approach from HorseWorld was exactly what you would want from an alternative provider. We could not be prouder of Charlie now he is back in education and engaging with the world."