West Horsley (Hillside)

West Horsley, at Hillside Farm, is a registered therapeutic education provision built around the farm’s goats, sheep and smaller animals.

A Typical Day at West Horsley

No two days at West Horsley are the same. The site sits high on the hill at Hillside, with long views across the Surrey countryside and woodland on every side. Footpaths and bridleways run out from the gate in almost every direction, which shapes a great deal of how the day is spent.

Young people take part in a personalised curriculum built around their individual needs, interests and aspirations, using the animals, the woods and the outdoor learning spaces as much as indoors. Learning is tailored to each young person so that everyone can engage, achieve and build confidence.

A typical day combines animal care, curriculum learning and personal development across several sessions. Depending on the individual programme, that may include time with the animals, Forest School, therapeutic sessions, hacking out, and work towards English, mathematics and preparation for adulthood.

Throughout the day, young people work alongside a consistent staff team with extensive experience of supporting children and young people with social, emotional and mental health needs. Our approach is underpinned by PACE principles and a commitment to helping every young person feel safe, valued and understood.

Learning at West Horsley is practical and purposeful. Sensory experience, outdoor learning, wellbeing and positive risk-taking are part of the day rather than separate activities bolted onto it.

Forest School and outdoor learning

Forest School is the heart of what West Horsley does differently, and the site is unusually well set up for it.

Young people spend a significant part of the week outdoors in the woodland, in learning spaces built for the purpose. The work is practical and hands-on: fire lighting, shelter building, tool use, cooking outdoors, working with natural materials, tracking the seasons and understanding the woodland as a living place rather than a backdrop.

The value of it is not only the skills. A young person who cannot sit at a desk can very often concentrate for an hour on getting a fire lit. Work that is physical, outdoors and obviously useful reaches young people that a desk does not, and it reaches them without asking them to talk about how they feel. Confidence built with an axe and a length of rope transfers into everything else.

The woodland setting also gives space. Young people who find other people overwhelming can take themselves a little further out, do something purposeful, and come back when they are ready. That is not avoidance. It is how a good many of them learn to manage a full day.

Animals and riding

West Horsley works with goats, sheep and a range of smaller animals, alongside horses. Young people take part in daily animal care, and for many it is the part of the day that gets them through the gate in the morning.

Riding at West Horsley is mainly hacking. The site does not have an arena, but it is surrounded by bridleways, and riding out through the woods and lanes is a very different experience from circling a school. It suits some young people far better. Being out in open country on a horse, with somebody alongside, asks something of a young person that an arena does not, and gives back a good deal more.

Not everyone rides, and nobody has to. Working on the ground with an animal, learning to handle it safely, and understanding what it needs is valuable in its own right and is where most young people begin.

Therapeutic support

West Horsley has a substantial therapeutic offer, with therapists based on site alongside therapeutic support workers.

Support ranges from formal therapy through to therapeutic sessions held alongside the animals, and it is matched to what each young person needs rather than to a fixed programme. Some young people access therapy weekly as a planned part of their timetable. Others are supported through the day by the therapeutic team without a session ever being called one.

Working in the same place where a young person also learns, rides and cares for animals matters. It means therapeutic work is not something separate that happens in a room, and it means the people supporting a young person know them properly.

Space to Grow

At West Horsley, relationships come first. We take the time to get to know each young person as an individual, and we work closely with families and with the professionals around them to build an approach that fits.

Our aim is to help young people engage with learning, reduce anxiety, and build the confidence to do things that may have felt out of reach. Progress looks different for every young person, and we celebrate the small steps as readily as the significant ones.

The site itself does a good deal of the work. There is room to move, to be outdoors, to walk out into the woods and come back. Young people are encouraged to make choices, to develop sensory awareness, and to take positive, well-supported risks.

Qualifications

For young people who are ready, we offer accredited learning that recognises both academic and practical achievement. This includes Functional Skills qualifications in English and Mathematics, the Integrated Learning Project, and a range of AQA Unit Awards covering a variety of subjects and skills.

Young people can also work towards the CFI Level 2 Integrative Education Award, which recognises the development of personal, social and employability skills through practical and experiential learning.