Any other horsey teachers - advice please!

_MizElz_

_MizElz_

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 March 2010
Messages
1,069
Location
In front of my laptop...
Visit site
I am starting my NQT year (secondary English) in September, and have been in my new school for an induction period for the last two weeks :)

We've all been encouraged to get involved with extra curricular activities, and bearing in mind the school has specialist sports status, they're very keen on anything sports-related.

I'd really like to run some kind of equestrian club - most likely aimed at kids who have never had a pony or been given the chance to be around them, but have always wanted to. The school is in a rural setting but it is not the most affluent of areas, so not many of the students have their own horses.

I guess I'm just wondering whether anyone has ever done anything similar, or heard about anything like it? I have a meeting on Friday with the clubs coordinator - who says she thinks it's a great idea - and I'm just trying to flesh out a plan for what sorts of things I could do. I was thinking along the lines of stable management, points of the horse, basic horse care etc - it is unlikely I'd be able to do anything practical as I'd have to take them off site, and it could get complicated AND expensive! But I was thinking of looking at the theory aspect of the spec for the Pony Club D test, and taking it from there...

In terms of my own experience, I only have my PC C+ test; however I have a lifetime of horsey experience and I also assisted on the Horse Care NVQ course at one of my placement schools - I'd certainly feel confident about teaching the basics.

Any advice would be gratefully received - either in terms of ideas for what I could do with them, or just general comments about the concept in general!

Many thanks :) x
 
Congratulations on joining the greatest profession!!

Don't take too much on in your first year. It might be something to look into once you are settled in.

Its a great idea though. There are funds in some schools to subsidise some things like this for some pupils. Through extended schools funding, find out if this is the case in your school.

Not able to give you much advice, good luck though.
 
muddy boots said:
Congratulations on joining the greatest profession!!

Don't take too much on in your first year. It might be something to look into once you are settled in.

Its a great idea though. There are funds in some schools to subsidise some things like this for some pupils. Through extended schools funding, find out if this is the case in your school.

Not able to give you much advice, good luck though.
Click to expand...

Thank you! :D I'm so excited about starting...I've never felt so positive about anything in my life; I can't believe how quickly my PGCE went! :D

As far as taking stuff on is concerned....they have made it clear they'd like us to run a club if possible. And I need to impress them...the school is wonderful, but I'm on a 1 year contract so I want to do all I can to make myself indispensable to them in the future! I agree though - I need to be careful - so it could be something I do every other week, maybe? And what I think I would do anyway is spend the first term getting to know my students and perhaps sending out questionnaires to assess how many/what type of students may be interested...

So much to think about! Thank you for your post :D x
 
I'm a secondary biology teacher, tbh I'm not sure you'll get much interest from them for 'boring' theory sessions but it is worth guaging interest.
There are likely to be some horsey kids there so how about trying to set up a riding team and perhaps organising some team training sessions? There are plenty of inter-schools competitions
 
TheMule said:
I'm a secondary biology teacher, tbh I'm not sure you'll get much interest from them for 'boring' theory sessions but it is worth guaging interest.
There are likely to be some horsey kids there so how about trying to set up a riding team and perhaps organising some team training sessions? There are plenty of inter-schools competitions
Click to expand...

I thought about that too - I'd be willing to organise it if there is enough uptake! Not sure about the logistics and finances...but I guess I'd have to discuss that with parents if there is any interest!

As far as the theory stuff goes....I'd try to make it 'fun' of course - take in bandages for them to use on each other, use DVDs, and watch past competitions. In the schools I've worked in so far, there have been a fair few kids that have never been around ponies but have always wanted to learn about them, so I just wondered if there may be some interest? The Clubs coordinator seemed to think there would be - apparently she's bringing a couple to our meeting so they can listen in and give their opinions on what I'm proposing!

There is a big (and very well renowned) riding centre about 6 miles away, but I dont know how I'd even begin to try organising for them to go there for practical/riding lessons....
 
Might be worth getting in contact with places like Stonar or Lakham college perhaps and questioning how to go about it/about partnering up with them maybe?

Or, mylocal riding school back ended up partnering with a school and offered a couple of hours each week for students in some sort of arrangement?
 
Binky - good thinking, I will mention them to the PE department and see if it's worth sending some emails to enquire! :D

WoopsiD - cheers for the link, there are definitely some nice ideas there!
 
You might get more uptake if you made it into a wider animal care course. Lots of children are interested in ponies but maybe wouldn't commit to week after week of theory on an animal that they don't have. A few weeks of pony care, a few weeks on rabbits etc might give you a much broader appeal.
 
Oh, that's an interesting idea! Hadn't thought of that, but it might be a good idea to float past them - especially if the horse idea doesnt have a huge uptake on its own. I could run specific sessions on different animals on an opt-in basis...

Thank you! :D
 
It might be worth considering a specific 6 week course rather than running something indefinately. I agree with your comment on researching first.

Good luck and congratulations on getting a post in such a good school.
 
Your best route would be to find a RS which would be willing to take a group, it might be possible to find funding - try googling Emile Faurie- this would get over the 'boring theory' aspect, which I should think would put off most teenagers, especially the ones you are hoping to attract who don't have their own horse and address the insurance issue as well. As others have said, do be careful not to take too much on in your NQT year.
 
In my OH's secondary school they have access to funding through PE. The money is linked to outdoor education, and is allocated via a school's coordinator who works out of the local outdoor ed centre. He contacts school via their PE department offering and arranging outdoor ed activities. Transport and insurance, risk assessments etc all go through him, which saves the teachers having to do it. He also organises the transport as the outdoor centres have their own minibuses. They take groups of pupils off to do various activities. They are starting up a 'horse riding club' with links to the local Pony Club so you maybe should check out the Pony Club. The funding has come through Outdoor education, so speak to the PE department.
My OH is GAT coordinator and he has a budget to spend on activities for GAT. He currently runs a sailing club, again though the school's coordinator at the outdoor centre, who use the local sailing school and provide RYA instructors. If you could get in touch with the local outdoor centre and the riding centre and somehow 'link' them up, that would be a possibility. So speak to your GAT coordinator too!
Good luck. I'm sure it can be done, provided you can get hold of some money you could get the kids out to do some riding etc. That is provided the lovely new government don't pull the funding on the outdoor ed centres. That's what's happening in my LA.
 
Admittedly one of the mums owns the RS, but she offers a series of lessons each term, to a couple of local schools, always well subscribed, but at a good discount - think about £8 or so for 1 1/2-2 hours, so compares favourably with eg the drama classes. There are subsidies from the school for low income too I believe. In which they do 1/2 hour riding & 2 sessions, one more stable management eg feeds, mucking out cleaning tack, one more general horsey info - like breeds colours, points of the horse. At the end of the course they got awarded certificates and rosettes too.
The plus from the RS is that some children do want to continue riding (and I think they get vouchers for discounted extra sessions)
Might be worth chatting to a local RS to see what's on offer from them?
 
I organise the trips we have to the polo club, and we were approached by schools to hold an inter-school combined training event. This was unfortnately cancelled, but whilst it was still going ahead, it was a NIGHTMARE to sort out kids and ponies.

Pain in the arse parents made it VERY difficult to get things sorted out, forms were signed, the school paid the entry fee, then I had kids telling me '....but I can't jump 70cm!'....even though their parents said they could!!!

I was glad it was cancelled in the end....!

As it's your NQT year, you really need to keep it simple, and try to base it all at a riding school or something, for your own sanity! Taking kids to play Polo is sooooo much easier than trying to rally the kids and ponies in a team....!
 
My brothers school has an equestrian club. They go once a week to the local riding school. Quite a few of the pupils go and seem to really enjoy it!
 
I have a feeling I have some stable management awards from ABRS which were largely theory based and not very challenging (although you did need a bit of practice and a horse for the exam to demonstrate how to tack up etc.) You could base your classes around those to give you some structure, and perhaps try to hook something up with the local riding school (e.g. a stable management day during the holidays or a staff training day) at a discount for the kids, to work towards them eventually taking the exams there. You might also be able to negotiate discounted lessons with the stables if you could get the kids there straight after school for them, as it would still be outside of peak times for most stables so they would likely be glad for the extra income.
 
I started the riding club at school in my NQT year as well. I take 12 students to a local RDA centre for 45 minute lessons (in 2 groups), but my experienced group lead for my beginner group so they are occupied and still doing things with the horses.

PM me if you want anymore advivce.
 
would happily have done the 'boring' theory stuff when I was at school and would just like to add whatever you do I think its great if you can include the non pony owners who probably get less opportunity to do things like that anyway whereas those with I expect are more likely to do pc etc. Won't forget at school getting all the riders together and being told 'oh but you don't have your own pony... bye then'
 
I am a horsey teacher! I teach Food Technology, Our school had an Equestrian team - the lady who organised it will be leaving at the end of the week. The folder landed in my lap! I am about to have an op on my foot so we have put it on hold for a year pending recovery though having gone along to a few of the events I have these comments. There is a schools team "organisation" I can't remember what it is called but yes Stonar or Millfield would be able to advise. It is a MASSIVE undertaking and one I would not recommend to an NQT where sleep, preparation, and marking will take onerous amounts of time - believe me. It may be better if you have an informal "Equestrian club" where students could come along, share ideas, discuss their horses etc with a view perhaps to organising a cross country or dressage lesson at one of your local riding centres at a preferential group rate. The issue of risk assessment and public liability is one not to be taken lightly. I would advise "Proceed with caution" if one simple thing goes wrong you could have angry parents and an unimpressed Headteacher! :) Nothing wrong with finding out where the local shows are - spreading the word and going along to support. Good luck with the teaching. I am an AST and am always willing to support people coming into the profession even after nearly 30 years! Get back to me if i can be of any further help - you need plenty of rest before September lol!:) :)
 
Hi! I'm the sports coordinator at a primary school. Clubs are hard work but worth it. Check though if its a sports club that they are or are not expecting the kids to be "active". Our clubs have to be "active" - kids getting exercise - for an hour to count towards gaining the activmark (sportsmark at secondary I think?) This is probably why they want you to run a club - so they can say they are offering extended school and kids are getting the 5 hour offer. (basically they have 2 hours PE at school and school should offer clubs through the weeks to make it up to the 3 extra hours). I think the horse club would be great if you don't have to be active for the hour. Maybe you could do some swapping magazines, horsey chat, and half an hour exercise to tone and strengthen riding muscles? Our year 3's went on a trip out to our local RDA centre this year. The special school next door to us go weekly and our kids helped out then got a ride but this was a one off. Maybee you could orgainse a trip (with parents) to HOYs or similar?

Good luck in your NQT year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top