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OUR COURSE

6 riders enjoying the course at fortune college
Fortune College student on work experience

MOTIVATION LEADS TO ACHIEVEMENT, WHICH ENGENDERS SELF-ESTEEM

Everyone has the right to an education, but not everyone learns in the same way. We’re all motivated by different activities and environments. Our students are motivated by horses – we harness this to create a unique learning and living environment where horses become the teachers. 

TRANSFORMATIONAL AND THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION

Our specialist further education college is set in the stunning New Forest, offering young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) a truly unique educational experience.  

Instead of learning in a traditional schoolroom setting, our course is based on an Equine Facilitated Education and Therapy (EFET) model. Students learn by spending most of their time with our 25 horses; every yard, field, stable, riding school and tack room is a classroom.  

Our three-year Further Education Through Horsemastership (FETH) Course is taught over 38 weeks a year. Most students live with us at the college during term time to increase their independence.  

To give students a comprehensive horse-based education, the curriculum is split into six core areas:    

  1. Functional Skills 

  2. Riding 

  3. Stable Management 

  4. Rhythm Work and Vaulting 

  5. Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education  

  6. Independent Living Skills 

This inclusive living and learning experience positively impacts young people’s lives, as they: 

  • Establish healthy self-care routines  

  • Boost their self-esteem and self-confidence  

  • Achieve skills for working life  

  • Have the option to gain accredited qualifications, including GCSEs 

Everyone at Fortune College is dedicated to making a difference to students’ lives. Our ultimate intention is to teach and support young people with SEND, so they live as independently as possible and become useful members of their communities.   

OUR INTENTIONS

To do this… 

We want our students to: 

  • Express their views and ideas 

  • Be motivated to learn new skills 

  • Understand how to solve problems  

  • Develop resilience  

  • Be challenged and enjoy learning  

  • Understand what they have achieved and know what to do to make progress 

  • Evaluate and reflect on their learning   

  • Be ready for their next steps after college 

We want our tutors to: 

  • Have high expectations of students, so they reach their potential 

  • Differentiate delivery to ensure all students have equal opportunities 

  • Celebrate and acknowledge students’ success   

  • Give tailored feedback, so students know what they need to do next 

  • Guide and work alongside students as they explore new ideas  

PERSONALISED PATHWAY

Students are individuals. When they join Fortune College, they are put on one of two pathways to ensure the course is delivered in a way that supports their learning journey. Students are given a bespoke plan with individual targets, which is monitored weekly by their Group Leader to ensure it meets their needs.  

young person with disability enjoying their pathway at fortune college

Pathway One:
Skills for Life

This pathway focuses on: 

  • Core skills for living and increasing independence 

  • Communication 

  • Managing their health and self-care 

  • Access to community and volunteering opportunities 

learning skills and indepedence at fortune college whilst sat on a hay bale

Pathway Two:
Skills for Independence and Employment

With this pathway, students learn everything from Skills for Life with the additional option of gaining:  

 

  • Higher levels of independence in living skills and managing health 

  • Employability skills 

  • Qualifications in maths, English and ICT 

  • Qualifications in a vocational subject 

Plans that incorporate elements of each of the pathways can also be created for students who would benefit from a mixture of both.  

The skills students learn at Fortune College can be taken with them into day-to-day life, employment and voluntary opportunities, including:  

  • English 

  • Maths 

  • Teamwork  

  • Team support 

  • Concentration 

  • Co-operation 

  • Co-ordination 

  • Balance 

  • Fitness 

  • Control 

  • Discipline 

  • Physical contact 

  • Self-awareness 

  • Spatial concept 

  • Memory 

  • Visual copying 

  • Timing 

  • Problem-solving  

  • Financial management  

Examples of how transferable skills are taught: 

  • By weighing horse feed and haynets, students learn to count  

  • By reading the names of horses on charts and buckets, students recognise familiar words and understand them in an alphabetical order  

  • By joining vaulting and rhythm work sessions, students understand spatial awareness, begin to solve problems and learn to follow routines and instructions 

  • By riding horses, students improve their balance, coordination and fitness  

TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

LIFE SKILLS

Students don’t just receive an education at Fortune College, they are equipped for life. We focus on several different areas – including grooming, laundry, mucking out, feeding, travelling and leisure – so students feel empowered to live independently and create self-care routines.   

Examples of how life skills are taught:  

  • By making phone calls to vets, farriers and equine dentists, students feel confident enough to make phone calls to doctors, hairdressers and dentists 

  • By sweeping and cleaning stables and yards, students learn the benefit of tidying their bedrooms  

  • By learning to read horses’ moods and emotions students learn to read people 

  • By identifying different feeds for horses and understanding their nutrition, students gain an awareness of how healthy eating benefits them  

  • By loading horses into trailers in a calm manner, students are able to take a train or bus and feel well-prepared for their journey  

  • By being aware of the horses’ safety and their own in our fields, students learn how to make sure community leisure spaces are safe for them and understand boundaries and rules  

OPTIONAL EXTRA QUALIFICATIONS

Some students choose to explore accredited qualifications to achieve their long-term aspirations.

GCSE QUALIFICATIONS

BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY GROOM PATHWAY STAGE 1

VAULTING AWARDS

Students can gain their English and Maths GCSEs. 

This equine qualification supports and celebrates students wishing to pursue a career as a groom. It can be taken with or without riding.  

Students can work towards their Fortune College Blue, Red, Green and Gold Awards.  

BHSQ LEVEL 1 DIPLOMA IN WORK BASED HORSE CARE

This qualification gives students a solid foundation in horse care, providing them with the knowledge and skills to explore horse-based employment. It is made up of 10 practical and 10 knowledge-based elements. An additional four units for riding horses can also be achieved.  

BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY CHALLENGE AWARDS

A stepping stone to accredited qualifications, there are 39 awards in total: 32 core awards are split over five ascending levels – Introduction, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The other five standalone awards – Horse Knowledge, First Pony Guide, Horse Health Part One and Two, and Mounted Games – can be taken in any order.  

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