Valley View Ranch

Provider name

Valley View Ranch

Telephone

01432 820081

Email

office@valleyviewranch.co.uk

Website

https://www.ValleyViewRanch.co.uk

Designated safeguarding lead

Tina Lawrence

Address of provision

Valley View Ranch Ullingswick Herefordshire HR1 3JQ

Nearest market town areas where service can be provided

Hereford, Bromyard, Leominster and Ledbury. Our location also makes the provision accessible from the Welsh borders and neighbouring areas of Wales, from which we currently support placements.

Provider type

• Onsite learning/tuition
• Mentoring
• Vocational/activity based learning
• Outdoor based learning

Educational phases supported

• Secondary
• Primary
• Post 16

Age range

8–25

Session length days times

10am to 2pm
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time.
Placements can be commissioned for one or more regular days per week according to the learner's individual needs and agreed outcomes. Shorter access placements may also be available where appropriate.

Details of provision service

Specialist 1:1 Alternative Provision

Valley View Ranch provides specialist 1:1 Alternative Provision for children and young people who benefit from a highly personalised, practical approach to learning.

Our core delivery model is 1:1 provision, allowing each learner to work at their own pace with consistent individual support and a programme adapted around their needs, interests, abilities and agreed outcomes.

Set within an established Western riding ranch in the Herefordshire countryside, Valley View Ranch provides a calm, purposeful alternative to a conventional classroom environment.

Our provision may be particularly suitable for children and young people who struggle to engage with mainstream education, including those with SEND, SEMH needs, autism, ADHD, anxiety, low confidence, disrupted education or difficulties engaging within conventional classroom or group environments.

A varied, practical programme

Each learner follows a structured, personalised programme which can combine:

• Horse care and stable management
• Western horsemanship
• Groundwork and practical horse handling
• Western riding, where appropriate
• Practical ranch and countryside activities
• Structured arts and crafts sessions
• Individual theory and learning activities
• Personal development and life skills
• AQA Unit Award Scheme learning

Learners do not need any previous experience with horses.

Our programme is deliberately varied. While horses and the ranch environment provide a powerful means of engaging many learners, a placement is not simply a riding session. Structured creative, practical and learning activities allow us to adapt each day around the individual.

Our structured arts and crafts sessions provide opportunities for creativity, concentration, fine motor development, confidence and achievement, while also offering a quieter indoor learning environment.

Learning, achievement and progression

Valley View Ranch is an AQA Unit Award Scheme centre, enabling learners to gain recognised certificates of achievement through practical and theory-based learning.

Individual programmes provide opportunities to develop:

• Confidence and self-esteem
• Communication skills
• Emotional regulation and resilience
• Engagement with learning
• Independence and responsibility
• Practical literacy and numeracy
• Horsemanship and equine knowledge
• Life skills
• Practical and vocational skills

Progress, engagement and achievements are monitored and can be reported back to schools, commissioners and other professionals supporting the learner.

Experienced team

Our highly experienced team brings together many years of combined expertise across education, SEND, alternative provision, equestrian instruction, horsemanship and structured creative activities.

This breadth of skills allows us to build a programme around the individual learner rather than expecting the learner to fit a predetermined programme.
Staff undertake relevant SEND and SEMH training, including areas such as autism and ADHD, alongside ongoing CPD and professional development.

Safeguarding and quality

Valley View Ranch maintains robust safeguarding and operational procedures.
Our provision includes:

• Enhanced DBS checks for staff
• Designated Safeguarding Lead and Deputy DSL
• Safeguarding training including Level 3 Safeguarding
• Safer Recruitment training
• Prevent Awareness
• Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Appropriate liability insurance
• Comprehensive health and safety procedures
• Fire safety procedures and staff training
• Regular risk assessments
• Individual consideration of learner needs and risks

Valley View Ranch is also a 5-Star Local Authority Licensed Riding Establishment, providing an established and professionally regulated environment for all equestrian activities.

Our environment

The ranch provides extensive indoor and outdoor space in a peaceful rural Herefordshire setting.

Our countryside environment provides learners with space away from the pressures of a traditional classroom while maintaining structure, routine, purposeful activity and consistent adult support.

Positive relationships with staff and animals, responsibility for practical tasks and opportunities for achievable progression can help learners rebuild confidence and develop a more positive relationship with learning.

For learners who may initially lack confidence around larger horses, our miniature horses can provide an accessible introduction to horse care and handling.

Referrals and placements

Every referral is considered individually.

Before starting a placement, we normally invite the child or young person and their parent/carer to visit Valley View Ranch. This provides an opportunity to meet the team, see the facilities and horses, discuss individual needs and establish whether Valley View Ranch is the right environment for them.

We work collaboratively with schools, local authorities, families and other professionals involved with the learner.

Placements are generally offered on an academic-year basis with termly booking, helping to provide consistency and continuity for the learner.

Accreditations

• Herefordshire Council Quality Assured Alternative Provision
• 5-Star Local Authority Licensed Riding Establishment
• AQA Unit Award Scheme Centre
• Member of the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen)
• Staff training and ongoing CPD covering SEND, SEMH, autism and ADHD
• Safeguarding Level 3
• Safer Recruitment
• Prevent Awareness
• Keeping Children Safe in Education
• Enhanced DBS checks
• Appropriate liability insurance, health & safety and fire safety procedures

Programmes offered and cost

Specialist 1:1 Alternative Provision

Full AP Day – 10am–2pm: £265 per learner per day

A personalised four-hour programme incorporating activities selected according to the learner's needs, interests, abilities and agreed outcomes.

Programmes can include horsemanship, horse care, western riding where appropriate, practical ranch activities, structured arts and crafts, individual learning, personal development and AQA Unit Award Scheme work.

Shorter access placements

Shorter 1:1 placements may be available where appropriate to the needs of the learner. Please contact us to discuss individual requirements.
Placements can be commissioned for one or more regular days per week, subject to availability.

Transport provided

No

AP framework provider

No