Stepney Bank Stables has received £500 in funding through NCFE’s Social Impact Fund – an initiative that empowers NCFE colleagues to champion charitable causes close to their hearts by bidding for funding each quarter.  

The stable’s pony club allows individuals living within disadvantaged areas of Newcastle to gain an officially recognised horse care qualification. To help overcome participation barriers, this funding has paid for young people’s pony club membership fees, as well as examiner costs and clothing for tests and competitions.   

Dean Blewitt, Senior Innovation and Investments Manager at NCFE said, “Stepney Bank Stables works predominantly with disadvantaged learners to provide experiences such as horse riding and horse care to help foster skills like responsibility, accountability and teamwork.  

“It’s a really good example of how that learning can take place outside of a traditional classroom and provide life-changing and transformational experiences for learners.” 

Sara Newson, Centre Manager at Stepney Bank Stables said, “Being around horses is brilliant for young people and they just think they’re hanging out with horses and they like horses and that’s great, but what we see is them building confidence and learning communication skills, particularly around non-verbal cues because horses are mostly non-verbal animals.  

“They learn a lot about body language, working together as part of a team, taking responsibility for themselves and for a big animal and all the health and safety things that go with that.” 

This cause embodies the purpose of our Social Impact Fund: to make education more accessible, equitable and enriching for all. 

Watch the video below to see the impact the pony club has on those who take part:

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