As part of our Changing Lives through Horses programme we are able to offer qualifications in addition to our Young People making progress through the units of work. We can offer GCSE equivalent qualifications which are called Personal Development Qualifications, and we can also strive to enter our Young People for their British Horse Society Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessment.

Personal Development Qualifications (PDQs) Entry Level 3, Level 1 and Level 2

An example of one of our presentation days for our PDQs...

Specification document

These Personal Development Qualifications are suitable for learners who are age 11+ and are delivered through the CLTH programme. The qualifications are suitable for those who are either permanently excluded from or at risk of permanent exclusion from education. Or who have special education needs or disabilities (SEND) and those who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). 

The Personal Development Qualifications: 

• Aim to support the development of knowledge, skills and behaviours for life
• Focus on aspects that are essential for all such as building relationships, working with others and developing new skills
• Are inclusive and accessible for all learners

There are three qualifications: 

Qualification Level – Entry level 3 - 610/1225/7 - Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 30 Credits – 3 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) – 30

Qualification Level – Level 1 - 610/1226/9 - Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 50 Credits – 5 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) – 50

(Equivalent to GCSE 1-4)

Qualification Level – Level 2 - 610/1227/0 - Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 60 Credits – 6 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) – 60

(Equivalent to GCSE 5-9)

BHSQ qualifications are: 

1. Nationally recognised 
2. Quality assured 
3. Vocationally-related 
4. Mapped to national occupational standards (NOS) where appropriate 
5. Designed to meet the needs of employers 
6. Regularly reviewed by industry practitioners. 

BHSQ qualifications provide valuable opportunities for learners to: 

1. Develop new skills 
2. Develop existing skills 
3. Gain underpinning knowledge and understanding 
4. Progress to further study, education and training 
5. Progress into employment.

Evidence is gathered by all of the CLtH team and final assessments are carried out by Stacey who is the appointed assessor for our CLtH at Wirral Riding Centre. All learning outcomes and assessment criteria must be met for achievement. Once the assessment has been verified by the BHSQ team a celebration event is planned in where each of our Young People receive their certificate.

2023/2024

In our first year we were successful in getting 25 of our Young People through at least one Personal Development Qualification. 

8/25 achieved both their Level 1 and Level 2 qualification and 17/25 achieved their Level 1 qualification and continued to progress onto their Level 2 in the following year. 

2024/2025

Our second academic year saw the same amount of momentum!

• In October we entered and were successful with 9 Level 1 PDQs and 1 Level 2 PDQ. We held a presentation on Wednesday 4th December and celebrated our wonderful young people!
• In December we entered and were successful with 5 Level 1 PDQs and 5 Level 2 PDQs, we had an extra special celebration on Friday 28th February where we joined by Martin Clunes (President of the BHS), James Hick (CEO of the BHS) and many more members of the public - it was a wonderful event to celebrate our young people!
• February and April saw another entry of 4 Level 1 PDQs and 2 Level 2 PDQs. They were celebrated on Tuesday 20th May. They were presented with their certificates by Chris Lowcock, The Senior Manager of Alternative Provisions for Wirral.
• Our last submission date for the academic year was Friday 20th June and we were successful with 3 Young People achieving their PDQ Level 2s and 2 Young People achieving their Level 1!

In our second year we were successful in getting 34 Young People through at least one Personal Development Qualification. 20/34 achieved their Level 1 PDQ and 14/34 achieved their Level 2 PDQ!

2025/2026

8 Young People were successful in passing their PDQ Level 1 qualification in November and enjoyed their celebration on the 6th February.

We have another hopeful 12 young people who are working towards their PDQ Level 1 and 1 young person hoping to achieve her PDQ Level 2 - we wish them all the luck!

Stage 1 BHS Ride and Care

On Monday 8th July 2024 our first six CLtH Young People were entered for their BHS Stage 1 ride and care qualification and they each passed with flying colours! We continued with this success with another six Young People who did their assessment in the following academic year on Monday 3rd February 2025 - they also did exceptionally well and all achieved their stage 1! We couldn't be prouder of how organised, professional and exceptionally knowledgeable they each were on the day. They each articulated their understanding well and rode so confidently. They were assessed by Julian Campbell - the assessment was so professional whilst still providing such a safe and trusting environment for our Young People.

Celebration for our first six Young People....

Celebration for our second six Young People...

In the current academic year (2025-2026) we have five Young People who have been entered for their Stage 1 assessment and 3 Young People who have been entered for their Stage 2 assessment - we know they are all going to do exceptionally well!