HORSE SENSE: Pioneering teaching methods at Piper's Hill 15 December 2017 Premium

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15 December 2017

Leanne O'Sullivan on 15 Dec 2017

HORSE SENSE: Pioneering teaching methods at Piper's Hill

Piper's Hill College in Naas, Co Kildare is the first school in Ireland to incorporate on-campus Equine Assisted Learning as part of the school curriculum, writes Leanne O'Sullivan

Leanne O'Sullivan

15 December 2017

First year students at Pipers Hill College enjoying their SPHE class which incorporates Equine Assisted Learning

EUREKA MOMENT - Just as the students agreed that they were going to apply their utmost attention to the task at hand and were finishing up their group discussion, one of the horses who had walked alone into the centre of the paddock to the obstacle and simply stepped over it

Students looking after the horses which were part of their SPHE class

At different stages of the task, the students are asked about the task, their roles within the group etc.

All horses used as part of Equine Assisted Learning are mature and well established

PIPER’S Hill College is a co-educational second level school in Naas, Co Kildare which has over 1,000 students attending.

This year Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) - the use of horses experientially to encourage growth and learning - has been introduced as part of Junior Certificate Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and is delivered on campus, thanks to the generosity of Don McMahon and Liam Flynn of Ballymore Nass Developments Ltd who gave the school the use of a plot of land adjacent to the campus.