FIGHTING, swearing, intimidation and tantrums were all part of Jamie Eyre's school day.

But for a large proportion of his teenage years, the elfin teenager has been out of education all together.

The reason? Because no-one would take him.

By his parents' own admission he's one of Sheffield's baddest lads.
When Jamie, the eldest of three, was referred to a unique school in Clowne, Derbyshire, his mother never imagined it would tame her unruly son.

But after almost two years at New Direction, based at a 40-acre former riding school on the edge of the countryside, Jamie is looking to a brighter future.

For the first time in his life he has a goal, a reason for getting up in the morning and more importantly, a reason to toe the line.

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The slightly-built youngster has discovered a love of horses at the small Ofsted-registered school and now wants to be a jockey. He's certainly the right build and weight but he's still working on his attitude, which is temperamental to say the least.

New Direction has places for 12 children aged 11-16 but only has four pupils on the day I visit.

They arrive by taxi from Derbyshire, Barnsley and Sheffield.
The cost to the public purse is considerable but it's nothing compared to the cost of keeping these children in secure accommodation or prison if this last-ditch attempt fails.

The school's approach is family-centred which means parents are fully involved in discussions and often included in group counselling or psychotherapy sessions.

New Direction uses an ususual approach called Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.

The horse is used to break down barriers and the parent and child's behaviour is studied by a specially trained psychotherapist.
The pupil takes part in a discussion and the family therapist questions why they reacted in a certain way.

"It's a totally different approach," explains school principal Gary Saul, a former acting deputy head and head of behaviour at Sheffield's Myrtle Springs School.

"Some families can be quite dysfunctional and sitting them down in a normal groupwork session won't work.

"The same goes for the kids. Traditional approaches don't work.
"Jamie has responded really well to horses. He knows they're big, powerful animals and he knows he has to respect them. "He takes great care of them and the relationship he has with his favourite horse is very special. He trusts his horse and his horse trusts him. They share a bond and we can work with that bond to examine his behaviour and encourage his learning."

Pupils study horse care and riding at the 29-horse yard which is owned by former social worker Yvonne Evans, New Direction's Chief Executive.
In addition to the psychotherapy work, pupils also learn a basic national curriculum.

Many have problems with literacy and numeracy and most have additional problems such as autism, dyslexia or ADHD.

Maths is taught using old fashioned arithmetic but games such as Monopoly reinforce learning and encourage social skills such as turn-taking, negotiation and patience.

In such small classes the teacher and teaching assistant concentrate on pupils' needs and as well as curriculum subjects pupils learn life skills.

Each day a different child joins one of the support staff to make lunch for everyone. A visit to the supermarket may be required but again this responsibilty re-enforces what they're learning.

"They learn how to handle money, what things cost and they have to think about how to put a meal together," added principal Gary Saul.
"It's all part of learning."
School would ring saying 'come and collect him' - see next page.

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