Ethos and Policy

Our Ethos is to produce the best available training and in so doing offer the best opportunities to young people who want to work in the horseracing industry and who want to develop their skills and talents. We are therefore committed to continuous improvement, not only of the trainees, but of the training itself.

Our policies are agreed by the Trustees and developed for their consideration and agreement by the Management Team.

Access

It is a fundamental principle of the main training area of Work Based Learning for 16-18 year olds that it is delivered free of charge to the individual. Therefore there is no charge for the training, the accommodation or the food. In so doing, it is intended that this training is available to any individual regardless of their means or background, provided they meet the criteria of Government Work Based Learning.

Duty of Care

We take very seriously our responsibilities in looking after the trainees at the School. It is therefore very important that we have in place a comprehensive arrangement to fulfil this obligation. Trainees have a weekly 1:1 interview with their Instructor and they have access to both male and female members of staff with whom they can discuss issues of concern. The Chaplain to Horseracing visits every week and is available as a neutral and confidential source of counselling where needed. We believe that it is very important for trainees to have effective contact with their parents whilst at the School and at this challenging time in their lives, and therefore each bedroom in the hostel has a private telephone line which allows parents to ring in. Similarly we have effective policies on bullying to ensure that any allegation is properly and effectively dealt with.

Health and Safety

Because of the inherent risks of working with racehorses, considerable emphasis is placed on health and safety. We have comprehensive procedures in place to ensure that we eliminate where possible, any potential health and safety risk. To provide this, health and safety is integrated into all our activities and we employ a dedicated Health and Safety Consultant.

Environment

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment. As part of our policy, all staff and trainees are encouraged to be involved and to contribute to this policy. As an example of our commitment, we are now well advanced with a project to build a Biomass Boiler which will dramatically reduce our consumption of oil and make use of the stable waste which we produce.

The Community

We believe that it is very important the School has strong links with both the local and the racing community. This is done through a wide range of activities. It includes members of staff contributing to various industry and other committees connected with our training. It involves hosting visits from groups who wish to visit the School and the Newmarket and Mildenhall School Partnership. It also involves members of staff contributing to the local community; one is a Parish Councillor another is closely involved in the link between Newmarket and Lexington Kentucky.

Advice and Guidance

We put particular emphasis on the need for young people to have appropriate information, advice and guidance so that they can make informed choices of the options available to them whilst they are training. We therefore have comprehensive procedures in place ranging from the first tentative enquiry from a potential trainee to ongoing advice throughout the training process. To demonstrate this commitment we have recently achieved Matrix Accreditation.

The Facilities

We think it is really important that young people are trained within what we term as a 'quality environment'. By this we mean that the buildings, the grounds and the training facilities are all equipped and maintained to the highest standard. Particular attention is paid to the menu to ensure we provide the best possible food within the budget available. Rooms are very well appointed with good quality furniture and pictures. We hope that in so doing, we demonstrate the importance of high standards and the value that we place on each and every one of them as human beings.