Testimonials
Parent
Thank you so much for sending the report. It is lovely to hear how M is getting on, he always seems so happy and contented when I pick him up and I really enjoy hearing about all the great activities he has been doing each time.
It is a wonderful farm that you have and yourself, and your team are doing an amazing job!
Parent
Dear Kara,
I just wanted to say Thank you for everything you have done for xxx, xxx and me over the past year.
I honestly don't know where we would be without Team Herd Thyme and the support you have given us.
We adore you all, and really appreciate you.
Parent
“Herd Thyme is a wonderful setting, my son is 9 with ADHD, sensory issues and is on the autistic spectrum, he has been receiving equine therapy with Kara for nearly 2 years. This has been a wonderful place for my son to come and let off some steam, while feeling safe and well looked after. It has become an important part of my sons week and something he very much looks forward to. The animals and horses are fantastic comfort, therapeutic and warming while also being a great way to learn independence, responsibility and something different which a school setting cannot offer. His physical, mental, emotional well-being, and his confidence has grown tremendously since attending herd thyme.
Kara is a fantastic teacher, leader and carer, whom we think very fondly of within our family for the wonderful work she does with my son and many other children and adults with learning disabilities.“
Parent
My son has been visiting Kara at Herd Thyme for 18 months. Initially he barely spoke and was locked in his own inner world.
Kara is a calm presence and she knows a lot about children with additional needs.
For many months my sons insecurities meant he couldn’t go to school and Herd Thyme was the only place he would happily go.
Kara has helped my son’s confidence. He talks all the time now and stays with us in the real world.
I would recommend Kara and Herd Thyme to any parent who’s child is struggling. It is a lovely quiet place and Kara tailors the lesson to each child’s needs (my son chose to interact with the horses mainly from the ground). Thankyou Kara!
Parent
Thanks for sharing Kara, this was lovely to read. To add to this, F is usually calm, quiet and seemingly reflective all the way home in the car. This is the only time in his week when he is like this, further demonstrating the positive impact of the sessions.
Many thanks to you all,
Parent
“Our child has ‘complex needs’ and has been unable to attend school for two years. An Education, Health and Care Plan is in place. Kara was recommended to us by our Occupational Therapist and has worked with us for 18 months. We have found her to be very professional, well organised and knowledgeable. She has been very effective in achieving significant improvements in our child’s mental and physical health thorough equine learning. She is kind, thoughtful and understanding. We have recommended her to many other parents particularly those of children with learning difficulties.“
Parent
Thank you again for the wonderful report on J.
It always brings tears to my eyes especially looking back at how far he has come. I can never thank you and your team enough for what you have done for J. You are opening doors for him that I would never have thought possible and you really are helping to transform his life.
Thank you all
Parent
Thank you so much for the positive impact you’re having on J.
This report is so fantastic and I’m sure she wouldn’t be making the progress she is without you guys.
Thanks again.
Parent
My son aged 13 years with a history of early trauma, learning difficulties, social emotional and behavioural concerns attend farm days weekly and individual work together with me and separately once per week. We have also attended some school holiday groups
We have both benefited enormously from attending, working with the horses and other animals. Our connection as parent and son has strengthened, we have both learned ways of communicating, my son has gained including social skills, fine and gross motor skills, managing his emotions.
My son has said 'needs to attend horse and farm work' He talks to family and friends about his experiences and is proud of what he has achieved at herd thyme
Kara is supportive, knowledgeable, has a wealth of ideas, is able to engage with and be flexible in her approach to suit each person's needs. She has a calm, relaxed manner yet is clear in her expectations of behaviour
I have no hesitation in recommending Kara, and herd thyme
I am happy to answer any specific questions you may have
Sean Harper
Welfare Manager, John O'Gaunt School
I have been using Herd Thyme since September 19.
I met with Kara in the June to visit her site and get to know her.
As soon as i left i knew that this was going to be a fantastic setting for my students to build confidence and learn about themselves.
Kara showed me around the setting and we chatted about our aims for the children. We both had similar ethics and ideas about how we wanted the children to develop and what could be offered to them.
Every contact i have had with Kara has been brilliant.
The children come back full of stories and cant wait to tell me what they have done during their time with Kara. Kara is very professional but also very approachable. Not just for the students but for myself.
When i have asked to increase the numbers this wasn't an issue, in fact this was encouraged as it meant that the students could be split and do different tasks.
I have noticed a difference in the children who attend. Their attendance is increasing, they are receiving less behaviour points and teachers are commenting that they are starting to have more confidence during lessons.
I cant thank Kara enough for the service she provides for our students and i will continue to use her for the foreseeable future.
Alice Anstee
Head Teacher – Hillcrest New Barn School
“I would like to write this testimonial for Kara and her therapeutic provision, Herd Thyme. I was introduced to Kara through the parents of a young boy who had been excluded from school.
Kara was able to engage this young person, helping him to learn and become really knowledgeable about his environment, animals and his work on the farm. For the first time in a long while the boy felt success. His behaviour became calm and he was able to invest in relationships with others.
As a school we now place with Kara and the farm to help our students to find their childhoods, become young people that can relate to their learning and the wider world.
Kara is a hard working, well respected and empathetic practitioner. She is trust worthy and dedicated. I would be happy to vouch for Kara’s reliability and the importance of the work Herd Thyme does for our educational community.“
Andrew Berry Outreach Manager
“I personally support two gentlemen with challenging behaviour who attend Herd thyme on a weekly basis.
Since attending Herd thyme, they have both developed person skills as well as essential life skills.
Kara has done amazing work with character building and confidence boosting.Both the guys love and look forward to every session with kara and her expert team at herd thyme.“
Vicki Spanswick
SENCo, King Alfred Trust
We currently have 4 children who attend Herd Thyme (run by Kara Dhyan). As the SENCO for the King Alfred
Trust, I have been lucky enough to attend one of these sessions myself.
The children really look forward to attending Herd Thyme. The children who attend all have additional needs
(ranging from ADHD, ASD to Global Delay). The children attend once a week for a 1 hour session. During this
session, the children have an opportunity to experience success (something that they find hard to achieve
when they are in school full-time). This offsite provision gives them an opportunity to experience things that
we cannot offer in a mainstream primary school. For example, the children enjoy feeding the animals and
looking for any eggs that the hens have laid. One boy was so excited when he found an egg – something that
we cannot replicate at school. The children love the freedom of helping on the farm yet having a structured
session that is predictable and safe.
The children all know the horses’ (and donkey’s) names. The children love riding the horses and listen really
well to the instructions given. Following instructions is something that most of the children find very difficult
to do in a classroom situation. At Herd Thyme, it is vitally important that they follow the instructions for their
own and others’ safety. The children are aware of how important it is to listen and they do follow the
instructions given. I was very impressed with how calm the child was during the session that I attended. Often,
the children who attend, can find it hard to regulate their emotions however, the calmness of the farm,
certainly encourages the children to stay calm.
When the children return to school, they are always full of positive experiences that they like to share with an
adult or with one another. We really feel that equine therapy is helping to support and develop the children
positively especially with their social and emotional mental health needs.
I attended Herd Thyme in the winter. I am looking forward to attending Herd Thyme in the summer where I
have heard that last year, one of our children dug up potatoes, took them home and made potato salad with
them.
Most of the children who attend Herd Thyme have an Education and Health Care Plan. At least once a year,
Kara writes a report for each child that we share with parents and other professionals at a formal meeting.
This report identifies how the provision is supporting the individual needs of each child and how their needs
can continue to be supported and developed.
Parent
Our 12-year-old daughter has been attending HerdThyme since May 2019. She has been very unwell
since October 2018 and hasn’t been able to attend secondary school for over 18 months. She started
off attending HerdThyme for 2 hours each week but after her EHCP was confirmed in October 2019, had
this raised to 3 full days each week.
Our daughter was too unwell to continue with any extra-curricular activities that she had previously
enjoyed, such as swimming, gymnastics, art and crafts and Tae Kwando. The only activity that she is
now able (and very willing) to take part in, are the days at HerdThyme.
HerdThyme has become a true lifeline to her and the rest of our family. In her own words “I am happy to
go to sleep and want to wake up, now that I have HerdThyme, if I didn’t have HerdThyme I wouldn’t want
to wake up again”.
She enjoys every single moment of her sessions, including; yoga, arts and crafts, photography, making
and eating healthy lunches, riding on horses, cleaning out the animals, learning about and taking care of
every kind of animal, growing vegetables, interacting with the other children and also the adults on site
and especially searching for bones, fossils and owl pellets.
She has gained a passionate interest in farm animals, farming and also in bones and owl pellets and is
extremely knowledgeable on all of these topics. She does not even realise she is learning; she is just
safe, inspired and happy. She is very confident to share her enthusiasm and knowledge on these topics
with others, both young and old.
She calls HerdThyme her “safe and happy place” and is quite honestly only happy on her days with
HerdThyme. This is undoubtably due to Kara Dhyan; she is such a calm, understanding, supportive and
inspiring person and our daughter has built up an incredible, respectful relationship with her. She has
identified with Kara and sees her as an extremely kind, reliable and inspirational role model in her life
and can talk to her very honestly and openly.
As a family we are forever indebted to Kara’s hard work and unwavering support and to the structure,
stability and support HerdThyme has offered to our daughter, in the most upsetting and challenging of
times that we have ever experienced. We are honestly not sure if our daughter would still be here with
us now, without HerdThyme literally offering her a critical lifeline.
We do not hesitate in wholeheartedly recommending HerdThyme to any child, family or school and
would be very happy to provide further information either by email, phone or in person.