Becoming a client or partner organisation

We recognise that every client who begins a journey on our Donkey Assisted Activity programmes has their own individual story – one that is unique to them and has led them to their present day. This runs a parallel with the donkeys in our care; each has their own journey, personal history and characteristics that reflect the experiences they have had. Our activities celebrate this individuality.

Sessions follow carefully planned guides, but each session is tailored to the needs of the client and adapts as their journey unfolds. Equally, the individuality of the donkeys that our clients work with is celebrated, as clients learn about the donkeys’ histories, characteristics, and personalities.

Donkey Assisted Activities are attended by a broad range of clients, catering to diverse ages, backgrounds, cultures, and personal journeys. We accept school referrals from Year 5 (age 9) upwards. Individuals should be able to follow instructions and reflect on their experiences to develop their life skills.

Our referral process

There is a referral process to access our services. Anyone interested in accessing one of our DAA programmes must first obtain support through a referral organisation. This is an organisation that will offer support and signpost additional support areas during and after the DAA programme. If you are interested in becoming a client or a partnership organisation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch through our enquiry form.

Referring Donkey Assisted Activity clients

A support organisation should understand why the client would like to develop their wellbeing and life skills. This includes any physical, mental, or emotional considerations or risks. Both the support organisation and the client should be aware of what our services provide (e.g. wellbeing and life skill development) and what they don’t (e.g. counselling or psychotherapy).

The support organisation will be responsible for completing a referral form for the client, providing the necessary client details and background for our team to assess the client’s suitability for Donkey Assisted Activities.

Supporting clients

It is often necessary to ensure that there is on-site support for clients in addition to the facilitators they will be working with during the sessions. Many of these support allocations are staff members of the referring organisation. In some cases, in agreement with the facilitator running the programme, this allocated support may be a family member or friend who understands the client’s developmental needs.

The partner organisation staff member may be supporting a group of clients who attend (for example, a teacher or support group leader) or an individual. This person should ideally remain constant throughout the client’s programme to ensure continuity of support.

The partner organisation also needs to provide feedback at the end of their client’s programme. This needs to reflect on the client’s journey and share their perspective on the client’s development from the service. Some of our partner organisations who refer clients to us for Donkey Assisted Activities include schools, GPs, humanitarian charities, social services, social prescription services and mental health support agencies. If you are interested in partnering with us as a referring support organisation, please complete the enquiry form below.