The former primary school deputy head who set up a new business after adopting a lamb

“I’ve always loved working with kids,” says Jayne. “But the pressure kids are under and teachers and all staff these days got me really quite ill.

"I had hit the wall, a burnout, saw a counsellor, was on medication, the works, but the best thing we did was to move to our little farmstead here at Glebe Farm in Goxhill.

“My best treatment of all was time I spent with my horse Connie, a Connemara. I rode as a child, have always loved horses and dogs. I was brought up with dogs in Horbury near Wakefield.

“Before I went off work ill, I took on an orphan lamb. It was a triplet and had a broken leg. The joy Minty brought to my three kids at home was just lovely. My husband potted its leg up, it ran around after my young dog.

“We had taken on Minty over Easter and since I was fit enough to go back into school after Easter we needed someone to look after and bottle feed it. So, I took Minty into school and this little lamb went around the classes being looked after by a different class every day.

“When there was a leaver’s show for the kids, and I was also leaving, one of the quite tough Year 6 lads stood up, like others reliving memories of primary school, and in a real gruff voice said ‘the best thing ever at this school was Minty the Lamb. I loved looking after that lamb.

The combination of what had happened with Minty and her time with Connie were to prove the catalyst for what has become Jayne’s main focus, making a difference with young people in difficult situations.

“What had happened through Minty being in school started me thinking. I knew what my horse did for me. Those two things made me think about why they made me feel better. I began looking into and reading about animals and how they help us, particularly horses.

"I went on a couple of courses about equine assisted therapy and was thinking there must be something positive I could do on the farm with kids.

"Then I studied for a diploma in equine facilitated trauma therapy over two years and it is my teaching experience and understanding of therapeutic work with horses and young people that has brought about the business as it is today.”

It was Jayne’s husband Paul’s suggestion that they start a small glamping site that, although not intended to fuel Jayne’s fire, proved to be the conduit that has brought about all of what has happened since.

“Paul wasn’t sure I could make a living out of helping kids, so he’d said let’s start a glamping site which we have called Goxhill Meadows, because they were real things and he could see that as a business.

“We went for three little land pods in a field that has fabulous views and is really peaceful. We set it up, suddenly lockdown went into full force, and we thought oh my Lord, what have we done? But we were flooded because people could come to the countryside. We’ve never turned it into a bigger business because everyone who comes say they love the solitude.

“When families started coming I was spending lots of my time with the kids who were all interested in our animals. After they left, they’d talk to their friends about coming here where it was really welcoming, where the animals were amazing and say they’d had the best time. Our pod bookings just exploded.

“After that first summer I realised I couldn’t keep doing it that way as it was taking up all my time, so I started charging for animal experiences.

“Then a mum came and said my son’s autistic, would you spend some time with him? I started doing work privately, that mum told a friend, that friend told a friend, and then a local charity that supports families with autistic children came up to book a few family days and a few more rolled along.

Word was getting around and pretty soon the local authorities who had been on the lookout for what Jayne could offer were beating a path to her door.

“I had the East Riding local authority ask if I’d work with a child, then I was contacted by NHS Clinical Commissioning Group asking if I’d do respite stays in the glamp site working with young people.

“I was asked to take on a girl for a respite stay and do some work with her through the horses. She became a regular client, funded by the NHS, and we saw phenomenal results with her over time and she ended up re-engaging, going to Beverley College, studying Art and started her own Etsy business. She now does various other businesses and is a phenomenal success story. She’s now going to university to study for a degree in Art.

“I’ve worked with several other young people and I’m now commissioned by the NHS, East Riding and Hull City councils. We are often named in children’s education health and support plans. I work with virtual schools on therapeutic work with the animals and specifically the horses with children that are struggling at school, or who weren’t attending or were waiting to go into specialist schools.”

Jayne now has a small team at Glebe Farm, Goxhill near Hornsea.

“I have Ruth who joined in October last year who did twenty years in primary school as a special educational needs coordinator. Ruth is my education manager handling all liaison with schools and virtual schools. We also have another wonderful young lady Sarah who just joined us, does two and a half days and is a trained veterinary nurse, also worked in primary schools and is a local shepherdess.

“I’m never going to make a lot of money from this business, but that was never my intention. It’s about making a difference to young people’s lives and to animals’ lives.

“We have pygmy goats, miniature Shetland ponies, horses, alpacas, sheep (Coloured Ryeland and Valais Blacknose), hens, dogs and cats.

“And everything we do here is all about the heart, not bureaucracy. I’m loving it.”

www.goxhillheartsandminds.co.uk, www.goxhillmeadows.co.uk