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Course Mode
Full-time
Level
3
Start Date
01/09/2025
Start Time
Duration
2 Years
Location
Milnthorpe Road Campus

Animal Care

With 54 million pets in the UK, we’re a nation of animal lovers.

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Course Overview

The course delivery is based around our Animal Rescue Centre (ARC), which has on-site veterinary facilities, and will give you the opportunity to gain necessary knowledge and practical skills required to work with a variety of animal species. The ARC provides care for a selection of resident exotic animals and small mammals, but also provides assessment and care for a wide range of presenting native wildlife casualties e.g. hedgehogs, seals, otters, birds of prey and garden bird species, co-ordinating the rehabilitation and intended release of these animals as appropriate.

Your participation and studies will not only benefit you, but the animals within the centre and beyond. Established links with the RSPCA, conservation organisations and local veterinary practices provide a very real experience and a network for you to explore future career opportunities.

Work placement experience is a mandatory requirement in completing this qualification, and we have links with a range of animal care sector employers with whom we are often able to arrange placements. Work placement experience can take place in a wide range of environments e.g. veterinary surgery, boarding and day care provision, dog groomer, zoo, pet shop, stables, and farms. You will be required to complete a minimum of 315 hours of work placement over the two years of the course.

You will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of trips to zoos and other animal care settings. There are also opportunities to take part in activities such as wildlife population surveying, conservation campaigns and fundraising events. We encourage the participation of visiting speakers, who can also provide valuable information to the learners regarding potential careers e.g. police dog handlers, conservation work.

This course typically takes place over 3 - 4 days per week for two years.

All Animal Management learners will complete the Common Core component, which introduces the agriculture, environment, and animal care industry area. This includes working within the sector, professional behaviours, health and safety in the workplace, business management and project management.

The Animal Management Core pathway content is designed to provide you with a broad knowledge and understanding of the animal sector, whilst also allowing you to develop the core skills when working within the industry. This includes health and safety principles, sustainability, biosecurity, supply chain, anatomy and physiology, biological cells and tissues, nutrition, animal behaviour.

The Occupational Specialism content equips you with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours necessary for you to progress into occupations within the animal industry or onto higher education. For Animal Management and Science this includes research methods and data handling, reproductive technology, genetics, ethics, classification, evolution and natural selection, conservation, captive breeding and population management, animal welfare, health and diseases, handling and restraint, accommodation, laboratory skills, biochemistry, microbiology.

All of our learners will be given support with their English and Maths skills where relevant to their main course.

Assessment is achieved through external set and marked exams, an employer set project, occupational specialism projects, and synoptic assignments covering practical skills and applied knowledge. There is an additional externally set and marked knowledge test for the Animal Management and Science pathway.

Entry Requirements

Five GCSEs at grade 5, including Maths English, and Science.

After Your Course

UCAS points will be allocated and will be equivalent in value to 3 A-Levels, allowing learners to progress onto higher education (HE) courses such as Zoology, Veterinary Nursing, Animal Science, Ecology and Conservation, Bioveterinary Sciences, Animal Physiotherapy, Animal Nutrition. Learners wishing to access science related HE courses are strongly advised to select the Animal Management and Science Occupational Specialism as the preferred option.

Learners may also progress into apprenticeships and job roles as trainee veterinary nurses, animal technicians, laboratory technicians, research assistants, animal centre assistants, trainee zookeepers and animal care assistants. veterinary nurses, dog handlers.

Fees

£0.00

The fee displayed is the course fee. Course fees are per year for full-time courses and per course for part-time courses.

Other costs may be associated with this course, e.g., kit, equipment, books, trips, etc. Financial support may be available to support you with these. See the Student Money pages for more information.

Courses fees

The current full-time & degree-level fee information is related to the 2024/25 academic year.

Level 3-6 Courses

Advanced Learning Loans are available for students aged 19 or over and studying eligible level 3, 4, 5 & 6 courses. If you are on an Access course, the loan will be written off if you complete a degree.

You may qualify for financial support to cover the cost of a Level 3 qualification if you do not already have a Level 3 qualification (this will depend on the course & your age on 31/08/24).

Please speak to Student Services for more information on course fees.

A-Levels

The fees displayed are for the one-year AS-Level course. If you would like to progress onto the full A-Level, please get in touch with us for the cost of the second year, as it will be different.

16-18 year olds

There are no course fees if you were aged 16-18 on 31/08/24 and are not studying at another institution.

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