Animal Care Short Course
About this course
What is it?
The Animal Care Short Course can accredit between 10 and 60 hours of learners' activities and involvement in caring for all types of animals. This could range from looking after domestic pets at home, to working with farm animals and wildlife in the community, to finding out about more exotic species at zoos and wildlife centres.
The flexibility of ASDAN’s Short Courses means they can be delivered in a variety of settings, over a time frame that suits the needs of the individual learner and the coordinating centre. Challenge descriptions can be interpreted and adapted according to the learning context.
This Short Course can be completed using the student book or through Equitas, ASDAN’s digital learning platform.
Find out more about the differences between Short Course student books and Equitas in this information leaflet.
Join ASDAN
To teach this course you must have one of these membership types:
- Qualifications
- Programmes
- Programmes Plus
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Helpful resources for getting started
Who is it for?
Short Courses are widely used in formal and non-formal settings, for learners aged 13 and over. Although ASDAN’s Short Courses are designed for learners working at Entry level 3 to Level 1, they can be adapted for learners working above or below these levels. The focus is on completing challenges and developing skills.
Facts and Figures
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Flexible programmes of learning accessible to learners at a range of levels
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Internally moderated
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Accredits 10–60 hours of activities
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Can count as up to 3 of the credits needed to achieve the Personal Development Programmes
- Can support skills development for ASDAN’s Personal Effectiveness Qualifications and may contribute to recognition of prior learning where standards are met in full
Course content
The Animal Care Short Course can accredit between 10 and 60 hours of learners' activities and involvement in caring for all types of animals. This could range from looking after domestic pets at home, to working with farm animals and wildlife in the community, to learning about more exotic species at zoos and wildlife centres.
The Animal Care Short Course contains six modules:
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Animal investigation
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Safety around animals
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Looking after animals
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Animals in trouble
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Animals in the media
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Animals and the law
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Careers in working with animals
Each learner requires their own login to access the course on Equitas. This gives them access to all challenges and provides a space to record evidence of completed activities. Copies of the challenges available on Equitas can also be downloaded for use with learners.
Please note that there are some key differences between the challenge content in the original Animal Care Student Book and the version now available on Equitas, ASDAN’s digital learning platform. These include updated module titles, revised challenge content and outcomes, and additional new challenges. For consistency, we recommend that members choose one format to use with all learners within a group. Copies of the challenges available on Equitas can be downloaded and used directly with learners.
Requirements
Learners must present evidence of their activities in an organised portfolio or e-portfolio. This should include:
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a record of challenges completed, with supporting evidence for each
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recording documents showing how learners have planned and reviewed their activities
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summary of achievement, highlighting skills development
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personal statement
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feedback from the tutor
For guidance on running ASDAN Short Courses, please see our step-by-step guides:
ASDAN training events are delivered by experts to help your centre run our courses successfully. They provide an introduction to the course, along with guidance on delivery, assessment, and moderation processes.
Costs
All costs shown below are per learner, unless otherwise stated. Each learner will need their own copy of the student book or login and registration on Equitas. Books or registrations purchased for Short Courses are valid for three years from the date of purchase.
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Item |
Price |
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Short Course student book |
£12 |
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Animal Care Short Course Equitas learner registration and digital learning platform login |
£12 |
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Short Course PDF certificate |
Free |
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Short Course printed and foiled certificate (optional, per learner, per Short Course) |
£3.75 |
Products can be purchased below.
Our expert team can guide you through the process and advise on the most appropriate format for your learners. Please complete this expression of interest form, and an ASDAN expert will be in touch.
Products
Course resources
Animal Care Short Course: 4A8 - Endangered animals
This worksheet can be used to support challenge 4A8 of the Animal Care Short Course, which asks learners to give a presentation about the plight of an endangered species and what can be done to help. This resource provides examples of endangered animals for learners to pick from and a template to help prepare for their presentation.
Animal Care Short Course - 7A4 Interviewing someone who works with animals
This worksheet can be used to record an interview with someone who works with animals (e.g. vet, zookeeper, Police dog handler). This resource links to challenge 7A4 of the Animal Care Short Course.
Animal Care Short Course - 1A7 Animal handling session diary
This worksheet can be used to record participation in an animal handling session at a zoo or wildlife centre (e.g. birds of prey, snake handling, pets corner). This resource links to challenge 1A7 of the Animal Care Short Course.
Evaluation chart (individual)
This evaluation chart can be used by learners to evaluate a six-week individual activity. Learners are asked to mark on the graph each week to show what they did and how they felt; at the end of the project the learner should join up the marks to give a picture of the whole activity. This resource is particularly suited to challenges in Short Courses, Personal Development Programmes (Bronze, Silver, Gold), CoPE and Wider Key Skills.
Evaluation chart (group)
This evaluation chart can be used by learners to evaluate a six-week group activity. Each member of the group should choose a different colour and mark on the graph each week to show what they did and how they felt. At the end of the project, each group member then joins up their marks to give a picture of the whole activity. This resource is particularly suited to challenges in Short Courses, Personal Development Programmes (Bronze, Silver, Gold), CoPE and Wider Key Skills.
Planning a group or team task
This resource can be used when planning a group or team task. It links particularly well to ASDAN's Short Course programmes.
Self-evaluation template
This generic self-evaluation template can be used by learners to evaluate almost any group activity. Learners are asked to record how they felt about the activity and pick out the best and worst bits, before reflecting on what they could do better next time. This resource is particularly suited to challenges in Short Courses, Personal Development Programmes (Bronze, Silver, Gold), CoPE and Wider Key Skills.
Teamwork health check
This generic teamwork health check template can support a wide range of group activities. Learners are asked to come up with a list of agreed ground rules for good teamwork, then rate each group member's performance against these criteria. This resource is particularly suited to challenges in Short Courses, Personal Development Programmes (Bronze, Silver, Gold), CoPE and Wider Key Skills.
Short Courses summary of achievement and personal statement : PDF version (mandatory)
Short Courses summary of achievement and personal statement : Word version (mandatory)
Short Courses skills sheet 1 : PDF version (mandatory)
Short Courses skills sheet 1 : Word version (mandatory)
Short Courses skills sheet 2 : PDF version (mandatory)
Short Courses skills sheet 2 : Word version (mandatory)
Short Courses skills sheet 3 : PDF version (mandatory)
Short Courses skills sheet 3 : Word version (mandatory)