Blue Cross comes to teachers’ aid

With around half of all UK households owning a pet*, it is more important than ever to equip children with the knowledge they need to be safe and respectful around pets. So, The Blue Cross has launched a resource to help teachers give their students a solid grounding in responsible pet care by exploring topical pet related issues.
The Animals in Society pack comprises lesson ideas, worksheets, whiteboard images and a film for teachers to use in class. 

The Blue Cross has a long history in educating the public on all aspects of pet ownership, and has already reached 100,000 children through its education scheme, which launched in 2005. Animals in Society brings these messages together in a user-friendly learning tool, allowing teachers to pick and choose subjects to fit in with their lesson plans.  The resource provides exercises for Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 and covers a range of pet related topics, including:

• The role of pets in society
• The needs of pets and people
• Animals and the law
• Preventing animal cruelty
• Coping with the death of a pet
• The work of The Blue Cross

Tracy Genever, children’s education officer at The Blue Cross said: “With so many children growing up with animals at home it’s important that they learn how to respect and properly care for pets from an early age. If we can help children to understand that animals experience emotions very much like their own, this should ensure that fewer animals are neglected or mistreated in future.”

To order The Blue Cross Animals in Society resource or for more information, please call 01993 825541 or e-mail education@bluecross.org.uk.
 
* Taken from research published in 2008 by The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association.