Developing, Implementing and Delivering an Education Programme

1. Developing, Implementing and Delivering an Education Programme Anna Baatz- Dogs Trust Education and Community Officer

2. Nice to meet you! • I have worked at Dogs Trust for 2 and a half years. Delivering over 700 workshops to well over 20,000 children and young people. • Prior to Dogs Trust I worked as an Education Officer for pet welfare charity Blue Cross and prior to that as a freelance educator for over ten years. • I have volunteered extensively with animal welfare and conservation education NGOs in both India and Malaysia and am currently studying a masters degree in Educational Planning and International Development.

3. Nice to meet you! What’s in the envelope?

4. Today I will…. • Explain the structure and format of the Dogs Trust Education Programme. • Give you ideas and suggestions in order to implement an education program or develop your existing one. • Explore the many varied methods of delivering your program. The sky is your limit so lets get creative! • Explain the benefits of embedding wider learning into your program. • Give you an opportunity to take part in a taster workshop. Yes, there will be audience participation!

5. Dogs Trust Education • Full UK coverage – 24 Education and Community Officers focussing on primary schools. 6 Youth Trainers focussing on Secondary schools and young people. • Approximately 7000 workshops delivered per year. • A quarter of a million children and young people reached.

6. Your mission, and how education can work towards it. Towards Enjoy Can Free Happy Destruction The Dog Threat Unnecessary Day The Every Life When Working Of A From

7. Your mission, and how education can work towards it. • Children and young people are the vessels of our future society. • You cannot help animals until you benefit and engage the humans around them first. • Children pass on gained knowledge to parents. ‘Pester power’ is not to be underestimated. • Children and young people are a ‘blank canvas;’ you can educate them with facts before contradictory opinions challenge those facts. • Raises profile of your organisation in the communities you wish to work with most.

8. “World Change Starts With Educated Children.”

9. How to meet your mission; What are your educational aims? Here’s the boring bit: Data is your best friend. Gain as much data as you can; data that indicates animal welfare issue trends in certain areas which will elicit the main animal welfare issues in your area. Having concrete data that demonstrates these trends will: I am so bored!!! • Mean you can target, meet and fulfil needs of specific audiences with most wide reaching impact. • Give you a platform from which to develop impact measurement by clearly showing where you are making a difference…. Which will… • Put you in best position to apply for educational grants from external trusts and charities in order to grow your program. • Identify the key messages you need your audience to take away with them.

10. Who are your audience? • Young children aged 3 – 7 years • Primary School children aged 7 – 11 years • Secondary School children aged 11 – 18 years • Prisons, offenders and disengaged young people • Adults

11. Where will your audience be? • Schools • Rescue Centre • Libraries • Community Centres • Religious venues • Children’s Clubs • Prisons • Vets • Pet stores

12. Where will your audience be? Can you use your rehoming centre/shelter?

13. Promoting Your Program Our education program will benefit your children’s learning in other ways too! Don’t our children have enough to learn about without worrying about animals?

14. Promoting Your Program: Embedding wider learning How can your workshop also teach: • Functional skills; literacy, numeracy, computer skills, foreign language learning. • Wider skills; communication skills, group working skills, speaking in front of others, debating skills. Communicating these additional benefits for pupils to the school will gain you more bookings. Aim to promote these with all your activities and resources that I will discuss shortly.

15. Promoting Your Program: Time to get ‘pestering!’ • Personalised letters to Head Teacher • Hand deliver leaflets • Other interactions with your NGO • Letters and emails to schools • Website • Local radio • Adverts in local newspapers and Education magazines • Competitions in schools • Email newsletters

16. Booking Them In! • Put in place a concise booking system that helps you assess the audience prior to visit in order to deliver the most effective workshop. Things to ask include: • Age and ability of group • Size of group • Logistical information • Resources information (what do they have? What do you need to bring?) • Animal issues relevant to this audience.

17. Planning • You may like to compile formal lesson plans. See hand out. This may help you to stay focussed on the learning outcomes. • Keep resources and tasks simple, remember that you can use the same activity with different schools. • Use sustainable resources such as socks to make puppets, old clothes to make toys etc.

18. Workshop Structure • Introduce yourself and explain what your organisation does. Assess the classes individual animal experience. “Hands up who has a pet?” • Outline why you are there and what the children will learn during the workshop • Range of short, fun activities promoting wider learning. • Question and answers • Revisit objectives and assess what the children have learnt. “Each of you tell me one thing you have learnt.” • Rewards. Goodies if you have them. Stroke the education dog/puppet.

19. Ideas For Younger Audiences • Resources and approaches • Touch and feel • Stories • Puppets • Crafts • Moving around games • Funny delivery

20. Ideas For Older Audiences • Resources and approaches • Debates and discussions • Dog training • Group activities • Arts (Drama, street art etc) • Real life case studies • Making items such as toys • Visits to the Centre

21. Ideas for resources Activity ideas Links to wider learning A story book with relevant messages, a worksheet with questions Listening, Writing, Foreign Language if appropriate Story Time Art, Reading, Writing, Persuasive Writing, Working as a team, Creative thinking Paper, craft materials, recycled items Design a poster Pet supply catalogues, pens and paper, calculators if appropriate Numeracy, budgeting and money skills Cost of a pet

22. Ready for a workshop?

23. Post Workshop • Assessment of learning EG Feedback forms. These allow you to evaluate your own teaching. Can also be a useful way to measure your impact. • Thank you letter to the school. A revisit at later date may help you assess impact and retention of learning. • Use social media such as Twitter to tweet about your visit

24. Over To You: First Steps • Identify your key messages • Gain animal welfare data and plan what messages will meet the issues. • Research your education system to see how your workshops will fit. Think about how to embed wider learning. • Decide who your audience will be. • Find out if there is anyone else doing anything similar • Consider who you will be contacting and how - will it be by telephone, email, flyers or a letter? • Start developing resources and promotional materials. • Ensure you have necessary legislative and safeguarding measures in place; criminal records checks, public liability etc. You are now ready to start promoting your program!

25. Useful Websites www.dogstrust.org.uk www.learnwithdogstrust.org.uk http://www.animal-education.org www.ICAWC.org.uk http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/ http://www.peta.org.uk/

26. Good Luck! Contact the Education Team at Dogs Trusteduc@dogstrust.org.uk

27. Questions?