Dogs Trust

Education Officer Schools Workshop Programme
www.learnwithdogs.co.uk

Background

As part of our continued relationship with Dogs Trust, they asked us to present ideas on new and exciting ways of reaching their audience. One of our proposals was the development of a schools workshop programme.

Aim

• To put Dogs Trust at the forefront of community involvement in education.
• To offer schools the opportunity to engage with the key educational messages of the UK’s number one animal welfare charity.

What did we do?

Working closely with the Dogs Trust education team, we proposed and developed the initial concept for the Schools Workshop Programme, which launched in 2002 in North East England. The programme consists of a group of highly trained educationalists, who visit Primary schools with their special assistants (their pet dogs!) to pass on the vital messages of responsible dog ownership and dog welfare.

Results

By recruiting and training Education Officers to go into schools in the UK and Ireland, we have seen the programme go from strength to strength, with many schools rebooking workshops every term. Dogs Trust currently have 12 Education Officers across the UK and Ireland, offering a variety of workshops to schools and youth groups to discuss and debate the topics of responsible dog ownership and dog welfare. Dogs Trust believe that by educating young people about the responsibilities and commitment involved in dog ownership, we can reduce the number of dogs that are mistreated and abandoned.