Course summary

New College Swindon is delighted to have recently secured planning permission to build fantastic new facilities for its Animal Management provision.The College is investing over £200,000 on a new Animal Management Centre. This will include aviaries; an outdoor pond area; marine tanks and separate enclosures for chinchillas, sheep, and reptiles including terrapins, tortoises and bearded dragons. There will also be an enclosure for exotic mammals, possibly including such ones as red pandas.The building will be ready for teaching in September 2023. This course will enable students to continue their education through applied learning of a wide range of units in the field of Animal Management. This qualification will provide a high quality professional and technical education pathway for those who wish to advance their skills prior to specialist further studies or employment.This course is designed to help students secure the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to succeed in the workplace or progress further in their education. Students will build on a core of learning in their first year to more specialist areas of study in their second year. Students will study a variety of units, covering a wide range of subject areas and animal species, such as health, welfare, husbandry, anatomy, business, nutrition and ecology. Teaching will take place through practical and theoretical classes, lectures, seminars, workshops, data analysis sessions, discussions, tutorials, industry and community visits. Students will learn through these and through individual and small group self-managed activity including resource-based learning and online learning support through the VLE. Teaching is linked directly with professional practice and research, both of which directly inform and enhance course content and delivery. Visiting professionals will contribute to the course delivery with full-time staff and are vital to providing students with access to current professional practices and issues developing employability skills and knowledge. There is a breadth of expertise in the team, all of whom compliment their theory sessions with practical examples, which will be relevant to each student's individual interest and needs on the course. Seminars and tutorials make up a supportive network, which is complimented by the virtual learning centre. Whether at home or on campus, help is not far away. In addition to classroom activities, students will take part in trips, for example to Cotswold Wildlife Park, local pet stores and animal businesses. Talks will also be given by industry guest speakers. Students will also carry out practical tasks, working with the wide range of animal species in the College Animal centre, for example carrying out husbandry tasks such as health checking and maintaining accommodation, as well as diet plan design and implementation.