Author Archives: Alison German

New Venue for TP Congress a Big Hit!

TP Congress Delegates

TP Congress, the annual event dedicated solely to clinical coaches in veterinary practice, held on the 29 February and 1 March 2016, saw over 100 attendees come together to hear the latest news and views on veterinary nurse training.

This year TP Congress moved to the beautiful Whittlebury Hall Hotel and Spa near Silverstone in Northamptonshire, providing onsite accommodation for delegates who had travelled some distance to attend. The move to Whittlebury Hall provided the perfect opportunity to expand the commercial exhibition and hold a cocktails and canapes reception on the first evening. These new additions were very well received and allowed delegates further opportunity to network and share experiences with fellow clinical coaches.

TP Congress Cocktails

The enthusiasm of all who attended was evident and it was clear from the feedback that delegates left with renewed motivation and lots of ideas that they could take away and put into practise. One delegate summed up the event well by stating that they ‘have come for the last three years and it keeps getting better and better!”

Barbara Cooper, Principal of The College of Animal Welfare and Chairman of TP Congress, said “It was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic clinical coaches who are dedicated to training the next generation of veterinary nurses all come together under one roof. With the continuing nationwide shortage of qualified nursing staff, it really is up to training providers and practices to work together. Through collaborative working we can provide the training opportunities that are so desperately needed to ensure that registered veterinary nurses are available to every practice”.

Plans are already underway for TP Congress 2017 and the date will be announced shortly. In the meantime you can register your interest at www.caw.ac.uk/tpc.

– Ends –

For more information please contact:
Alison German RVN
Marketing Executive
The College of Animal Welfare
Tel: 01480 422060
Email: agerman@caw.ac.uk

Notes to editors:
The College of Animal Welfare is one of the UK’s leading providers of veterinary nurse and animal care training and education; operating from four training centres around the UK.

The College has a well-earned reputation for excellence and has created a number of unique achievements that have created new opportunities for learning.

For more information about The College of Animal Welfare please visit www.caw.ac.uk

VN Futures project launched

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) have launched VN Futures, a companion project to Vet Futures, which aims to draw up a blueprint for the future of the veterinary nursing profession.

One of the recommendations of the Vet Futures report (Taking charge of our future: a vision for the veterinary profession for 2030), which was published in November 2015, was to “encourage veterinary nurse leaders to develop a report and recommendations which are directly relevant to veterinary nurses and their future…”.

Following a joint meeting between the RCVS VN Council and the Council of the BVNA in October 2015, it was decided that a ‘VN Futures’ project would provide the relevant leadership and engagement to achieve this.

An initial meeting with a broad range of stakeholders took place at the RCVS on 7 January 2016, and, following this, a VN Futures Action Group has now been established to take the project forward, with the aim of delivering an action plan at the Vet Futures Summit in the summer.

The Action Group includes a mix of individuals involved in the training, representation, regulation, employment and management of veterinary nurses. The biographies of the team are available at www.vetfutures.org.uk/vnfutures.

The timeframe under consideration for Vet Futures is until 2030, however, it was considered that a five-year timeline may be more appropriate for veterinary nursing, given that it’s a younger profession, the retention rate is lower, and the training cycle is shorter.

The VN Futures project is running a series of evening meetings to engage with VNs and those involved in the profession, as follows:

14 March, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU
18 April, The College of Animal Welfare, Topcliffe Close, Capitol Park, Tingley, Leeds WF3 1DR
11 May, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh EH11 4BN
17 May, Nottingham Belfry Hotel, Mellors Way, Notts NG8 6PY, this will be a discussion stream within an RCVS Regional Question Time meeting
31 May, SSE SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff CF11 9XR, this will be a discussion stream within an RCVS Regional Question Time meeting

The meetings are free to attend and will start at 6.30pm, with a buffet supper. For more information and to register, please visit: www.vnfutures.eventbrite.com

“The VN Futures project aims to deliver an action plan that will help take the veterinary nursing profession into its next phase of development. With the new Charter now in place, and a willingness from Defra to review Schedule 3, the time is ripe for us to take control of what happens next,” says Liz Cox, Chair of the RCVS VN Council.

“The key to VN Futures’ success will be collaboration – I am delighted that we are working with the BVNA on this, together with other representative bodies – and also engagement: we want to hear VNs’ aspirations for their profession to ensure our action plan is as relevant and far-reaching as possible. I look forward to seeing a good turn-out for our roadshow events,” she added.

Sam Morgan, BVNA President, says: “BVNA is delighted to be working alongside RCVS VN Council on this project. We fully believe in the importance of the veterinary nurse within practice and think this project can help shape the future of the profession. Being involved in the Vet Futures project, via BVA, was an eye-opener, and that only just touched on our own profession; we now have the chance to look at veterinary nursing specifically, and it is an opportunity not to be missed. Knowing where we want to take the profession will make it so much easier to reach the goal.”

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Get running with Couch to 5K

Probably the biggest challenge when you consider taking up running, is not knowing how or where to start. It is very easy to overdo it and then give up before you actually start to feel any signs of reward or accomplishment. If you get it right then there will be mental benefits as well as physical ones. It will increase your confidence and self-belief, and is also a great stress reliever.

Visit the NHS website for a 9 week programme/running plan for beginners.

All you will then need to do is invest in a pair of good trainers, and think about whether you would like to carry out your training at a gym or outdoors. The benefits of being outdoors are obvious and it will mean that your activity will be free!

Petition Parliament to Protect our Hedgehogs

UK hedgehog populations have dropped 99.97% since the 1950’s!

Now it’s your chance to help protect the remaining 0.9 million hedgehogs by petitioning Parliament to list them under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

This will “Prohibit the intentional killing, injuring or taking of the species”, placing the hedgehog on the same list as our Adders, Water Voles and Angel Sharks, ensuring that their plight is recognised.

There are currently around 15% of the 100,000 signatures required to bring this to Parliament for debate, so please get involved.

What do I have to do?

Simply follow this link and enter your details on the government site. Don’t worry your personal details are private and you won’t receive any spam!

Sign the petition today

Could you Volunteer?

Bev Harding, The College of Animal Welfare’s resident hedgehog evangelist, is passionate about hedgehog conservation and is extremely concerned about the state of our UK hedgehog population. She is looking for volunteers to join her at Shepreth Wildlife Conservation Charity’s Hedgehog Hospital, based at the Shepreth Wildlife Park; please contact swccharity.org for more information and to download a volunteer application form.

Veterinary Nursing September 2016: Applications now open!

The College of Animal Welfare is delighted to announce that its September 2016 Level 3 Diploma/Advanced Apprenticeship in Veterinary Nursing programmes are now open for application.

These programmes will be running on a day release basis at Huntingdon, Potters Bar and Leeds, and via block release at Edinburgh.

Each programme is open to both students who are employed in a veterinary practice that is approved to train veterinary nurses (TP/aTP), and to those who are not but will be undertaking the programme alongside work placement in a TP/aTP.

Further information and details on how to apply can be found on our website.

Important OFSTED Information: Have your say!

Calling all students and employers! As you may be aware, this week The College of Animal Welfare is undergoing an Ofsted Inspection. You should have received an email with a link to a survey to complete – the information gathered from these surveys is being used by the inspectors this week so please ensure you complete it as soon as possible so your views can be considered.

As a reminder the links to the surveys are https://learnerview.ofsted.gov.uk/ (Learners) and https://employerview.ofsted.gov.uk/ (Employers).

Thank you in advance.

Health and Fitness ‘Tip of the week’: Water!

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends an intake of 2.5 litres of water for men and 2.0 litres of water for women per day, via food and drink consumption. Of this, they suggest that 70-80% of the daily water intake should come from drinks, and the remaining 20-30% should come from food.” (http://www.naturalhydrationcouncil.org.uk/hydration-facts/)

Based on the above and that a glass is approx. 250ml, you should aim to drink at least:

1750ml (7 cups) to 2000ml (8 cups) men per day
1400ml (5.6 cups) to 1600ml (6.4 cups) women per day
Or a glass of water every 2 to 3 hours (based on a 14 hour day)
Or 2.5 to 4 glasses during your day at college. (total 625ml to 1000ml)

British Value Poster Winner Announced!

The College of Animal Welfare would like to thank all its student who entered the recent British Values poster competition. The task was set for students to design a poster promoting the importance of the five British Values:

Democracy
The rule of Law
Individual liberty
Mutual Respect
Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Entries were reviewed by the Principal of The College of Animal Welfare and the lucky winner was Skyla Mastrantuono! Skyla, a Level 2 Diploma for Veterinary Care Assistant student, won a brand new Kindle Fire HD 10!

Skyla’s poster includes some fantastic examples of how each value is implemented such as the use of ID badges for ‘The rule of law’ and the celebrations of different cultures for ‘tolerance of faiths and beliefs’.

The College of Animal Welfare offers huge congratulations to Skyla and we look forward to seeing the poster displayed on our website and around each of our four centres!

Notification of Ofsted Inspection: 8-12 February 2016

The College of Animal Welfare will be undergoing an Ofsted Inspection from the 8 – 12 February 2016.

During the inspection, inspectors will talk to the College Principal, lecturers, staff, employers and learners, as well as considering the views of parents and carers. They will spend time observing lessons and looking at the quality of teaching and its impact on learning and progress. They will also look at the behaviour and safety of learners, the promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and how the College is led and managed.

Have your say

Ofsted is keen to seek the views of learners, employers and parents/carers. For this purpose Ofsted has set up online questionnaires for learners, employers and parent/carers.
We would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete the relevant questionnaire below:

• Online questionnaire for learners
• Online questionnaire for employers
• Online questionnaire for parents and carers

The College of Animal Welfare would like to thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Important message to all students under 19 years of age

We recently sent out a letter to the parents/carers of all our students who are under 19 years of age in order to ensure all the information we hold about them is up-to-date.

It is really important that we are able to contact your parents/carers in case of emergency so please check to see if yours has been returned. If not, please ask your parent/carer to return this information to us asap; either by post, fax or email.

If you have any questions about this please contact us on 01480 422060.