With almost two centuries of experience under our belt, we know education is the key to preventing animal cruelty. People are able to learn about empathy towards animals and the strength of the human-animal bond from a young age. Our free ‘Prevention through Education’ programme is hugely popular across Scotland and we visited over 60% of the nation’s primary schools in 2018.
Our programme has age-specific workshops which fit in with the Curriculum for Excellence, most notably by helping children develop in to responsible citizens within their communities.
What’s more, the workshops are research-based, meaning we know the work we do with school children has a measurable impact. Ongoing research with the University of Edinburgh has shown our programme is increasing knowledge and positive attitudes towards animals, whilst decreasing tolerance of cruelty.
Happy Hamsters - for P1-P3 pupils
P1 – 3 classes can take part in our teacher led Happy Hamsters workshop where pupils can pretend to be the owners of pippin and peanut our mechanical hamsters and take it in turns to be the Scottish SPCA’s animal rescue officer or vet.
animaltronics for P4-P7 pupils
P4 – 7 classes can take part in our exciting animaltronics workshops where in partnership with Robo Wunderkind we give teams the unique opportunity to build and code their very own robot.
Through teamwork, creativity and imagination we ask pupils to create stories about Campbell and his friends our very own robotic cats as they take on the challenge of being a Scottish wildcat, a farm cat and a house cat. Can pupils code how they are feeling, and how they will move as they face challenges in the classroom? What other amazing animals does the Scottish SPCA rescue every year in Scotland?
Tried our robotics workshops already? Well we have something new for 2020 where pupils will now be able to code their robots emotion through the use of a unique LCD screen. Book our free workshops and find out how everyone can be the Scottish SPCA’s animal champions.
Book a visit
If you’d like a Scottish SPCA education officer to visit your primary school, you can make a booking here. You can also find out more by calling 03000 999 999 (option 5) or by completing our online form.
If we’ve visited your school, complete a feedback form to let us know what you think and help us to keep improving the programme.
Want to find out more about what we do?
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