Author Archives: Amber Tennant

European Day of Languages (26 September 2016)

Europe has a proud history of promoting the importance of linguistic diversity in bridging social barriers, using its annual European Day of Languages to celebrate the 24 officially recognised and around 225 indigenous, regional and minority languages spoken across the continent.

Learning a new language takes time and commitment, but offers a rewarding set of advantages to your mental health. Studies show that bilingualism improves memory, organisational skills and performance in other academic areas. The process of learning a new language can also help you to understand your own native language in more depth. If you’re looking to take on the challenge, below are some tips on how you can get the best out of the experience of learning a language.

Make use of free language learning materials – You can find free resources on almost any subject you could ever want to learn about online. Prospective language learners should consider joining Duolingo – a gamified website that offers a variety of language courses free of charge. Open culture promotes free podcasts and videos, giving people the opportunity to choose from over 45 different languages.

Learn while you browse – Your browsing habits can be easily turned into a means to learn more vocabulary. Readlang is a free extension that translates words from your webpages, and then generates flashcards to help you remember them.

Learn through entertainment – Understanding language through popular culture can be a fun diversion from studying from a dictionary or book. You could watch a foreign movie or read a newspaper printed in your chosen language.

Connect with other people –Studying textbooks is a good way to build up a solid understanding of the structures behind different languages, but if you’re unable to apply your newfound knowledge in real life, then your academic efforts have gone to waste. Broken conversations with native speakers might initially be tedious and awkward, but there’s only so far studying from a book can take you before it becomes crucial to learn by application.

To find out more about how you can promote language learning, you can visit the European Day of Languages website.

Being able to speak one language well can enhance your career prospects for life. If you’re looking to improve your understanding of English, our Functional Skills in English courses are open to anyone based in the UK. More information on how to apply can be found on our website.

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Disabilities

Did you know the Paralympics is the second largest sports event in the world? The Paralympics first came to light in 1960 in Rome; 400 athletes from all over the world competed.
Paralympics 2016 start on the 7th of September in Rio. There are over 30 different sports being taken part in by people with disabilities from all over the world.

It is very important for all athletes to consume the right nutrients and stick to a proper exercise routine. Reducing the amount of fat you eat is important because it allows you to build muscle and keep a balanced weight. Carbohydrates and protein are what help keep your energy levels up and assist in building muscles and keeping them well. Keeping hydrated is one of the most important parts before an event as you lose a lot of fluids through sweating.

https://www.paralympic.org/rio-2016
https://www.rio2016.com/en

GCSE Results Day: Options for animal lovers

CAT-Vector-small If you’ve received your GCSE results and are interested in working with animals, see below for some options on what you could do next, and how The College of Animal Welfare could help you achieve your career goals…

Train as a veterinary nurse

If you love animals and are concerned with animal welfare; then becoming a veterinary nurse could be the ideal route for you! Veterinary nurses assist veterinary surgeons in practice, undertaking a range of duties such as taking blood and urine samples, taking x-rays, preparing animals for treatment, assisting during operations, administrative and cleaning tasks and carrying out minor procedures. The main route into veterinary nursing at CAW for those with 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject, is our Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing, which allows students to train as part of an apprenticeship. Completion of the course qualifies students to apply for professional registration as a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN). For more information on eligibility criteria please visit our website.

Train as a veterinary care assistant

For those that would like to focus on animal welfare duties outside of surgery within a veterinary practice – such as exercising, grooming and feeding hospitalised animals, monitoring and providing supportive care to inpatients and cleaning and preparing accommodation for animals – training as a Veterinary Care Assistant would be an ideal career path! Veterinary Care Assistants work alongside veterinary surgeons and nurses in order to provide vital nursing care and ensure the wellbeing of small animal patients. Our Level 2 Diploma for Veterinary Care Assistants is an excellent course covering the underlying knowledge needed to thrive in a fast-paced veterinary care environment. Completion of this course, provided relevant qualifications in Maths and English are also achieved, allows students to train as veterinary nurse on the Level 3 Diploma programme if they wish to do so.

Train in animal care

Animal care training is suitable for those looking to find employment in animal care environments outside of veterinary practice; such as a zoo, stables, rescue centre, cattery or kennels. Depending on the role that you choose to undertake, your duties could range from cleaning, feeding and medicating animals, to educating the public on animal welfare and preparing animals for rehoming. Our animal care qualifications allow students to gain on-the-job training whilst earning a wage, and will cover a variety of animal care practices depending on your level of experience within the industry. For more information on careers within animal care you can visit our online career profiles.

Remember that there are many people, organisations and services out there to help you if you’re unsure about what you want to do next. You can speak with a member of our Customer Advice Team (CAT) on 01480 422060 if you’re interested in working with animals and would like an informal chat about post 16 career options.

The College of Animal Welfare is hosting its popular Careers with Animals Day at its centre in Leeds for the very first time on Saturday 15 October 2016! Whether you’re a school leaver working out your next career move or an adult looking for a career change – don’t miss out on the opportunity to find out more about the training and employment opportunities within the veterinary care and animal care sectors. Entry is completely free of charge! Find out more at www.careerswithanimalsday.co.uk

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Maintaining a healthy weight

Did you know that our bodies can lose muscle and gain fat without effecting our weight?

One in four adults are obese in the UK. Obesity can cause a lot of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers and strokes. Anorexia is a mental health condition that effects the amount you eat. The mental illness causes you to think you are overweight when you aren’t. It is important to seek help from your doctor if you think you or another person has an eating disorder; the quicker you get the support the less chance you have of developing more health issues.

Maintaining a good body weight is important when looking after your health. Eating the correct amount of food and exercising weekly is the best way to control your weight. Keeping a food diary or setting yourself challenges each month is a fun way to record what you do and what you eat.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anorexia-nervosa/Pages/Introduction.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Obesity/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Stay positive this results day

“There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction” Oprah

So its results day, you’ve opened your envelope and are disappointed in what you see – what do you do now? It’s easy to feel upset, because it’s always disappointing when you don’t do as well as you expected, but it’s not the end of the world. Results day is stressful enough as it is without you being unnecessarily harsh on yourself, and many of us end up moving in directions that we hadn’t originally planned for – it is these unexpected changes that make the future exciting.

You are now about to embark on a new chapter of your life that will present unique opportunities and challenges. Throwing yourself into new plans with a positive attitude will ensure that you make the most out of every new opportunity that comes your way, but if your original plan is no longer feasible – how do you go about forming a plan B?

Firstly it’s important to recognise that there are often many different routes into a specific career, therefore just because you can’t get there in one way, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get back on track through other means. For example if you’re looking to train as a veterinary nurse, but didn’t get the results needed to undertake a veterinary nursing degree programme, there is always the option to apply to start on our Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing programme in January or April, which is an excellent course that can be undertaken as part of an advanced apprenticeship. Completion of the course, just like the degree programmes, allows students to apply for professional registration as a veterinary nurse.

Remember that your potential is by no means limited to letters printed on a page, and no matter how good or bad your results may be, there will always be a new opportunity waiting for you around the corner. Your choice now is this: are you going to accept defeat, or make the most out of an unexpected circumstance?

Our Customer Advice Team (CAT) is on hand to help those looking to pursue careers in veterinary nursing, veterinary care and animal care navigate their opportunities and make the right decision for their future. If you’re still unsure about what to do next, give us a call on 01480 422060.

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Addictions

Did you know people who have addictions are more likely to develop medical conditions such as cancers, strokes, lung disease and mental health problems. The two main substance addictions are drugs and alcohol. Other addictions include gambling, food, video games and work.

Seeking help when you develop an addiction is very important because it can cause a lot of physical and mental health issues for you and the people around you. Ignoring the addiction only makes it harder to deal with. Contacting your doctor or local rehab centre is the best way to deal with it and get the support you need.

“ Addiction doesn’t kill the addict. It kills the family, kids and people who tried to help “
-Abhishek Tiwari
“ Addiction is a family disease. One person may use but the whole family suffers”
-Shelly Lewis

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/addiction-health
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/addiction/Pages/addictionhome.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/drugs/Pages/Drugtreatment.aspx

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Mental Health

Did you know almost 80,000 people aged 21 and under have serious depression? Your mental health is one of the most important parts to your health and wellbeing.

Looking after your mental health as well as your physical health helps prevent mental illnesses impacting on your daily life. Eating healthy and regular exercise can help maintain your mental health. Socialising and creating distractions which you enjoy can be a good way to improve your mood if you’re feeling down. There are over 200 named types of mental illnesses. The most common are depression, bipolar, dementia, schizophrenia, anxiety and eating disorders.

If you think you or someone else has a mental illness there are support centres across the UK;NHS, St.Andrews, Young minds. You can contact your doctor if you have concerns for your wellbeing, they will help you seek advice and support if you need it. If you are in college you can speak to a tutor about any concerns you may have about yourself or another student.

“Life is like a mirror; it will smile at you if you smile at it”
“We need to change the culture of this topic and make it okay to speak about mental health and suicide.”

International Youth Day (12 August)

Young people today face many challenges; as an example, economic uncertainty means that finding steady employment, affordable homes and long term financial security can become challenging. The United Nations’ (UN) International Youth Day aims to raise awareness of these issues, and encourage youth civic engagement in order to ensure that we can confront environmental, social and economic threats effectively. Below are some facts about youth issues in the UK:

72% of 18-21 year olds are reported to be earning less than the living wage
Home ownership rate has halved for 25 year olds in the last 20 years
Around 35,000 young people are in homeless accommodation at any one time across the UK, with hostels always full or oversubscribed
Unemployment rates are three times higher for 16-25 year olds when compared with the rest of the UK population
By 2018, unemployment and underemployment is predicted to affect a third of all 16-25 year olds
Those graduating from English universities owe an average of £44,000, the highest level of university debt in the ‘English-speaking world’

For more information on Youth International Day, please visit the UN website. Alternatively, get involved with empowering youth at ukyouth.org

Clarification regarding lunch breaks for student veterinary nurses

Please note that we have received written confirmation from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) stating that lunch breaks do NOT count towards the practical training hours of a student veterinary nurse when applying for professional registration; therefore please do not include lunch breaks when logging your number of hours in practice.

CAW tutor reaches milestone in distance learning support

We are proud to announce that, since joining the College in 2012, Distance Learning Tutor Kirsty Jones has provided learning support to over 100 veterinary care assistant students over the course of their online studies – hard work which, no doubt, ensured that each student reached their full potential and passed their formal qualification in veterinary care with flying colours.

On reaching this milestone, Kirsty said: “Seeing so many of my students’ efforts pay off, allowing them to go onto become successful veterinary care assistants, is a pleasure – and is what makes my job so rewarding”

Lisa Crowe, Head of Distance Learning at the College, added: “Kirsty is an invaluable and hardworking member of the team. On behalf of everyone at the College, I’d like to congratulate her on such a fantastic achievement!”

The College recognises the important role that distance learning plays in providing those with busy schedules the opportunity of further training if they wish to undertake it. As such, we are continuously expanding our range of online courses to make learning more accessible. More information can be found on our website.