Students and staff at the College of West Anglia’s (CWA) Cambridge campus have had a busy start back to college.
Since face-to-face teaching and learning has transitioned to online studying at the campus, teachers have uploaded a variety of online and interactive resources and media for the students to continue their studies from home, including handling videos of animals and dog grooming and interactive powerpoints. Teaching staff have also been holding individual and group tutorials to support assignment work and to keep learners motivated on CWA’s online learning platform, LEARN, which is currently averaging around 30,000 logins per day.
Programme Manager of Animal Care at the campus, Donna Woodruff, said:
“I am very proud of the way our learners and staff have adapted to online teaching and learning. This is such a different way for the staff and students to work but they have done it so well, whilst also keeping updated with own training and personal development, while supporting learners and entertaining their own children.”
Learners and staff have recently been celebrating National Pet Month, taking place from the beginning of April until 10th May to raise awareness of responsible pet ownership and to champion the benefits of our pets. Staff and students have taken turns to introduce their pets and post pictures on the CWA Cambridge Companion Animal Centre Facebook page.
Ellie is a lecturer and Course Director for the Level 3 year 2 Animal Management students pictured with Poppy her Podenco dog
Hannah Barrett is a lecturer and Course Director for the Level 3 Animal Management year 1 course, pictured with Suzi the rabbit
Rosa is a lecturer in animal care and Course Director of the Level 2 Technical Animal Care course pictured with Chester the dog
Pepsi the cat pet of Caroline a lecturer and Course Director of the level 2 Technical Animal Care
Staff have also hosted virtual campus tours to share information - to applicants or for those interested in applying - about the campus, the types of animal it houses, student life and information on what to expect once they start college.
A skeleton body of staff come in daily in order to look after the 193 animals the campus houses, from livestock to exotic and companion animals, including donkeys, horses, birds, spider and snakes. They are observing social distancing and all work in specific and separate zones and look after the animals within that zone. Daily tasks include; the daily husbandry needs of the animals feeding, water and taking care of medical needs, cleaning out and general maintenance.
Oliver the tortoise taking some exercise at the campus
Brittany the rhea
Donna added:
“I am extremely proud of all the staff that work on a daily basis to care and provide the husbandry and meet the welfare needs of the animals we have on-site. Staff are working 7 days a week to care for the animals to ensure all their needs are provided for. The team ethos and work ethic has been excellent and the team have really pulled together to work through these unprecedented times.”
Many CWA Cambridge alumni are also working within essential frontline positions during the current COVID-19 crisis. Alumna, Jasmin Whiffen completed a course in equine studies at the college in 2015, after which she held positions at Newmarket Equine Hospital, and now works at Cheveley Park Stud in Newmarket as a stud hand, helping with the daily care and management of mares and foals and some yearlings. She continues to work during the crisis to look after the horses under her care.
She said:
“COVID- 19 has not changed the way I do my job everything is still the same the horses still need the daily care and management but just by with added precautions and extra PPE making it extra safe for horses and staff within the working environment.”
Alongside her full-time job, she is shopping for her elderly grandparents.
She added:
“I feel the current crisis has brought out a community spirit and people appreciate the work of key workers in frontline services who are putting themselves at risk every day to keep everything going despite the pandemic. It has brought people closer in the workplace as well by people offering more support to others. We are all trying to stay positive during this pandemic by supporting others and actually speaking to people more to make sure they are OK and to let everyone know they’re not alone and they can always talk if they need to and there will always be someone to listen.”