Pet care licence
You’ll need
- Pens or pencils
- Stamps (optional)
Before you begin
- Set up five bases around the room, with an information sheet at each base. If you can, have a leader on each base to help.
- Decide how everyone will move around the bases, and how long you think they’ll need. It’s up to you whether groups move at a signal, or whether they can move on as soon as they’re ready. It’s also up to you whether groups just answer the questions, or also have time to talk about the animals, and their own experiences.
Complete pet licences
- Give everyone their blank pet case licence.
- Everyone should get into pairs.
- Each pair should visit each of the five bases and gather the information they need to answer the questions in their pet care licences.
- Once everyone’s completed their licence, they should talk about which pet would be best for them to have at home, or which pet they’d like to have one day. If people already have pets, they might explain why that animal is the right choice for them and those they live with.
Reflection
This activity needed you to be independent. You had to find the answers for yourself, no one gave them to you. Was it difficult to be independent and find the information for yourself? Did you like being independent? You also need to be independent before you’re ready to care for a pet. Do you think you’re ready for that kind of responsibility? What would you need to work on before you were ready to care for a pet?
This activity also needed you to persevere more. Was it easy to find all of the answers, or were some tricky? Did you have to read any information (or even visit any base) more than once? Do you think you need to be able to persevere to look after a pet? When might you have to persevere with a pet (for example, when teaching or training it)?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
The people leading the activity can offer help, give clues, or ask questions that help people find the answers.
If anyone struggles with reading, make sure their partner or a friend (or a person leading the activity) is happy to help them read the information.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
