Animal Care Courses at DCG
If you’re passionate about pursuing a career working with animals – from house pets to farm livestock, zoo animals to wildlife – you’ve come to the right place. DCG delivers the in-depth knowledge, skills training and practical experience that will help you into a wide range of animal-related jobs.
You might be keen to work in an animal rescue centre, kennels, cattery, vet surgery or zoo. You might imagine specialising in animal behaviour, training police dogs or becoming an RSPCA inspector. Wherever your aspirations lie, you’ll find that DCG has a thorough understanding of what employers expect – and will help turn your ambitions into reality.
Broomfield Hall is no conventional classroom. You’ll study surrounded by farm animals, exotic species, rare breeds and wildlife – from donkeys, pigs, meerkats and wallabies to snakes, spiders and porcupines. No two days are ever the same in our Animal Centre as you gain hands-on experience in caring for, rehabilitating, handling, feeding, housing and training different species.
Our courses span everything from nationally recognised diplomas to part-time qualifications in areas like canine first aid. We also support Animal Care apprenticeships and you can even progress to our specialist Foundation and BSc (Hons) Degrees.
college group virtual information event
I’m here to talk to you about our animal
care courses here at Darby college but
I’ll give you a bit of background
knowledge first so you can get to know
Broomfield hole also it’ll put lots of
things into perspective for you
so we’re made up of four campuses
including Broomfield hall where your
studies will take place we also have the
Roundhouse Joseph Wright Center Ilkeston
and all together these make the Darby
College Group which is also known as DCG
we have a multitude of support areas
available to every student here at Darby
College from the moment we meet you
right up until you have completed your
study program and are deciding on your
next steps whether you still need to
gain english maths GCSE x’ or if you are
looking for top quality work experience
to help gain valuable industry knowledge
we will offer you tailored support to
suit your individual needs right from
first contact we will ensure that the
right study pathway matches your career
aspirations and also our team are made
up of industry experienced professionals
who will help you develop the skills and
qualities that employers are looking for
we are full of information advice and
guidance to help you with your student
experience and to help you decide on
your next step
we have teamed with career coach which
is designed to help you find a good
career by providing the most current
local data on wages
employment job postings and associated
education and training head over to the
Career and courses section of our
website and select career coach from
here you can easily browse or search for
the available courses at Derby college
and it will lead you to the career that
you want you can also take career
assessments on career coaches to learn
about yourself and then it will give you
career suggestions based on your
interests all free of charge of course
and as you can see from the animal care
industry it is projected employment
count for the animal care services and
related occupations in the Darby region
is predicted to keep rising each year
from now through to 2028 and here are a
few of the top posted job titles over
the past year for this industry and
their dog groomers groomers animal
keepers animal care assistants and
animal laboratory technicians what I
want to quickly do is show you the
animal management department that we
have here at Broomfield which is very
much like a miniature zoo which is
absolutely amazing what I’m going to do
now is I’m going to show you around
each room briefly so you can see what
animals we have for you to work with we
have a commercially rouen grooming salon
that our level 3 learners work in and
that is our level 3 second-year students
they have a fantastic opportunity to
work with dogs and other animals to
groom learn how to use clippers how to
use scissors and we have a fantastic
groomer that supports you with that all
the way we have farm animals on the farm
and also on our animal unit the farm
house is a wide range of animals
including rare breed pigs cows and
calves and sheep and if you are looking
in the Easter period you
can take part in lambing also and down
on the animal unit we have a range of
goats and alpacas donkeys and poultry
for you to work with and we have the
exotics room and the extended exotics
room here are just a few pictures to
show the variety of animals we have
within them as you can see we have got a
variety of tarantulas a multitude of
different tortoises and Terrapins we
have got bugs beetles and millipedes
African giant ants nails there we’ve
also got a huge variety of snakes
including royal pythons Beauty snakes
corn snakes rainbow Boas we’ve also got
a few different types of lizards here is
the bearded dragon we’ve got uromastyx
also the leopard gecko that you can see
there we also have crested geckos on
site – which are lovely em in our
extended exotic room we have got large
enclosures that are beautifully built by
our technicians on site and they are for
our larger exotic species such as our
monitor lizards so there is a lovely
room to watch out for when you start
with us we have our mammal house which
captures our mammals so if I start with
the first picture here this is Albus he
is a skunk he is Alby no he lives in the
mammal house alongside many different
guinea pigs and many different rabbits
and chinchillas we have lots of
different types of enclosures for the
different animals so you can see how
they will live out their lives in
different ways fur and feather room here
going through the pictures on the top
left starting is our ferrets then we’ve
got lots of different rabbits and
different colors we have also got
hedgehogs that we take in from Te
winkles and we bring them back to health
and release on to Bloomfield College
lund we’ve also got squirrels
Prospero’s and also different guinea
pigs as well
our rodent and aquatics room holds yes
you’ve guessed it lots of different
rodents and aquatics we have rats mice
hamsters daegu’s with a huge variety of
aquatics and we have a marine aquatics
specialist on site as well so if you
want to pick his brains he will be
willing we also have a variety of zoo
animals and as you can see they’re
starting at the left you have got a
Wallabies we have got two of them we
have got a beautifully built in closure
for our mixed exhibit which is for
meerkats and two porcupines why study
animal care well the Animal Care cost
could lead onto variety in range of
careers just a few to talk about is
zookeeper a veterinary nurse it doesn’t
tend to be vet but that’s not always the
case we have had some exceptional
students go on to be a vet to Animal
Care and silly dog wardens for the
council pet store assistants can like
hatchery workers animal rescue workers
dog groomers farm workers and many more
and I have been teaching on the animal
care course now for 12 years and it is
surprising the career paths that the
students can go on to there is many
working in zoos now training the zoo
animals we also have some in South
Africa working it is a real pleasure to
see them students progress on to them
sort of careers so let’s talk about the
different levels we have here at
Broomfield college to offer you in the
animal care so the first one is level
one so in level one you will study
animal health and well-being Health and
Safety developing personal performance
animals in the wild and society animal
feeding and watering animal
accommodation animal behavior and hand
students will also study functional
skills in English and maths this is it
mandatory and if you have just missed
out on them GCSEs we can also allow you
to resit your English and maths GCSEs –
so the entry requirements for level one
is one eighth grade in English we
require you to join us at college for
three days a week you will have work
placement which means you will find a
place that you would like to work and
you will work with our work experience
coordinator to support you with
organizing the placement where you will
go for two weeks that we give you off in
college time and work to build your CV
and to also to allow you to progress on
to the level 2 diploma so you can
progress on to the level 2 diploma in
animal management with a merit or you
can go on to an apprenticeship so if you
are planning to work through our levels
here at Animal Care you need to make
sure you are working extremely hard to
make sure you will get in that merit
overall so you can progress on to the
level 2 for your next step the next
level is level 2 and the modules that
you will study whilst being with us here
at there’ll be college on the level 2 is
behaviour in handling feeding and
watering animal accommodation health and
welfare animal behavior British wildlife
and also work experience yet again you
will have to study functional skills or
GCSEs in English Maths if you have not
got that C in English or math this is
mandatory and you will have that put
onto your tone table as well as your
animal modules to study on the level 2
course you can progress from level 1
ensuring that you’ve got that merit
overall and the entry requirements is to
DS or grade threes in English language
and science and to ease so grade 2 in
maths and another subject this is a
one year course and days of attendance
is dependent on them maths and English
requirements coursework is assessed so
there is lots of different ways that we
assess you these can be posters written
assignments in class tests fact sheets
presentations the list goes on and you
can also progress on to the level 3 with
a distinction or on to an apprenticeship
so with all of these assessments there
is a lovely percentage that you will be
doing practically as well so you will
have lots of practical skills assessed
as well as your written skills on the
level 2 diploma our next level here at
Animal Care is level 3 which is also
called an advanced technical diploma in
animal management the entry requirements
for this particular level is 4 GCSEs at
grade C or grade 4 or above to include
biology English language maths and one
other academic subject our level 3
course is the equivalent to 3 a levels
and progression on to degree courses it
is a 2 year course so you will study
with this here at Brimfield for both
years and attendance is minimum of 3
days a week with 2 days personal study
so that’s not 3 days a week and working
for two days that’s three days a week
and working on your college course for
two days a week at home these particular
modules are coursework and exam assessed
the modules that you’ll be studying here
on the level 3 will be animal biology
zoo management principles of health and
safety animal nursing welfare an ecology
welfare and communication health and
husbandry pet store management kennel
cattery management dog grooming work
experience exotic health and husbandry
animal feeding and nutrition specialist
project estate skills business
management pet allied services and also
welfare and breeding
the modules that you’ll be sitting over
a two-year period the first year modules
are set modules which you will have to
pass then your second year goes into
three routes which you can choose either
animal route zoo animal route or science
route and that really does depend on
what career path you want to follow to
which route you choose for your second
year English and maths English and maths
is mandatory and if you do not have a
grade C or level four in English
language and maths you will be required
to study these alongside your animal
care course no questions asked if you
have got a grade D level three you will
study GCSEs alongside your animal care
courses to work towards that C grade
also if you got a grade E or lower we
would be expecting you to work on the
level two functional skills course which
you will be working alongside your
animal care course also expectations
here at Broomfield hall for our animal
students is a minimum of 93 percent
attendance a minimum of 90 percent
punctuality and turning up to lessons on
time you must wear a college uniform on
site as our site is an open site so we
need to be identifying you as a student
instantly by looking at you so for that
it is mandatory that you wear your
college uniform and lanyard at all times
respectful behaviors to peer as and all
staff members are expected also to make
us aware if you are absent using arm
absence text line or via film plan your
route to college to ensure that you are
getting to us on time and there is no
excuses we expect you to engage in
learning and participate in lessons we
expect you also to bring appropriate
stationery
in two lessons and on to our animal
practical units so you are prepared and
able to take notes you need to come
prepared when working on the animal unit
there is a separate set of rules for
that under no circumstances are you
allowed to wear any jewelry whatsoever
that is rings bracelets necklaces
earrings studs or any sort of jewelry
that you’ve embedded into your body
there is no nail varnish whatsoever gels
extensions or anything like that this is
for the safety of our animals there is
also appropriate PPE that you must wear
which is a green lab coat which you can
see on the students there and also you
must must wear steel-toed capped boots
at all times on the animal unit and use
initiative to find your work placements
and find the appropriate work placement
that you want to work at for instance if
you want to go and work in a zoo make
sure your work experience placement is
at a zoo and not at the pet shop down
the road
also make sure you track your progress
at Derby College by using your
individual learning plans which both
staff will be working with you on and
also parents can see so what else do I
need to know so there are a few bullet
points there may be fees charge for the
part-time courses or if you’re over
nineteen so please ask student services
for details or ask in the chat at the
end of this presentation
also work placements are allocated
throughout the year in box and are five
days per week so you need to make sure
that when you are organizing your work
experience it is five days per week and
not two days or three days level three
students will carry out weekend duties
on the animal unit you are required it
is mandatory you are to work one
Saturday and one Sunday this will build
your CV give you some amazing experience
and hopefully it will get you into that
career path
you want to go in too you will also need
appropriate safety clothing for
practical sessions as I’ve just
discussed so lab coat steel toe cap
boots and so on it’s your responsibility
to purchase that and hopefully get them
in place before you start with us in
September you will be required to wear a
uniform that is a t-shirt and a
sweatshirt available to purchase during
induction and also you can do it online
so it gets posted to you jewelry and
false nails are not allowed under any
circumstances in any of our practical
sessions you will be asked to leave if
you are found with them on jewelry and
piercings will not be accepted even with
a letter from parents so please make
sure that you do not have any new
piercings in college time because you
will be asked to take them out also if
you have got stretches in your ears
which you have stretched your earlobes
you need to make sure that they are in
appropriate wear so they do not get
ripped for instance taking the plug out
and taping your earlobe back on to your
ear if you have any allergies especially
to animals please consider if this is
the right course for you and discuss
this with us in the chat at the end if
you are allergic to animals and wanted
to pursue an animal career really do
consider is it right for me as it will
be a tremendous problem if you have
runny eyes and are sneezing all the time
the mission of Derby college group is to
predict and serve the needs of our
business and civic communities we are
committed to working in partnership with
employers to co-create talent for the
success of the region generate new jobs
increase social mobility and bolster
economic prosperity we are therefore
always working hard on securing the best
most relevant employee
partners to help support our students
here really is just a few examples of
our animal care partners we have the
RSPCA that we work with we have cats
protection League twycross zoo castle
field kennels pets at home
Matlock farm park the list is endless
but it to work with them with your work
placement you can just simply ask the
place you want to work with and we as
Derby college can help you and support
you with gaining a rapport with that
business derby college has a significant
impact on many individuals businesses
and the wider community we are committed
to produce in a talent pool equipped
with the right skills and attitudes to
meet the needs of employers we are proud
of our contribution to the economic
growth and social prosperity by guiding
people into learning pathways that lead
to positive destinations we encourage
progress and aspirational outcomes many
of our learners have gone on to achieve
great things since leaving here at dub
at Brimfield and here are a few examples
of many inspirational success stories we
have to share with you so we have had
business owners for the dog groomers at
Rovers return that was one of our
students that did our dog grooming
courses and we have Kelly here it was a
fully qualified vet nurse we have
students that have gone into the army
from here I’m training to be veterinary
technicians we have also had students go
into grooming and being a groom at
thistledown stud
there is a variety of jobs that I know
students that have gone into such as zoo
keeping wildlife experts also education
in zoos working in kennel and categories
working in pet shops being specialist in
pet shops and being on that frontline
some of these jobs that the students do
we are incredibly proud of here at
Brimfield so what’s next tonight so what
you can do if you want to check out
another subject you can head
back to the virtual events homepage and
from there find the other chosen subject
that you want to chat to a team member
about or watch a information PowerPoint
if you don’t need to look at any more
subjects find our student service team
to help you apply now and not sure what
you want to do next why not have a chat
with either me or one of our many
support areas to get some advice and
guidance and see which qualification
will be right for you so we have a
detailed step-by-step guide on how to
apply which is accessible from both our
website and our prospectus that you
should have been given either tonight
virtually or via email
here is a Sarai’s breakdown of the steps
you can expect to take German the
application process here at Derby
college when you head back to the events
homepage after this head over to our
student service team who are here to
help you apply now if you wish or at
least they can give you the advice and
answers on questions you might have in
relation to the application process so
if you have a quick look at this slide
here you can decide on your career
pathway submit your application or you
can gain advice from our student
services advisors and maybe have an
interview virtually we can also accept
your place we will write to you and then
you will attend your enrollment day and
become part of Derby college broom for
your campus it’s been a pleasure talking
to you today please come and see us in
the virtual student services area where
we will be happy to talk to you about
animal care
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Animal Care – Course Listings
Adult and Community (12)
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: Flexible
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: Flexible
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: Flexible
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 15/11/2025
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: Flexible
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 21/06/2025
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 04/02/2025
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: Flexible
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 25/01/2025
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: Flexible
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 10/02/2025
Course Type: Adult and Community
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 28/02/2025
Apprenticeships (4)
Course Type: Apprenticeships
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Apprenticeships
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Apprenticeships
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Apprenticeships
Location: Broomfield Hall
Higher Education (7)
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 15/09/2025
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: Higher Education
Location: Broomfield Hall
Start Date: 15/09/2025
School Leaver - Vocational/Technical (6)
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Broomfield Hall
Key Information
Our Teachers
Our expert and dedicated teaching team boasts experience across the animal management industries, including zoo keeping, veterinary nursing, animal psychology and farming. They will give you invaluable insights into animal biology, habitats, health and welfare, nutrition, behaviour, breeding and training.
We work closely with a wide range of organisations within the industry, such as the RSPCA, Cats Protection and Castlefield Kennels, to offer you opportunities for work experience, fact-finding visits, employer-led projects and guest lectures. Our students have been on placement with organisations like zoos, kennels and wildlife centres. They have also enjoyed fieldtrips to Twycross Zoo, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Crufts dog show and even a South African game reserve.
Our facilities and location
Discover our campuses and facilities here. Each campus page contains:
- 360-degree images of our facilities
- A location map
- A list of courses that are run at the campus
- Student Success Stories
Find out more
To find out more about our Animal Care courses attend our next course and career events or contact us on 0800 028 0289
How to Apply
Press the Apply Now button, that can be found at the top and bottom of every course information page and follow the instructions for the InTouch applications portal.
If you are unable to apply online, contact Student Services who will help you complete your application form and will be able to help and guide you to make a decision on the course of study to meet your needs and ambitions.
Animal Care – Success Stories
Sarah Lowe
Adult and Community
Celine Frosthagen
Higher Education
Brooke Moran
School Leaver Vocational
Lauren Wain
School Leaver Vocational
May Williams
School Leaver Vocational
Liberty Stamp Hanes
School Leaver Vocational
Jorjia Jepson
School Leaver Vocational
Jo Lenham
School Leaver Vocational