Speakers in Schools

We've found that talks in school assemblies can be an effective way of spreading the word about being kind to animals - and inspiring a future generation of compassionate animal advocates.

These interactive and engaging talks can be booked by primary schools across England and Wales.

Our volunteer speakers are often retired teachers or our staff, including our inspectors. They're passionate about education and animal welfare, and know the best ways to inspire children about the importance of kindness to animals.

Giving talks in schools is a great way to educate children about the responsibilities of owning a pet. It's easy, and often cheap, to buy a pet in the first place, but the ongoing costs and time are often forgotten until it's too late. For example, rabbits are very commonly misunderstood, and we want to inspire children to take ownership of their welfare, not just leave them alone in a hutch at the end of the garden!

Andrew Pearson, volunteer school speaker scheme facilitator, RSPCA.

Animal welfare issues often arise because people don't know the best ways to look after different kinds of pets. That's why we want to extend this programme to include more focused talks and training sessions, based on specific animals.

What have we done already?

Our exciting School Speakers programme has grown rapidly. In 2015, we had just 20 active speakers. We now have 70. As a result, we've been able to reach many more children through school assemblies - an incredible 12,977 in 2017.

How much more could we achieve with your support?

You could help us achieve our target of reaching more than 20,000 children through school assemblies each year. We plan to recruit more volunteer speakers and develop more interactive and engaging resources for them to use. We also have plans to increase the number of our inspectors available for talks, so that we can inspire more children with our vital work with animals.

Volunteer to become a school speaker

Do you like the idea of influencing the next generation of animal owners and helping them to become responsible and caring citizens? We're looking for volunteers to sign up to become speakers in schools.

Become a volunteer speaker

If you're a teacher why not bring animal welfare to the classroom and sign up to receive a visit from a volunteer speaker in your school.