ANIMAL loving pupils have helped a Winsford primary school become the north west’s very first PetWise School.

Children at St Chad’s CE Primary and Nursery School learned how to take the very best care of the furry friends in their lives, resulting in the school receiving an award from national charity PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals).

Earlier this year pupils at the school, on Gladstone Street, took part in curriculum-linked activities which taught them about the five welfare needs of pets – the key things each pet owner needs to provide for their animals – and the legal responsibility of pet owners.

Teacher Chloe Hardman said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our children and they thoroughly enjoyed taking part. The award was engaging and interesting at every point and it linked brilliantly to our ‘animals’ topic.

“Our pupils are looking forward to sharing their newly-gained knowledge with others. We have always been proud to be an inclusive school and can now extend this by saying we know how to be respectful and understanding of the needs of animals too.

“The children completed the award just before we went into lockdown, so it is brilliant to be able to celebrate this achievement with the children now we are all back in school. They were thrilled by the news.”

Northwich Guardian:

Anna Baggott, from PDSA, added: “‘We are so proud of the hard work St Chad’s has put into achieving the award.

“We have more than 160,000 children taking part in PetWise School Award, yet this school was the first to achieve their PetWise Status in the whole of the north west region. We are pleased to commend them for their outstanding effort.”

The PDSA PetWise Schools award is part of the charity’s community and education programme and free thanks to the support of players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.