These happy hens help pupils learn - but are school pets a bad idea?

8:05am Tuesday 17th June 2008

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Clucky and Angel happily graze at a Worcester primary school as the children collect their eggs, check their food and water and clean out the pen.

The hens are healthy, happy and well looked after, and the children clearly enjoy taking care of them. But in recent years the number of schools keeping pets has declined rapidly, and the RSPCA is now urging all schools to abandon the tradition amid concerns that the animals could be harmed due to the constant touching by pupils.

In new guidelines, the charity said it would be a more positive and beneficial education experience for children to visit animals in their "natural environment".

In an e-mail to 16,000 teachers, the animal welfare group advises that children should instead have a soft animal-shaped toy in the classroom.

"I can understand the RSPCA's concerns," said Alex Wall, headteacher at Fairfield Community Primary School in Brickfields, Worcester. "But I think if the animals receive the appropriate, sensible care, then it is a valuable educational experience for children.

"I have had animals at all the schools I have worked at. I think it teaches children about responsibility, how to care for creatures, and also gives them self esteem and understanding of the life cycle."

Clucky and Angel joined Fairfield school in Easter 2007 as newborn chicks. The children have since watched them grow and flourish, having been involved in their care on a daily basis.

A group of three pupils is responsible for checking on the birds each day, ensuring they have enough food and water, and collecting the eggs.

Charlie Cooper, aged 11, said: "It's really good looking after the chickens. I really enjoy coming out every day to see how they are. It helps us to learn how to be responsible and is good fun."

Eleven-year-old Casey McCartney added: "It's really good that we have chickens at the school. We get to collect the eggs and then sell them."

Chickens might seem like an unlikely school pet - most people probably remember having a hamster, rabbit or stick insect. But in fact the birds are probably the most appropriate, because as well as helping children learn about looking after an animal, it also teaches them about food and nature.

Mr Wall said: "When we first got the chickens, most children did not associate the eggs they ate from a supermarket with the eggs our chickens were laying. They were quite shocked when we suggested eating the eggs they were collecting.

"As adults we just assume that they know a chickenburger is made from a chicken, but children often do not think about meat as having come from an animal, they just think it comes from a supermarket. So this gives them an understanding about how food is produced."

As well as teaching children about the food chain, the birds help the children learn about budgets and money, because they have made a business out of selling the eggs.

"We sell the eggs for £1.20 for six to parents or teachers," said 10-year-old Dominic Collins.

The children keep a spreadsheet, detailing how much money they have made from the eggs, plus how much money they spend on food and nesting materials for the chickens.

"The children are getting a rounded education through caring for these chickens," Mr Wall said. "They are such a valuable part of our children's education. It would be such a shame if schools were to be stopped from keeping animals. The children would lose out on so much."

In the school holidays the birds are either looked after by a parent or taken to the Domestic Foul Trust.

"In the shorter holidays the chickens stay at the school and one of the parents comes in each day and checks on them," Mr Wall said. "But in the longer summer holidays they go to the Domestic Foul Trust, which looks after them for us."

Of course schools need to consider the animals' welfare, but it would seem such a shame if yet another tradition were to die, especially one that clearly has educational value.