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About Animal Assisted Therapy/Intervention Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Intervention (AAI) is a relatively new field acknowledged as an important aspect of 'One Health'. Animal Assisted Therapy sessions which are delivered responsibly offer numerous benefits to the participants, and the animal involved. For recipients, Animal Assisted Therapy can have a positive impact on physical abilities as well as addressing psychological, social, educational, emotional and cognitive needs''. Source: Society for Companion Animal Studies (2019) Who We Are Animals in Mind is run by Lynn Hart; a lifelong animal lover and educationalist. Recognising the positive impact of animals on well -being and learning, Lynn began working with the assistance of her eclectic mix of amazing animals to support individuals, schools, charities, the care sector and community groups in 2019. ​ Prior to launching Animals in Mind, Lynn spent the last 12 years of her 25 plus year career in education working in or with Agricultural Colleges across the UK and working as an advisor to the Department for Education. Central to her work was the work in supporting education providers nationally on the implementation of the SEN Code of Practice and in assuring excellence in inclusion for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities. All team members at AiM are trained in Health and Safety (including Farm Safety), Safeguarding, and Paediatric First Aid. ​ Meet the Team We are a very small team, but we have a big impact. We are all DBS (enhanced) checked, trained in Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Online Safety and Paediatric First Aid). Find out more about us below. Founder / Director & Lead Practitioner Lynn Hart Lynn is a qualified teacher (PGCE), holds a BSc Honours (1st Class) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare and a Masters Degree in Education (MAEd). Lynn is qualified in Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (IIAAPT, stage 1), Nature Based Therapy Practitioners and Forest School and is qualified in coaching and mentoring. Lynn has current training in Mental Health, Mental Health First Aid, Suicide and Self-Harming Awareness, Understanding Autism, Advanced (leading) Safeguarding, and is the Designated Safeguarding Lead. As a lifelong learner, Lynn is currently studying a level 6 Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioners qualification at Festina Lente in Ireland. ​ As a trustee for RSPCA Northampton branch, and East-Midlands Regional RSPCA representative, Lynn strives to drive up animal welfare standards in the region. Learning Mentor/ Animal Advocate Amelia Hamilton Amelia joined AiM in October 2023. She holds a BA in Psychology and Fine Art and has many years of experience in and around horses. ​ Amelia brings creativity, kindness, empathy and fun in sessions for both clients and animals and has a soft spot for Pichu Parrot, Rupert and Perry Donkeys and our herd of pygmy goats.. Amelia is currently studying the Equine Facilitated Practitioners Qualification with Equimotion. ​ As a talented artist, Amelia also produces and sells her own art. She also loves to spend time with her own cat - Leo. Learning Facilitator (PT) Emma Turner Emma joined AiM in September 2023. She holds a BA in Fine Art and has many years of experience delivering Forest School, Nature Based and Outdoor Learning and Teaching Arts and Crafts. Emma is also an animal lover and has spent her life around horses and other animals. ​ Emma brings a passion for conservation, the great outdoors and for nature based learning. She is also a talented artist and loves mosaics. Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead Tina Irvine (volunteer) Tina has been the DDSL for AiM since 2022 and has a wealth of experience in education leadership, particularly around data and exams compliance. ​ Tina is an experienced safeguarding officer, and first aider and acts as DSL and appointed first aider in her local netball leagues, as well as for AiM. ​ Tina is a 'cat lady', and runs and umpires in local netball leagues.

FAQs Animals in Mind offer Animal Assisted Therapy, Animal assisted Education and Animal Workshops in schools and Education ​ You Asked, We Answered. ​ We need an Animal School Visit, is this possible? Yes, we visit local schools for both Animal Education Workshops and Animal Assisted Therapy for groups and individuals. We will discuss your requirements for the curriculum intent so that we can help to meet the curriculum outcomes relevant to the key stage or SEMH outputs. In an Animal Education Encounter, how many Animals do we usually meet? This can depend on the number of people wishing to meet and learn about our animals, but in an hour session, on average we meet eight different, amazing animals. This can include mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. In Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT), can we chose which Animal will be involved? Absolutely. Sessions depend on the voluntary participation of both the person and the animal. Obviously, if the preferred animal is not well, or is not willingly participating, we would work with the assitance of another animal by mutual consent with a willing animal and the child / person. The animals are coming to meet us at an event, can we pick our animals? You can most certainly request favourite animals, and of course animals you do not want to meet. Working with animals means that we must put their welfare first and this means we can not 100% guarantee a specific animal will be present. For example, if an animal is moulting / shedding it's skin (like a snake), this can be a vulnerable time for the animal, so we do not handle the animal during this time. We do have lots of lovely animals and therefore it is highly unlikely that a similar animal will not be avaialble and happy to participate in the encounter. What if I am not satisfied with Animals in Mind? We have never had a complaint, and AiM pride ourselves on meeting everyones needs. We are members of the Society of Companion Animal Studies and comply with their code of practice. If you feel for any reason that we have not cared for you / our animals, we welcome feedback directly to us by emailing enquiries@animalsinmind.uk asking for our complaints procedure. How do we prevent disease? A big question... Disease prevention starts at home with our animal welfare. Providing an excellent home and environment for all of our animals that is stress free, clean and full of the right enrichment is the starting point as this prevents stress. Animals that are happy, with all of their needs fulfilled are also less likely to carry disease. In appropriate species, we vaccinate and use appropriate parasite control, for example in mammals, fleas and ticks can carry disease so all mammals are treated in a 'preventative medicine approach'. We only buy food for our meat eating pets, such as snakes from reputable traceable suppliers, as sometimes the food you feed a snake for example could (if not from a good supplier) carry disease such as salmonella. We routinely then faecal (poo) check our animals, as again, prevention is better than cure. We NEVER allow an animal that is unwell to meet a client and all animals live with us as pets, so we can monitor signs of behavioural change throughout the day and prior to any client interaction. Behavioural monitoring is essential as this is often the first sign of illness. In situ and when clients visit, we have rigorous and thorough risk-assessment and hygiene practices - you can see examples in our health and safety section. We always highlight to our clients how to keep themselves safe through correct hand-hygiene and when clients e.g pregnancy, or severely immune-compromised should avoid handling. Can we meet the animals outside? Animals can be outside, depending on the weather conditions, the animals assisting us and the time of year. If we have exotic species, such as a Bearded Dragon, or an African Pygmy Hedgehog, we always factor in their native environment and replicate this both in the home, and in their temporary on-site set up. These two species for example can not cope in typical UK weather, so we would not expect them to, and in early spring, or late Autumn and winter if we are attending outside events, we will require an indoor location should the weather be cold or wet. On very hot days, mammals such as rabbits and Guinea pigs can suffer from the effects of heat, so we have to factor in essential shade. We will not travel with mammals during heat waves and predicted high summer temperatures. We are wanting alternative education sessions for our Autistic child as part of their EOTAS package - how do we arrange these? We work with a lot of children with emotional and learning or behavioural challenges and our starting point is always a conversation to make sure that what we provide is suitable. We NEVER do a hard sell. We listen, see how we can help, give examples and then allow you to determine through conversation with the child if this is for them. We provide a 'learning journey guide' that illustrates the process we go through BEFORE sign up. This is all in place to establish the persons needs, likes and interests and includes an application process and an starting point assessment to establish any gaols, or barriers. We provide total transparency in our published costs, and where the cost may differ to those already on our website, we will provide a written quotation. The quotation is beneficial to you to provide to funding agencies, such as EOTAS and Pupil Premium. Sessions for individuals with ASD can be either 1-1, or small group.

Enquire Now Animals in Mind love hearing from you. If you are looking for Animal Assisted Therapy, an Animal Education Workshop, Alternative Education, or a visit for your Care Setting, or you have another enquiry, then send us an email, give us a call or fill out the contact form below: Tel: 07985555754 • Email: enquiries@animalsinmind.uk Please can we ask how you heard of Animals in Mind? Submit Thanks for submitting!

What We Offer We offer Animal Assisted Therapy / Intervention and Animal Assisted Education. Animal Assisted Therapy / Interventions Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) and Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) is an exciting new field of development for supporting and enhancing a child or adult through difficult times in their lives, to aid personal growth. It has a wide range of applications / goals and benefits. ​ It is highly suited to children and adults with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, or for behavioural difficulties, Children and adults with special educational needs benefit from both the sensory interaction, and the personal growth in confidence from being with, and facilitating play with the animals. ​ We have a comprehensive on-boarding process to ensure that AAT/I is right for the individual and that we have a detailed understanding of any support needs, safeguarding needs. Please see our 'client journey' process here. ​ Sessions are usually one to one, or occasionally small groups (such as family groups), and this service is offered in Northampton, so that the interactions with animals take place in the animals natural environment. ​ Fees We try to keep our fees for AAI/T particularly low, as we want this to be affordable if this is privately funded or paid for through a personal budget, via EHCP or EOTAS funding. Enquire Now Animal Assisted Therapy / Interventions Alternative Education Animals in Mind offer Alternative Education Programmes for children aged 5 upwards. Our programmes are individually designed and can include working with our animals, and / or nature based /outdoor learning activities. Please see our prospectus here for more information. ​ ​ Fees We try to keep our costs as low as possible and are not for profit. Our only income is from our clients, whether these be privately funded, EOTAS, or local authority, and as this is mostly term time, we have limited income during non-term dates. All of our income goes towards our animals feed, vets bills and their welfare costs, and to pay for a very small team of staff. We double staff sessions, as this ensures we can provide a safe environment with a robust safeguarding approach for our clients. We will gladly provide a personalised quote based on your requirements. Enquire Now Animal Assisted Education Animal Assisted Education offers a range of Animal Workshops in a variety of settings in schools, colleges, museums, community events clubs, and charities. ​ ​ Our visits to schools aim to increase children's connection with animals, their habitats, diet, and how we care for them as companion animals and aligns to the national curriculum, or other identified goals ​ We teach all about the animals, their country of origin, their classification, and important role in the eco-system. All delivered in age appropriate terminology linked to the intended curriculum. ​ People with SEN find Animal Education stimulating and highly engaging, Animal Workshops help to improve individuals self-esteem, dexterity as well as cognition, all in a fun and relaxed way. ​ Fees We try to keep our costs as low as possible and are not for profit, with all our income going towards the animals upkeep. We will gladly provide a personalised quote for you. Enquire Now Animal Assisted Education Animal Assisted Encounters in Care Settings and for Mental Health Animal assisted encounters in the care setting, offer opportunities for people in care to benefit from the human-animal bond. ​ Care settings can include clients in supported accommodation, older persons care, SEN residential schools for children and individuals with learning difficulties/ disabilities., or mental health support needs. Sessions can be tailored to specific needs. For example dementia memory therapy, in older adult care settings that increase mobility and dexterity and the well known relaxation and stress reducing effects that petting and being close to animals provides. ​ ​ Fees Our fees for our care homes are discounted, as we recognise the care setting has little funding for activities for residents. We will gladly personalise any quote for your setting. Enquire Now Animal Assisted Encounters in Care Pet Business Consultancy Animals in Mind offers a range of Pet Animal Consultancy Services, from designing and delivering Animal related curriculum and courses, through to supporting the new pet businesses to gain their Animal License; Lynn can provide services to ensure Animals in your setting are cared for and happy. ​ Examples: ​ In response to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, Lynn wrote and designed the Covid-19: Disease Control for Pet Professionals for the National Pet College ​ The design and production of the Dogs in the Workplace programme for the National Pet College ​ Working with Macyntyre school children in companion animal care as part of their empowerment and education enrichment strategy before the children has a school pet Working with an Animal Encounter business to support their Animal License application ​ Enquire Now

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How we help our communities and charities Animals in Mind support many charity events for local community groups with our visiting Therapy Animals. We select our featured charities every year and prioritise charities that support disadvantaged people and animals. We also support via donations and fundraising / volunteering for charities. This year, our featured charities are: The PDA Society, The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, the Donkey Sanctuary and our local RSPCA. ​ We often get asked if people can donate directly to Animals in Mind, which will be coming soon in 2024, to collect money for bursaries to support children who can not afford, or have no access to funding to support the cost of sessions. ​ We do also have an Amazon Wish List, where people can purchase items for the animals directly - see here . The PDA Society PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) is widely understood to be a profile on the autism spectrum, involving the avoidance of everyday demands and the use of ‘social’ strategies as part of this avoidance. PDA individuals share autistic characteristics and also have many of the ‘key features’ of a PDA profile. (PDA Society, 2022) ​ Animals in Mind began working with a young child with a PDA profile in January 2022. This child was the inspiration behind AiM nominating the PDA Society as one of our main charities. ​ The impact PDA has on the person and their family, particularly when struggling to get diagnosis is significant. Understanding of PDA is still emerging and this small charity is invaluable in raising awareness and supporting individuals and families who have a family member with a a PDA profile. ​ To find out more, or donate, please visit the PDA website: ​ Link to PDA Society Animal Assisted Therapy / Interventions British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) The native British Hedgehog Hedgehog (Erinaceus Europaeus) is in serious decline in the UK. ​ Founded in 1982, The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) is a registered UK Charity (number 1164542) dedicated to helping & protecting hedgehogs native to the UK. Through our campaigns, advocacy and educational projects we work to raise awareness of the practical steps we can take to help reverse the decline of hedgehogs in the wild, improve their welfare and safeguard the future of this much-loved animal. We also fund research that provides important new insights into the conservation and welfare of hedgehogs. (BHPS 2022) ​ Lynn at Animals in Mind is a Hedgehog Champion and gives free talks at charity events to educate on the preservation of our native hedgehog. The BHPS provide us with information flyers for these events and we encourage people to visit their site for free resources to learn how everyone, no matter where you live can protect our hedgehog. To find out more, or to donate visit the BHPS directly Link to BHPS Animal Assisted Education RSPCA Animals in Mind believe in 'Adopt, not Shop' to give the thousands of animals in rescue a good loving home and most of our beloved Animal Assistants have come from a range of rescue settings. ​ Recent fosters / adoptees include: Daisy, Duke and Honey the three young Rex Rabbits, all adopted from Essex Rabbit Rescue in February 2022. ​ Bubble and Squeak, Luna, Zena, Baby Bear, Emily and Minnie, Queenie and Princess, and Tiger-Lilly and Bumble Bee some of our 13 Guinea Pigs were all adopted, most from the RSPCA. Vicky, the 18 year old Turkish Spur Thigh Tortoise was adopted in 2021 from a couple who were struggling to look after her. ​ Romeo, the African Pygmy Hedgehog was adopted from Essex African Pygmy Hedgehog Rescue. ​ RSPCA Northampton, are our designated charity for Amazon Smile points for 2022. For more information or to donate to the RSPCA, please follow the link below: ​ ​ ​ Link to RSPCA Animal Assisted Encounters in Care Donkey Sanctuary Animals in Mind took on foster Donkey's Rupert and Perry in June 2023 who quickly began assisting in Animal Assisted Therapy and so began our love affair of these beautiful, sentient animals. We received unbelievable support from the Donkey Sanctuary during our time preparing for our Donkeys and particularly the team at the Sutton Park site, so we felt we needed to return their kindness by adopting and supporting their vital charitable work. Drizzle (left) is our first adoption Donkey (probably of many), and you can read more about him or even visit him at Sidmouth, or you can donate to the Donkey Sanctuary directly by following the link below:​ ​ Link to the Donkey Sanctuary Animals in Mind - Amazon Wish List We value all the support we can get to feed and care for the animals or support some of the activities our clients often enjoy during sessions with us. We frequently get asked about donating directly to us and so have set up our Amazon Wish List so people can chose items that suit their budget, or for their favourite animal. ​ We list and change items frequently, so we do not build up too big a stock of certain items. Please click the link below to be taken directly to our wish list and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any given support. Amazon Wish List

Meet the Animals We respect that the human-animal bond can only be fully effective when animal welfare is central to the approach. ​ Some of the animals assist Lynn in Animal Assisted Interventions / Therapy, whilst others assist in Animal Assisted Education. Our animals are all family pets first and foremost, and trained to work with us to support our neurodivergent clients needs. Most of our animals are formerly from rescue and all are very safe to work with our vulnerable children and adults. You can meet some of them here.

What We Do Our mission is to help people learn, grow and heal through the benefits of the human animal bond. We achieve this by positive, inspiring, educative or therapeutic interactions with our amazing and eclectic mix of companion animals. Animals in Mind delivers Animal Assisted Activities, including Animal Assisted Therapy/Interventions, and Animal Assisted Education. ​ Animal Assisted Therapy is provided to individuals and or organisations and education providers. We specialise in working with neuro-diverse individuals and those with additional needs. Animal Education Workshops are provided to Schools, Clubs, Charities, Home Schooling (including EOTAS funded alternative provision). We also work in residential Care Home for Children, Individuals with Disabilities and Older People. ​ Our educational and therapy based sessions with our amazing co-therapist animals are life-enhancing and places high regard for the welfare of our animals. Read More About Us Animal Assisted Therapy / Interventions Animal Assisted Therapy and Intervention is a relatively new field in the UK, with a wide range of applications / goals and benefits. We specialise in working with neuro-diverse individuals, supporting emotional regulation and learning difficulties. We work with individuals with mental health / burn-out, social anxieties and agoraphobia. Our interventions are low demand, client driven and totally flexible, so ideal for individuals with ASD with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile. Read More Animal Assisted Education Animal Assisted Education services cover a wide range of applications and users, from curriculum sessions covering KS 1-5 in Schools, through to Summer School Activities and home schooling. We also specialise in providing 1-1 and small group Alternative Education for children with SEN / EHCP. We are listed on the local offer and care givers and parents working to reach agreements for EOTA funding will find that we are recognised in the provision of support for educational and therapeutic outcomes by local authorities. Read More Animal Assisted Encounters in Care and for Mental Health Animal-assisted encounters in the care setting, offer o pportunities for people in care to benefit from the human-animal bond. We work with both Children and Adult Care and with profound and complex needs and disabilities. ​ We work with child protection services, young peoples mental health services (NHFCT, at Berrywood Hospital), Acquired Brain Injury Units, as well as Assisted Living Centres for all ages and needs of clients. Read More What We Offer From the start of our correspondence, Lynn was helpful and very accommodating. The price was also incredible for the quality of the visit. All my class got to interact with several animals and were able to ask lots of questions to develop their learning. Lynn was informative, warm and adapted her visit to suit our needs. I was particularly impressed with how she catered for our SEND children. Overall an experience myself and the children will never forget. The smiles on their faces were priceless. Samantha C Rectory Farm Primary: Northamptonshire

Gallery We love all our animals and the people we work with. Check out our gallery page and see what we've been getting up to at our Animal Encounters and Animal Workshops!