New training course launched as VN school celebrates 30th anniversary  

One of the UK’s top vet nurse training centres has launched a new course for veterinary care assistants amid celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Lynwood School of Veterinary Nursing in Dorchester has launched a new Advanced Animal Nursing Assistant qualification with an initial intake of six students, with future applications invited from animal care assistants who hold their Level 2 certificate.

The 12-week course combines online learning with practical tasks that can be worked through in practice.

Lynwood offers training for apprentices studying for the Level 2 Animal Care and Welfare Certificate and Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing.

Trainee nurses

The school was set up in 1996 by RVN Val Belbin to support trainee nurses working at Lynwood Vets – which has five sites across Dorset – and other local practices.

Having started out delivering lessons in a small former storeroom at Lynwood’s Wimborne surgery to a single class of six trainees, it now supports 120 apprentices from 65 vet practices across five counties spanning Devon to Hampshire from its own site in Higher Bockhampton.

Over the course of its three decades, the institution said it has helped more than 1,500 students pass their exams, consistently recording results that exceed the national average.

‘Hugely proud’

Mrs Belbin said: “We are hugely proud of everything the school has achieved over the past three decades and are delighted to be offering this new training opportunity to veterinary nursing assistants, who have become a valued and integral member of practice teams.

“This course is a great way for them to develop and grow their career, especially if they don’t want to progress to becoming an RVN.”

She described achieving a “good” Ofsted rating as a “particular high point”, adding: “It has been an incredible journey, and we have so much to celebrate.”