Animal Welfare Curriculum for Schools

RSPCA AWARE provides educators with curriculum-aligned resources that encourage students to explore animal welfare concepts through inquiry-based learning, critical thinking, and interactive activities. The focus is on fostering empathy, compassion, respect, and responsibility toward animals while fulfilling curriculum requirements across subjects like Science, HASS, and English. Teachers can enhance their existing classroom programs by incorporating animal welfare themes.

Learn more

RSPCA AWARE is flexible and can be integrated into classroom programs over varying timeframes. Depending on your goals and lesson planning, it can be delivered as short modules over a few weeks or extended throughout the term, allowing for deep exploration of key animal welfare topics. Each lesson or project can be adapted to suit the needs of your class.

RSPCA AWARE aligns to the National Curriculum Preparatory through to Senior School, making it suitable for a broad range of age group and learning levels. The materials are adapted for different developmental stages, ensuring that both younger and older students engage meaningfully with the content.

Learn more about lesson plans

To bring RSPCA AWARE to your school, start by sharing information about the program with school leadership and staff. Highlight the benefits of integrating animal welfare education, such as fostering empathy, respect, and responsibility among students. Emphasise the alignment with the Australian Curriculum and how it supports key learning outcomes. You can also suggest running pilot lessons or holding a staff development session on the program.

Read more about how RSPCA AWARE suits the Australian Curriculum

RSPCA AWARE covers a wide range of animal welfare topics, including:

• Companion animals: How to care for pets, responsible ownership, and the importance of desexing.
• Wildlife: The impact of human activity on wildlife and how to coexist respectfully with native species.
• Farm animals: Exploring humane farming practices and understanding where food comes from.
• Animal rights and welfare: Discussions around ethics, cruelty, and the role of humans in protecting animals.
• Sustainability: The environmental impact of human choices on animal habitats and ecosystems.

Learn more about lesson plans

The RSPCA’s education materials are developed to foster empathy, compassion, and justice toward all living things, mirroring the curriculum's aim to provide rigorous, engaging learning experiences. By using RSPCA AWARE, you encourage students to grow into empathetic individuals who understand their responsibilities toward animals and other people.

Research shows that family pets can help children develop empathy and responsibility, but positive child-animal relationships require active guidance and teaching.

Find out more

Here are some helpful resources you can share with your kids to help them learn about animal welfare and kindness towards all animals.

Get resources