About the course
Delivery will be online for 12 months with assignments set throughout each module and a completed portfolio. All of which must be complete to gain the qualification.
This qualification is intended to provide the practical skills and underpinning knowledge that is relevant to the role of veterinary care support. Demands on the veterinary sector has increased in recent years, with pet ownership rising. This has led to an increased need for qualified veterinary care support staff, who form an essential part of the veterinary team. Throughout the qualification, learners will gain the knowledge and skills required to maintain the veterinary environment, support their colleagues effectively, and provide care for patients within a veterinary setting. Learners will successfully adapt to the individual needs of the animals in their care, and will cover all aspects of animal husbandry relevant to the role of providing veterinary care support. Individuals will be expected to be responsible for meeting the welfare needs of the animals in their care, whilst working professionally and ethically within their legal limitations and scope of practice.
Key Information
Location: Preston Campus
Start date: Monday 4th January 2027
Tuition Fee: £1440
Course length: Two Years (52 weeks)
Course Modules
VCS01 Legislation and Safe Working Practices
VCS02 Animal Health and Welfare
VCS03 Animal Environment and Accommodation
VCS04 Introduction to Patient Care
VCS05 Introduction to Animal Anatomy and Physiology
VCS06 Veterinary Care Support
Entry requirements & additional information
This qualification is available to learners of 16 years of age and over. VetSkill cannot accept any registrations for learners below 16 years of age. There are no other formal or specific academic or learning entry requirements for learners undertaking this programme.
The nature of both the learning and assessment required for the qualification is such that learners will require basic literacy and numeracy skills. There is an experiential requirement for this qualification; learners may be of an employed, voluntary or non-employed status, but they must be able to gain real experience of a veterinary care environment. Learners must undertake and record between two-hundred (200) and six hundred (600) hours of work experience whilst on programme, and ideally, a substantial period of this work experience should be within a suitable veterinary care environment. It is the centre/provider's responsibility to ensure these hours are met, and recorded in an auditable manner.
The portfolio assessment evidence can be stored and tracked electronically using an e-portfolio platform or electronic filing and mapping system. The choice of how the e-portfolio is evidenced, stored and tracked is the decision of the course provider. Alternatively, the assessment evidence can be presented as a paper-based portfolio, and collated using a clear method of tracking.
A range of assessment methods can be used to complete the portfolio, and the evidence must be safely and securely stored, all evidence must be made available to VetSkill's EQA upon request. All evidence must be dated, authenticated, and any video clips or photographs must be timestamped and numbered with the learner visible. Videos and photographs may be authenticated by the learner clearly stating their name and VetSkill registration number at the beginning of the video clip or signing the photograph before adding it to the portfolio. The portfolio is graded as a Pass or Fail. Please refer to the VetSkill written and practical portfolio sample assessments and suggested assessor feedback forms on the VetSkill hub.
Centres/providers do not have to use the VetSkill sample assessments provided, and are permitted to write and IQA their own assessments for this qualification. Where a centre/provider uses their own assessments, a mapping document should be submitted to VetSkill, to evidence cross-referencing of their material to the qualification learning outcomes, in order to demonstrate that the whole qualification is covered.
Practical and written portfolio assessments are assessed and internally quality assured by the centre/provider, and externally quality assured by VetSkill. Learners should be provided with written feedback for all portfolio assessments and VetSkill recommends the use of the VetSkill assessor feedback form for each assessment. The centre/provider must record learner marks, and/or the overall grade achieved for each completed assessment. All assessed work and corresponding paperwork should be stored securely and made available to VetSkill upon request. The centre/provider must ensure that all grades for each unit are uploaded to the VetSkill Web Portal, following centre/provider internal quality assurance; external quality assurance will be carried out by a VetSkill-approved EQA.
Successful achievement of the VetSkill Level 2 Certificate in Veterinary Care Support or VetSkill Certificate in Veterinary Care Support at SCQF Level 5 may enable the learner to progress to study the VetSkill VTEC Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (Companion Animal) or VetSkill VTEC Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (Companion Animal) at SCQF Level 7, the VetSkill VTEC Level 3 Award in Preventative Canine Dental Care and Oral Hygiene, and further VetSkill animal-related qualifications.
The course is delivered online so access to a laptop and internet is required.