Come and join our Animal Keepers for a day, working with a huge variety of animals.

Do you know a little someone who dreams of becoming an Animal Keeper? Give them the opportunity to experience a day behind the scenes at Merrist Wood College, working alongside our experienced Animal Keepers in this exclusive hands-on experience.

Limited to just 12 Junior Keepers per session to ensure every participant receives plenty of hands-on experience and individual attention, our Junior Animal Keeper Experience offers a unique opportunity to spend the day caring for a wide variety of animals, learning practical keeper skills and discovering what it takes to work with animals every day.

Throughout the day, Junior Keepers will have the opportunity to:

Prepare food and feed a variety of animals.

Help provide fresh water and care for animal enclosures.

Learn safe animal handling techniques.

Meet and work with tortoises, guinea pigs, reptiles, birds, meerkats and many more species.

Rabbit grooming

Spend time in our Savannah and Rainforest biomes, domestic pet area and farm.

Learn fascinating facts about the animals from our experienced keepers.

Discover what it's really like to work as an Animal Keeper.

As a special keepsake of the day, every Junior Keeper will receive:

A Merrist Wood Junior Animal Keeper Certificate

A personalised lanyard

An exclusive goodie bag

An activity book

A memorable day of hands-on animal experiences in a small group setting

Places MUST be booked in advance – (maximum of 12 people per day). Bookings are taken on a first come first serve basis,

Gift vouchers available from our Gift Voucher Page

All visitors are required to wear appropriate footwear whilst visiting the farm, this means closed toed shoes, trainers, wellies, or similar. No open toed sandals, flipflops or crocs are allowed on the farm.

Additional Needs & Inclusion Statement

Our Approach

We are committed to providing a fun, safe and welcoming environment for all children attending our holiday club. We value inclusivity and aim to support a wide range of needs wherever reasonably possible within our setting.

Nature of Provision

Our holiday club is delivered in a group setting with set staff-to-child ratios. Activities are designed for groups and involve shared participation, movement around site, and interaction with others.

While our staff are experienced in working with children, they are not specialist SEND practitioners and we are not resourced to provide one-to-one or highly individualised support.

Assessing Suitability

To ensure every child has a positive and safe experience, we ask parents/carers to inform us of any additional needs prior to booking. Please send enquiries to mwevents@activatelearning.ac.uk. This includes (but is not limited to):

Medical conditions

Behavioural or emotional needs

Sensory or communication needs

Requirements for 1:1 or specialist support

We will consider each child’s needs on a case-by-case basis and may request further information to assess whether we can reasonably meet those needs within our provision.

Please note: Our staff are unable to administer medication under any circumstances. If your child requires medication during the day, a parent or guardian will need to attend the site to administer it.

When We May Not Be Able to Offer a Place

There may be occasions where, following discussion, we feel we are unable to provide the level of support required to ensure a child’s safety, wellbeing, or enjoyment. This may include situations where:

1:1 supervision is required

Specialist training or interventions are needed

The group environment may be overwhelming or unsuitable

In such cases, we will explain our reasons clearly and sensitively. This decision is always based on the suitability of our provision, not the individual child.

Working Together

We encourage open communication and welcome early conversations so we can give clear guidance before a booking is made. Our aim is to be transparent and supportive, helping families make informed decisions.

On the Day

Parents/carers must remain contactable at all times while their child is attending. If a child becomes distressed or we are unable to safely support their needs, we may ask for early collection.

Ongoing Review

We regularly review our provision and communications to ensure clarity and fairness. Feedback from parents and carers is always welcomed.

Description supplied by the event organiser.