Guinea Pig — classroom & therapy handling pack 🛡️
Everything a school, childminder or therapy setting needs to bring an animal in safely: a risk assessment, hygiene guidance and a parent consent letter. This is the built-out template — every animal follows the same structure.
📋 Handling risk assessment
| Hazard | Who's at risk | Level | Control measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bites & scratches | Children, staff | Low | Calm, seated handling with adult supervision; support the whole body; no sudden movements. |
| Allergic reaction | Children, staff | Medium | Check allergies in advance; wash hands; keep the animal away from anyone affected. |
| Infection (zoonoses) | Everyone | Low | Handwashing before and after; no hand-to-mouth contact; cover cuts; clean housing regularly. |
| Animal stress or injury | The animal | Medium | Short sessions; limit the number of handlers; provide a quiet retreat; never force contact. |
| Dropping or escape | Animal, children | Low | Handle low down or over a soft surface; keep the enclosure secure; count the animal in and out. |
| Poor hygiene | Everyone | Low | Cleaning rota; separate area for food prep; gloves and aprons where appropriate. |
🧼 Hygiene & handwashing
- Everyone washes hands with soap before and after contact.
- No eating, drinking or hand-to-mouth contact during handling.
- Clean and disinfect the enclosure and equipment on a set rota.
- Keep animal food and bedding away from human food areas.
- Cover any cuts or grazes before handling.
⚠️ Allergies & zoonoses
- Gather allergy information for every child before the visit.
- Supervise all contact at a 1:1 or small-group ratio.
- Watch for signs of allergy (sneezing, rash, watery eyes) and stop if they appear.
- Guinea pigs are low-risk — good hygiene keeps it that way.
✉️ Parent / carer consent letter (template)
Dear Parent / Carer,
As part of our wellbeing and learning activities, we would like your child to take part in supervised handling of our class guinea pig. All contact is adult-supervised, and children wash their hands before and after. We follow a risk assessment and hygiene procedure (available on request).
Please let us know:
- ☐ I give permission for my child to take part.
- ☐ I do not give permission.
- ☐ My child has the following allergies: ______________________________
Child's name: ______________________ Class: __________
Parent / carer signature: ______________________ Date: __________
Adapt this template to your setting and add your logo before sending.
💡 This is the built-out Safe & Ready template. In the full product every animal has its own pack. Adapt to your setting's health, safety, safeguarding and animal-welfare policies. Informational only, not legal or veterinary advice.