Cheltenham Animal Sanctuary

One organisation that has benefited from the Battersea Academy is Cheltenham Animal Shelter, a charity that has been helping animals since 1926.

After attending the one-week intensive programme, delegates from Cheltenham Animal Shelter returned to work ready to implement their new learnings and make a positive difference. As a priority, the charity introduced shelter metrics and trained others within their organisation on the topic. This included recording key metrics (occupancy, length of stay and departure) with the aim of reducing occupancy within their kennels.

By putting the strategies they had learnt into place, occupancy was reduced by 60% (60 dogs down to 25–35), which resulted in the average length of stay going from 62 days to 32 days. It also improved the level of care they are able to provide their dogs. For example, increased daily walking time from 10–15 minutes to 45–60 minutes, reduced noise levels, staff reporting less stress and more time for valuable staff training.

Cheltenham Animal Shelter’s learnings from the Academy programme have also resulted in improved stress management for the animals in their care, improved assessment and intake processes, and a new rehoming process. All of which are changes that it says would not have been possible without participation in the Battersea Academy. 

Nicky Spanswick, Operations Manager at Cheltenham Animal Shelter, says: “We would relive the Academy tomorrow if we could as it was so inspiring and a fantastic week.”