🌱 About us
Our mission
Every child who comes here is asked one thing: what do you want to know?
Not what year group are you, not what can’t you do, not what’s the diagnosis. Just what’s interesting to you — and then we build from there, with 70 animals to build it with.
We want children to leave knowing something they didn’t, having done something they weren’t sure they could, and having spent an hour where nothing was wrong with them. For some that means confidence and regulation. For others it means a genuine route into biology, animal care or a career they hadn’t thought of. Often it’s both.
And we know that behind every child is a family who has usually been fighting for something for a long time. We keep proper records, write reports that are actually usable, and give straight answers about whether we can help — because families have had enough of being managed.
Our story
I started Pets on the Green not long out of school, after spending a large part of my own school career unable to get through the gates.
I have autism, ADHD, ARFID and severe anxiety. I had an EHCP, moved to NESCOT’s 14–16 provision, and spent time in hospital. Through all of it, the thing that consistently helped was animals — not because anyone prescribed it, but because animals ask nothing of you, don’t mind if you get it wrong, and don’t need you to explain yourself.
I started with a few pets and a plan to let other people have that too. It became 70 animals, a licensed setting, a van, a Level 3 qualification in animal-assisted therapy, and provision that local authorities now commission.
The whole thing runs on something I arrived at the hard way: a child who can’t cope in a classroom isn’t a child who can’t learn. They’re a child who hasn’t yet been given somewhere that works the way they do.
How we got here
Pets on the Green didn’t start as a business. It started with a few animals and a girl who couldn’t get into school.
I was fourteen, had an EHCP, and had been out of education for the best part of a year. Animals were the only thing that consistently helped — not because anyone prescribed them, but because animals ask nothing of you and don’t need you to explain yourself.
What grew from that is a licensed setting in Warlingham with over seventy animals, a van, a small team, and a service that local authorities now commission.
It has grown the way the need grew. Private encounters came first. Then birthday parties, then Scout and school visits, then care homes. Then families started asking whether their child could come regularly rather than once, and whether it could be written into an EHCP. That’s where the AAI provision came from — not from a business plan, from parents asking.
We now work with families across Surrey and the surrounding area, and with schools, care homes and community groups from Croydon out to Oxted and Reigate.
Where to find us
We’re in Warlingham, Surrey, twenty minutes from Croydon and within easy reach of Caterham, Oxted, Purley and the M25.
Our animal room is indoors, heated and air conditioned, so sessions run comfortably whatever the weather. There’s a flat driveway and a ramp into the room. Alongside it we have a sensory pod — a quiet, enclosed, low-arousal space — and outdoor runs and garden space for sessions that work better outside.
We also travel. Schools, care homes, Scout and Guide groups, community events and private parties across Surrey and the surrounding area.
What to expect when you visit · Directions and opening hours
Meet the team
Pets on the Green is a small team, and most of it is family. Between us we cover the sessions, the animals, the driving, the paperwork and the early-morning feeding.
I don’t deliver every private booking myself — it might be Phoebe or Alanah — so it’s worth knowing the faces before you arrive.
Meet the team
About me — Ciera O’Rourke, Founder and Lead Practitioner
I’ve worked professionally with animals across four settings: Purple Pets (Lingfield Pet & Exotics), full care of exotic and domestic species; The Reptile Barn, Epsom, as a reptile specialist; Freer Farm Boarding, boarding care and health monitoring; and Boo’s Pad Dog Grooming, Warlingham.
I trained at NESCOT and hold eleven City & Guilds qualifications in animal care — including Level 2 Technical Certificate in Animal Care, Principles of Animal Biology, Habitats and Rehabilitation, British Wildlife Species, and Level 1 units in handling, restraint, accommodation and movement of animals. I’m currently completing Year 1 of the Level 3 Animal Management diploma.
For the therapeutic side I hold three completed qualifications: the Level 3 Award in Animal Assisted Therapy — Oplex Careers (CPD certified), Higher Distinction; the Pet Therapy Course with ACS Distance Education; and an Animal Assisted Therapy Course with SLP.
My SEND and safeguarding training is through Care Learning — Safeguarding Children Level 3, Autism and Learning Disability, Positive Behaviour Support, Prevention and Management of Violence and Self-Harm, Mental Capacity and Mental Health Act — along with safeguarding through Children First and Understanding Young Minds through Virtual College by Netex. I’m the named Designated Safeguarding Lead for Pets on the Green.
In health and safety I hold Level 2 Health & Safety for Land Based Industries and Safe and Effective Working Practices in Land Based Industries, both City & Guilds via NESCOT, plus Health & Safety including COSHH and RIDDOR, and First Aid, through Care Learning.
I’m currently working towards the Level 3 Award in Education and Training.
Pets on the Green holds an Animal Activities Licence from Tandridge District Council (014153) and full public and employer’s liability insurance, and I’m Enhanced DBS checked. The business is VAT registered and a registered limited company.
I’m supported by a small hand-picked team. All AAI sessions are delivered by me personally.
