AAHEP - Association for Animals, Horticultural & Equine Practitioners

Organisational Membership 

Organisational Membership recognises organisations as operating in line with the standards of ethics and practice equivalent to those expected of individuals registered under the AAHEP UK-based PSA accredited register and provides clients, service users, and the public with the confidence that you, as a practitioner, have signed up to robust professional and ethical codes.

These include: 

• Robust and recognised Professional Standards.
• Ethical foundation and commitments.
• A core foundation of animal care.
• Robust and appropriate policies and procedures in place.
• Continuous professional development across the organisation.
• Effective internal practice of supervision and professional support.  

Benefits

As an Organisational Member of AAHEP you will receive, or have the opportunity to:

• An official digital logo (Organisational Member) for your website, social media, and correspondence.
• An annual Certificate of Organisational Membership.
• An Organisational Membership plaque that can be displayed at your offices or stables.
• Discounted individual membership (where appropriate qualifications exist) of the Accredited Practitioner Register bearing the important Quality Mark of the Professional Standards Authority.
• The ability to have your courses (Ofqual Level 3-6 equivalent) formally accredited by AAHEP.

Application

As an Organisational Member you will be formally bound by the requirements of registration, which are laid out in the Declaration of Compliance section of the application form. These are the same as those that support individual registration

This means that to become an Organisational Member, your organisation must agree to:

• The Ethical Basis for Good Practice in Animal and Equine Assisted Services
• The Framework of Professional Standards
• The defined levels of Continued Professional Development (CPD)
• The Duty of Candour
• The Framework for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Horses

In addition: 

• Preferably have been in existence for one year (new ventures may be accepted; please ask).
• Hold key policies in addition to those required for individual registration:
  • Health and Safety Policy.
  • Equality Diversity and Inclusion Policy.
  • Practitioner training and/or qualification guidelines, and
  • Employee and/or Volunteer policies.
  • Additional organisational insurance (where appropriate)

Qualified individuals can apply to the (PSA Accredited) Register under an organisational membership. However evidence of all relevant individual qualifications and other registrations must be provided. 

Application and membership fees for these sponsored applications are discounted. Also, where individuals do obtain registration in this way, they will only register for work with their sponsoring organisation.

Note: We can provide templates for the required policies for UK-based organisations. We do not supply templates for non-UK companies, as laws vary.

AAHEP does not charge an application fee for organisational membership, just a single annual fee (renewable from the 1st March each year). More information on membership costs can be found here on the (Membership Types page.

For more information please email: [email protected].