Rosie the Pastoral Pup

Rosie

We are delighted to be able to introduce Rosie, our newest member of staff here at TFS. We hope that she will become an integral part of the school and play an important part in our commitment to ensuring the mental health and wellbeing of all of our students. We will be training Rosie as a school dog, and in time we plan to train her to become a fully qualified Pet Therapy Dog.

In preparation for our new arrival we have liaised closely with other schools within our Trust that have already successfully introduced a school dog into the environment, and we will continue to work with and share and develop best practice.

What are the benefits of having a school dog?

Numerous research studies have shown the benefits of therapy dogs in schools. Therapy dogs have been working in schools for a number of years across the UK. However, they have been commonplace in schools in the USA and Australia for many years.

Evidence indicates that benefits include:

• Cognitive – companionship with a dog stimulates memory, problem-solving and game-playing
• Social – a dog provides a positive mutual topic for discussion, encourages responsibility, wellbeing and focused interaction with others
• Emotional – a school dog improves self-esteem, acceptance from others and lifts mood, often provoking laughter and fun. Dogs can also teach compassion and respect for other living things as well as relieving anxiety.
• Physical – interaction with a furry friend reduces blood pressure, provides tactile stimulation, assists with pain management, gives motivation to move, walk and stimulates the senses
• Environmental – a dog in a school increases the sense of a family environment, with all of the above benefits continuing long after the school day is over.
• Reading – reading to dogs has been proven to help children develop literacy skills and build confidence, through both the calming effect the dog’s presence has on children as well as the fact that a dog will listen to children read without being judgemental or critical. This comforting environment helps to nurture children’s enthusiasm for reading and provides them with the confidence to read aloud.

We hope you will agree that welcoming Rosie to TFS will be a positive addition to our school family, however if you have any concerns regarding this then please email kyork@theferrers.org with the heading “School Dog”.