Winnie
We are excited to announce that we are about to welcome a wellbeing dog, Winnie, into our school. The ‘Dogs Connect’ organisation will support us in implementing this very gradually, thoroughly and considerately. Anyone who would like to know more about Dogs Connect can visit the website below.
Winnie is a one year old golden labrador. She will become a much loved and important member of our school community. Initially, Winnie will be here a couple of days a week and only for a few hours. As she relaxes and gets more used to a school environment her involvement and activities in day to day school life will broaden.
We would also like to assure the community that anyone who does not wish to be involved with Winnie is under no obligation at all. We know that Winnie will have a really positive impact on many people in our community, and we acknowledge and respect that connection with our wellbeing dog will be offered on a great variety of levels.
Working with dogs has been shown to benefit students in many ways including;
- improved motivation,
- improved academic skills such as reading fluency and comprehension,
- a sense of security and trust building,
- the offering of unconditional acceptance, and
- promotion of character traits such as caring, cooperation, compassion, empathy, gratitude, humanity, nurturance, patience, perseverance, respect, responsibility, self-control, self-esteem and service.
Although working with animals comes with many benefits, it also comes with inherent risks. When working with animals we cannot be one hundred percent sure that their behaviour will always be predictable. The dog will be carefully monitored at all times.
We are aware that a range of considerations need to be taken into account for the introduction of a Wellbeing dog to be successful. If your child has an allergy, fear of dogs or does not wish to interact with Winnie in any way, could you please contact the front office on 69591744 and inform them.
Mrs Langley