Dog is 'top resource' for pupil wellbeing - school

Springer Spaniel Maya has been helping pupils at a school in Selby

The emotional and mental wellbeing of pupils at a school in North Yorkshire has improved thanks to the use of pet therapy, staff there have said.

Maya, a four-year-old Springer Spaniel, was introduced to Longman’s Hill Primary School, in Selby, two years ago.

Since then, she had helped reduced separation anxiety, improve attendance and reading habits among students, staff members said.

Suzanne Perkins, SEND teaching assistant at the school, said Maya was the school's "top resource" for helping children at the school.

Maya is the family dog of deputy headteacher Liz Rhodes, who said that while she was not a therapy dog trained by any charity, she was still the perfect fit in class because of her breed.

Ms Rhodes said: “She has grown up with children, is very sociable with humans, loves to be stroked and doesn’t have any sensitive areas.”

Bringing an animal into a school setting still involved a lot of risk assessments which the school did very carefully, Ms Rhodes said.

Those included giving Maya proper boundary training, while staff from a dog charity also came along to teach children how to behave around dogs.

Maya has helped students with separation anxiety and reading habits, staff say

Ms Perkins said one boy who previously did not like reading out loud would happily read a full book to Maya.

Meanwhile, another pupil, who was autistic and found playtime quite stressful, would ask to go see Maya as a reward to cool down, she said.

While the school carried out "lots of pastoral care" and interventions, "Maya is our top resource", Ms Perkins added.

“She loves children, she loves adults, she loves everybody."

Headteacher Jan Elcock said the school placed “very high importance on promoting children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing".

“We strongly believe that if children are not regulated and happy they won’t be able to learn," she explained.

Casey, a pupil at the school, said: “When I grow up I want to be a vet and look after pets to return Maya’s kindness.”

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