'School mental health schemes need government cash'

Dianne said Benny the therapy dog was "sensitive to my needs"

There should be more government funding for mental health support for children, a primary school that is using dog therapy sessions for some of its pupils has said.

Dedworth Green First School in Windsor is providing resilience workshops and weekly dog therapy sessions thanks to funding from charity Well Windsor, which launched a mental health project in November 2024.

Describing the service as "vital", assistant headteacher Rachel Walton said: "It shouldn't be down to charities [to fund sessions] it should be down to government."

Department for Education said it was "committed to ensuring there is access to specialist mental health professionals in every school".

Rachel Walton's school is providing resilience workshops and weekly dog therapy sessions thanks to funding from charity Well Windsor

Dedworth Green First School is one of 12 schools in Windsor receiving support from Well Windsor.

"We are seeing a rise in children's mental health, and they are getting younger and younger," Ms Walton said.

"We need to put in preventative measures before they get to adolescence."

Ms Walton added sessions needed to be "widely spread throughout every community".

According to national mental health charity Mind, 1 in 5 children and young people in England have a mental health problem.

Benny is a five-year-old cockapoo

Dianne is one of the pupils in Windsor benefitting from the sessions with Benny the therapy dog.

"I just wanted [Benny] to be my best friend because he's so lovely and I feel like he's so sensitive to my needs," she said.

Therapy dog handler Karen Bazazan-Noghani, who works with Well Windsor, said: "One of the things I tell the children is to be calm, then Benny will be calm. If you are excited Benny gets excited... so for every action, there's a reaction.

"Sometimes you can hear children whispering to him... because he isn't going to say anything so they can share their secrets with him safely."

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said it was "determined to give young people growing up in our country the best start" and "prioritising mental health by reforming the Mental Health Act, to ensure people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care".

They said the department had launched a resource hub for school and college mental health leads and was recruiting more than 8,500 mental health workers .across children's and adult services.