Silchester Church of England Primary School

Wilma is a fully trained and registered Canine Concern Dog.  She trained as a Guide Dog for the Blind but after being hit by a car, Wilma had a change of career to become a Canine Concern Dog.  The primary aim of Canine Concern is to bring animal companionship and comfort to others by means of visits from volunteers and their registered temperament assessed pets.  Having carried out the appropriate risk assessments and policy required; Wilma is now an official member of our staff team and visits the children weekly. 

Research has shown many benefits to therapy and reading dogs in school settings.  School dogs have been proven to help develop children’s reading skills, improve behaviour, attendance and academic confidence, as well as increasing student understanding of responsibility and in the development of empathy and nurturing skills.  At Silchester CofE Primary School, we hope that a school dog will be a beneficial addition to our therapeutic offer, in addition to the interventions and enrichment we already offer.

Animal assisted interventions (also known as AAI’s) can:

• Teach empathy and appropriate interpersonal skills;
• Help individuals develop social skills;
• Be soothing;
• Improve a child’s ability to pick up on social cues which are imperative to human relationships;
• Therapy dogs have been shown to support emotional regulation through the positive impact on the autonomic nervous system
• Experience increased motivation for learning, resulting in improved outcomes;
• Therapy dogs are being used to support children with their social and emotional learning needs, which can also aid literacy development.

Research into the effects of therapy dogs in schools is showing a range of benefits including:

• Increase in school attendance;
• Improved confidence;
• Decreased pupil anxiety resulting in improvements in learning, such as increases in reading and writing levels;
• Improved motivation to learn;
• Enhanced relationships with peers and teachers due to experiencing trust and unconditional positive interactions with a therapy dog;
• Helping children learn how to express their feelings and enter into more trusting relationships.
• Increase social skills and self-esteem
• Teach responsibility and respect to all life

We are fully aware and totally appreciate that dogs are not for everyone. If your child has a phobia of dogs, allergy to pets or would rather not be included for this visit for any reason – that is totally fine.  No child will ever be pressured into meeting Wilma.