Welcome to our Therapy Dog's page

We would like to introduce you to Icecube, our School Therapy Dog. We are really excited and happy to have him in our School. Our children will be able to benefit educationally and emotionally, increase their understanding of responsibility and develop empathy and nurturing skills through contact with a dog. It is for these reasons that we are delighted to formally introduce you and the children to ‘Ice Cube’ and hope the children can take great enjoyment from interactions with him. 

Ice Cube is a 5-month-old English Bulldog who is super sociable and loves a fuss.  His limited hobbies currently include; playing football, fetch, eating and he loves to roll around on his back with his legs in the air, awaiting belly rubs aplenty.  Ice Cube is used to children, is undergoing puppy obedience and will be assessed via Pets As Therapy (PAT).

The benefits of having dogs in schools are well documented and a recent study showed a reduction in stress levels in school children by comparing cortisol samples. The simple presence of a dog can have a positive impact on the well-being of pupils and staff, helping children who are feeling dysregulated or upset to feel calmer.  Attendance and attainment have also been shown to improve and research has also found that children who are less confident readers, typically read more fluently to a dog as they don't anticipate being corrected. 

As an initial pilot, our aim is that Ice Cube will begin by supporting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of pupils in Year 6 during their time in the forest school provision.  This will increase their understanding of responsibility and help to develop their empathy and nurturing skills. 

We appreciate there is a risk in bringing a dog into a school environment and have put a robust risk assessment and policy in place that outlines how we will care for and manage our dog and his activities in school.  This can be viewed on our Policies page.