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Your name and role: Lilian Christine Dehnel About yourself: Assistant Principal at Bridge Academy: An alternative provision in Milton Keynes that encompasses a pupil referral unit, a medical and mental health provision and an alternative 6th form which Christine operationally leads.  An educator for over twenty years, with the last eight being in alternative schools, and a final year doctoral student with Buckingham University.  Christine is passionate about improving student’s life opportunities through education and her provision was recently recognised as an outstanding sixth form for the work it does supporting and inspiring young people into career paths.  Article summary: In this blog, we hear from Christine Dehnel, Assistant Principal at Bridge Academy in Milton Keynes and a final-year doctoral student at Buckingham University, who has spent over twenty years dedicated to education — with a special passion for alternative provision. Christine shares insights from her doctoral research, exploring what headteachers in alternative schools across England say about animal-assisted approaches. While previous studies often highlight improvements in attendance, behaviour, and wellbeing, Christine’s research goes further, focusing on sustained, real-world interventions. Her findings reveal that beyond the academic benefits, the most powerful impacts are offering young people positive experiences and supporting staff wellbeing. Drawing on outstanding practice from case studies, Christine invites us to rethink how animals can play a vital role in nurturing students and boosting staff morale. If you’re curious about innovative strategies that could shape the future of alternative education, this is a must-read.   Introduction The romanticised “man’s best friend” has seen the involvement of dogs supporting humans develop immensely over the last one hundred and fifty years.  From Sigmund Freud’s use of dogs in children’s therapy, to the growth in diabetic support animals to detect changes in sugar levels, we have embraced the skills and unconditional love these animals can provide.  The latest rise of bringing dogs into schools has a growing research base that supports various school improvements from attendance to behaviour, and there are claims that dogs are making a difference in school settings internationally.  My thesis aims to explore if there is a role for dogs in England’s alternative schools.  Alternative schools across England make up less than 1% of the educational system but work with the country’s most challenging and vulnerable young people who for whatever reason, mainstream school is not appropriate.  From additional educational needs to behaviour challenges, or medical reasons, these students are not able to access mainstream school.  My work sets out to gather the national picture on the involvement of dogs in alternative schools across England and find out if this is just a passing fad with animal enthusiastic headteachers, or if there is a beneficial role for animal-assisted approaches in these provisions.    The National Survey A national survey was carried out in May 2022, which was sent to all 338 registered alternative schools across England for their input into the interventions they supported in school and the perceived most impactful.  Overall, the results revealed that headteachers perceived one-to-one reading interventions as the most impactful support to be offered to young people.  This was followed by therapeutic interventions, group social sessions, and in-class support for students.  Animal-assisted approaches were not in the top five interventions that headteachers found to make the most impact. This is not surprising given that animal assisted approaches were reportedly being undertaken in just under half of schools that participated in the survey.  Many settings without animals cited the cost to the school, risk assessments, and care of the animal in the holidays as reasons for not exploring this, all of which are valid reasons, and need careful consideration for schools contemplating this type of support.  However, there were schools with sustained animal-assisted approaches in place, and these schools then made up my collective case study, to explore the role of the dog further and what was driving this as sustained practice.   The Case Study Findings My thesis explored four different alternative settings across England, with varying specialisms and varying student population, all with over three years of sustained animal-assisted approaches in place.  I wanted to delve beyond the novelty effect and really explore why these schools had continued with interventions involving dogs when nationally there were other interventions having greater perceived impact on student attainment.  What I discovered was unexpected, and yet a powerful foundation for further research.  The most common theme from the case studies was the positive experience having a dog in school provided for young people.  Secondly, it was a boost to staff wellbeing and thirdly it allowed children to have a positive attachment in school.    In addition to these themes which were identified from interviews with staff and headteachers from each school, there were also similar best practice elements discovered in making animal-assisted approaches sustainable for the school.  In each case study the headteachers of these schools were invested in the approach. The dog was not in school every day, it ranged from one day a week to several but not all five days.  The dogs were all small to medium breeds and over two years old with mild temperaments.  And finally, they had dedicated handlers for the dogs to ensure their welfare in school.  In further exploring the themes that emerged, I examined the concept that providing young people with positive childhood experiences may be able to counterbalance adverse childhood experiences to give vulnerable young people better life chances as they become adults.  Adverse childhood experiences can have life limiting effects into adulthood, and this idea additionally links to a re-framed concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs proposed by Kaufman.  His model explores safety and connection as a foundation for learning and purpose to be understood in oneself (Figure 1).  Figure 1: Kaufman’s sailboat model (2021) to explain need His work alongside that of Carter on the trauma responsive classroom both identify how important co-attunement is in providing young people with a foundation to enable learning. This refers to a shared emotional resonance and connection

Your name and role: Associate Professor of Education at Swansea University. About yourself: Helen is Chair of the National School Dog Alliance, and is passionate in helping colleagues establish happy, healthy school dog programmes. Article summary: In this blog, Helen reflects on why the NSDA was developed, and why she thinks it is so important. Why We Need a National School Dog Alliance (NSDA) If you’ve ever seen the excitement in a child’s eyes when a dog walks into their classroom, you’ll know just how powerful that moment can be. Schools all over the world are embracing the idea of having dogs on-site to help boost student wellbeing, engagement, motivation, and social skills. Research has shown that dogs in schools can help reduce anxiety in children, promote emotional regulation, and even encourage the development of empathy. In an age where mental health is rightfully being prioritised, these are huge gains. Just imagine a child who struggles with social interaction, quietly sitting next to a calm dog, petting it and feeling a sense of peace they rarely get in a busy classroom. It’s a beautiful thing, if we get the right child, with the right dog in the right context.  ‘Pawsing for thought’ But here’s the catch: without proper guidance and structure, not all children, or dogs are going to benefit equally. In fact, it could go terribly wrong. The realities of bringing a sentient animal into an already busy school context needs careful preparation, planning and managing. ‘Tails of the Unexpected’ A recent study we conducted involving over 1,000 teachers across the globe revealed some surprising, and frankly, concerning findings. While most teachers are excited about the potential benefits of having dogs in their classrooms, they’re also facing unexpected challenges. Problematic incidents happen, and many teachers say that they just aren’t prepared to handle them. This is not surprising – teachers are talented, hardworking and creative, but most are not trained dog handlers. Some teachers reported feeling completely out of their depth when it came to working with a dog alongside their learners. What if a child is terrified of dogs? What if the dog becomes anxious and reacts in a way that could be unsafe? These are real issues that need addressing. In our research project, when we analysed video material of interactions between children and dogs, whilst most were joyful, we also saw times when dogs were clearly feeling stressed. And it gets more complicated. Many schools are adopting dogs without any formal guidance or experience. The practices vary widely. Some dogs belong to a staff member and come to school every day, while others visit periodically through established organisations. The problem is, for schools going it alone, there’s no consistent approach, and no freely available ‘go-to’ set of guidelines to ensure that these interactions are positive and productive for everyone involved. How can the NSDA make a difference? So, where do we go from here? This is where the National School Dog Alliance can step in. We hope that the NSDA can become a game-changer by bringing together academics, educators, allied professionals, canine behavioural experts, and policymakers to create a cohesive community to promote discussion around effective principles to integrate dogs into schools. Imagine a world where every teacher who wants to introduce a dog into their classroom has access to case studies, resources and best practice exemplars. Where every school has clear guidelines on how to manage the dog’s welfare, alongside the wellbeing of the children. And where there is a body lobbying towards national standards for evaluating the impact of having a dog in the classroom. That’s the future we need to aim for. The NSDA will also provide much-needed support for teachers who are eager but unsure how to proceed. It would serve as a network where educators can access training, get advice, and even share their experiences. And it wouldn’t just stop at the UK—there’s potential for international collaboration, sharing knowledge between countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond. This would allow for a rich exchange of ideas and best practices, ensuring that no matter where you are, the integration of dogs in schools is done with care, precision, and attention to detail. The most exciting part? The NSDA won’t just be about guidelines and policies—it would be about creating a true community. Teachers, dog trainers, researchers, and students would all have a role to play in shaping the future of school dogs. Our website would be the key vehicle for sharing resources, but more importantly, for fostering conversations. Imagine being able to tune in to a podcast where international experts discuss key issues relating to all things canine or attend an online conference where teachers can meet with canine experts, policymakers, and even researchers from universities across the globe. Or having the opportunity to recognise the work of your school’s dog through the UK School Dog of the Year competition. The discussions would be rich, and the potential for change immense. So yes, school dogs have the potential to make a massive difference in the lives of children—but only if we get it right. We hope that the National School Dog Alliance will be a vehicle to help us do just that. Let’s build this together and ensure that every child who encounters a dog in their school has a safe, positive, and transformative experience. It’s time to turn this wonderful idea into something that works for everyone, including the dogs. References or further reading Lewis, Helen, Godfrey, Janet Oostendorp, Knight, Cathryn (2023) Tales of the unexpected: Teacher’s experiences of working with children and dogs in schools, Human-Animal Interactions. www.cabidigitallibrary.org