Therapy dog having 'magical impact’ at Larne primary school

Nessa, a five-month-old labradoodle, was received by the Sallagh Park school in April and will be fully-trained by April 2024.

She is one of eight pups being trained by Assistance Dogs NI ahead of becoming therapy dogs for schools across Northern Ireland.

Commenting on the new member of the school community Marian Mann, vice principal, said: “Although Nessa isn’t yet fully trained and, as such, isn’t officially a working dog yet, she’s been coming into school with me every day since she was three months old.

"She spends most of her time in the principal’s office but does come into contact with pupils frequently throughout the day – when walking along the corridor or practicing her training in the PE hall.

"When we bump into the children, we always stop to say hello and the children are really excited to see her. Staff have talked to them about Nessa’s training, so they understand she isn’t ready to work just yet.

"But, having her in school, we’ve already observed the positive impact that she’s having on the whole school community, pupils, staff and parents.

"Parents stop at the school gates in the morning to say hello to Nessa and they enjoy spending a few moments chatting with Nessa and their child(ren). It’s a lovely way to start the day and the children come into school happy and relaxed.

"We have many dog lovers among our staff who frequently call into the office to spend some time with Nessa. One or two members of staff even enjoy taking her for a walk during their lunch break.

"She definitely brings some calm to what is a very busy working environment and it’s been lovely to see staff taking a few moments out of their day to relax or play with Nessa.

"Nessa’s impact on the children is quite magical. Simply by being there she creates a sense of calm and contentment. If a child is finding it difficult to come into school in the morning, or is struggling to separate from their parent/carer, Nessa will spend a bit of time with them before walking them to their classroom.

“Similarly, if a child isn’t having such a great day, usually a short time spent with Nessa is enough to turn things around. Nessa can usually achieve in five minutes what an adult would struggle to do in 30 minutes. It’s hard to put into words how she impacts the children in the way that she does, but she just does.

"Nessa and her siblings train together in Belfast every Friday afternoon – led by Gary and Shirley, dog trainers with ADNI - and I continue this training (practice) with her throughout the week.”

The primary school, which provides learning opportunities for mainstream pupils as well as pupils with additional needs, received Nessa after becoming aware of a post on social media about therapy dogs.

Mrs Mann stated: “Moyle PS is a school with a very strong pastoral focus. Nurturing our pupil’s emotional health and wellbeing is central to what we do because we understand that education is more than just teaching children how to read and write.

"Over recent years, we have noticed a significant increase in numbers of our children presenting with more complex needs such as ASD, ADHD, specific learning difficulties, speech language and communication difficulties and increased anxiety.

"Coming back to school, post-Covid, it also became apparent that many of our children were struggling from the fall-out of having spent so much time in isolation, away from their peers. As well as the obvious gaps in learning we began to notice that many of the children were anxious, emotional and a bit overwhelmed.

“At the beginning of this academic year, I came across a post on the Assistance Dogs NI (ADNI) Facebook page by chance, which showed photographs of their therapy dog, Lexi, visiting a school. Although, I was familiar with the charity and knew that they provided disability and assistance dogs, I wasn’t aware that they also provided therapy dogs for school.

"The timing was perfect. I contacted the charity and arranged for Lexi to come into school for two hours per week. This gave us the opportunity to see what a therapy dog could provide in school which led to us making an application, to the charity, for our own full-time therapy dog.

"Watching Lexi interact with the children it was apparent that a dog can provide emotional containment in a way that adults just can’t. By just being there, Lexi helped the children to feel regulated and calm. He allowed them to just be present in the moment, rubbing his belly or stroking his back, without any expectation for them to talk or answer questions. The intervention is so simple, yet more effective than most other’s we’ve implemented.”

Encouraging other schools to consider applying for a therapy dog, Mrs Mann, who is the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator, added: “I’d highly recommend a therapy dog to any other school. Schools are inclusive environments, so every school has pupils presenting with additional needs who will struggle with many aspects of the school environment.

"A therapy dog brings so much joy to a school and it benefits all members of the school community. Although, the initial costs are high, over the course of the dog’s working life, it’s a very cost-effective intervention.”

An online fundraising page has been set up to support Nessa’s training. If you would like to donate, click here

The effort has been backed by Irish Premiership winners Larne FC. Club legend Jeff Hughes called into the school with the Gibson Cup to see Nessa.

For more information about school therapy dogs and the work of Assistance Dogs NI, check out https://adni.org.uk/