Therapy Dog support takes the form of 1:1 or group sessions and these are delivered both inside and outside the classroom environment, depending on the priorities and needs of the student or learner.

There are many evidenced benefits that therapy dog support but some of the main areas we work on are:

• Providing positive experiences (e.g. through fun activities such as enrichment games)
• Supporting the social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing of students (e.g. stroking Nico to relieve stress and anxiety)
• Sensory regulation (e.g. alerting and calming activities)
• Supporting students in transitions (e.g. lead walking, exploring less familiar areas, moving between locations)
• Supporting students to recognise and understand emotions (e.g. identifying feelings in Nico as these are often physical such as tail wagging, panting, lying down)
• Modelling roles and responsibility (e.g. dog care)
• Enhancing executive functioning skills (e.g. planning, organisation, sequencing)
• Supporting motor skills and coordination (e.g. creating obstacle courses and giving commands)
• Supporting social interactions  (Nico is an attentive listener and doesn’t expect anything in return)
• Developing confidence in interactions with dogs (e.g. working with students who identify that they would like to feel less nervous around dogs – note: this is always led by the individual themselves)
• Supporting educational targets (e.g. reading, PE, Science)