Comment

MAY

2013

18

Lending a friendly canine ear to help teach children to read

Danny the listening dog helps a pupil during a reading class at Mapleelds school near Corby.

In the beginning
The Bark and Read Foundation was set up by The Kennel Club in 2011 to support charities and community projects looking to promote the use of dogs to help children learn to read. While its major partners are bigger charities, including Pets as Therapy and Dogs Helping Kids, the scheme has also discovered a number of local projects looking to get trained assistance dogs into schools. The scheme builds on work pioneered in the UK in 2003 by greyhound owner Tony Nevett. While studying for a degree in animal assisted therapy, Tony discovered the use of Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) in the US, also known as listening dogs. He then trained his greyhound, Scott Kelly, as Europes rst READ dog and started going into schools lending a friendly, hairy dog ear during reading classes. Tony admits schools were initially sceptical about his venture, but he has now visited around 40 schools most focusing on children with learning or behaviour issues in the past 10 years. Many of these schools now host regular READ sessions and literacy levels in some have gone up by seven per cent after the introduction of the canine visitors. He now goes into schools with his second READ greyhound Danny, who is becoming a star in his own right and has his own series of childrens books. Speaking about the effect Danny has on children, Tony told VN Times: It helps build self esteem he doesnt criticise the child for spelling out words and, when theyre reading, the kids stroke Danny, which helps lower their blood pressure and calm them down. Some of these children come from difcult or abusive homes they are maybe not good with adults, but theyve got nothing against Danny; the dog really does have a therapeutic benet. Tonys big dream is to have a dog in every school. All people need to do is get their dogs assessed and trained as therapy dogs via a charity, such as Pets as Therapy or The Blue Cross, and they can do this with their own dogs, he says. Tony Nevett and Danny his listening dog regularly visit Crufts to help promote the Bark and Read Foundation.

The Mapleelds story

UK looking to support the training of more READ dogs. She told VN Times: There are an awful lot of individual and One school that has beneted hugely from Tonys visits is Mapleelds School near Corby, which specialises in educating small charities out there doing this, but theyre operating in children with behavioural and emotional problems. isolation and only locally. Danny even achieved a namecheck in the schools March We need to make sure these guys are not out of pocket, 2013 Ofsted report. have appropriate training, and schools know how and where An inspector noted: Danny the reading dog is a regular to nd them. and very popular visitor to the school. In one session involving Were trying to nd the people that are doing this already Year Six there was a wonderfully calm and relaxed atmosphere, and give the scheme as much press as possible. which gave one pupil in particular the condence to read out Currently, people wanting to get their dogs READ assessed loud to the greyhound, whose head rested on the pupils knee. and trained need to go through Pets as Therapy or The Blue There was complete empathy between the boy and the dog, Cross, but Ciaras team is working to create universal assesswho was a non-judgemental listener. ment standards, so people who want to get involved can get Mapleelds head teacher trained through small, local charities Lynda Morgan said staff had tried or dog trainers. There was complete empathy everything to get some of the pupils Urging veterinary nurses to to read, but Dannys presence now get involved and help nd between the boy and the dog, who means they cant stop. volunteers, she said: If practices Its been absolutely brilliant havwas a non-judgemental listener. know people in the community who ing them here over the past year, are doing this already they need she says. to let them know theres funding I can think of one little boy who wasnt interested in readavailable we provide grants up to 1,000. ing at all and now you nd him reading to Danny slowly for up Practices are seeing people every day and know whats to 30 minutes at a time you have to stop him reading now. going on in the local community, so vets and nurses could help You have to see it to believe it and the kids really look forward link up one side with the other. Responsible dog owners, such to each Thursday. as retired teachers, looking for something to do with their time, Like Tony, Lynda wants to encourage more people and would be absolutely perfect, but this sort of scheme might not pooches to join the Bark and Read scheme in their area. have occurred to them. She added: Its just one day a week and we have to share Ciara continued: Wed like to see the scheme available to Danny and Tony with other schools if we could have them every child across the UK who needs it whether its through every day it would be brilliant, but you do need someone who after-school clubs, local libraries or other schemes. is trained and knows what theyre doing with their dog. Every year at Crufts we meet parents and volunteers and I would really encourage people to get involved if theyre we get such positive responses from people, asking how to do interested in promoting READ dogs in their area. it but we need a presence in every area so were asking people to take a leap and do it for themselves. Bark and Read will help with funding and making sure the dogs and people Bark and Read needs you are properly trained. Ciara Farrell is library and collections manager at The To nd out more about the Bark and Read Foundation, Kennel Club and also heads up the Bark and Read Foundation, which provides funding for big and small charities around the visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/barkandread

VNT13.05 Master.indd 18

22/04/2013 13:43

Photo: HEIDI HUDSON

MERICAN comic W C Fields is credited with the adage never work with animals or children, but what did he know? Every VN, however, knows animals are good for you. For many nurses, the mental and physical benets of being around pets and making those pets healthier is the main reason they took up the profession. And animals and children go together pretty well too, as schools, charities and volunteers involved in the Bark and Read scheme are nding out.

Emma Cooper VN Times assistant editor, speaks to the teachers and volunteers championing the use of listening dogs in schools