This Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re celebrating more than just the wellbeing benefits our school dogs bring—we’re shining a light on their growing role 
in strengthening school communities across the UK
With this year’s theme, “The Importance of Community,” we’ve taken time to reflect on the deeper impact our canine-assisted learning (CAL) dogs are having across school life. And what we’ve seen is incredible: our CAL dogs are not just supporting individuals; they’re weaving connections between students, staff, and families—quietly but powerfully helping build a school culture grounded in care, trust, and togetherness.
School Dogs at the Heart of a Connected School
It’s easy to talk about CAL in terms of 1:1 support and that remains essential. But what’s becoming increasingly clear is that our dogs offer something broader: a shared experience. They’re becoming part of the school identity, a living, breathing symbol of what it means to belong.
Here’s how our school dogs are helping us build community every day:
A Common Bond for Students
Our dogs are a unifying presence, they help students connect through their shared relationship and special bond with a a commonality that fosters conversations, friendships, and mutual understanding—especially in students who might otherwise struggle to interact with others.
A Gentle Bridge for Emotional Support
Students who find it difficult to express their feelings often open up more freely around the dog during sessions. But what’s powerful is that these moments also happen in shared spaces in the form of walk and talk sessions and outdoor play sessions – making mental health support more visible, accessible, and normalised across the whole school.
Encouraging Peer Collaboration
From walking rotas to reading sessions, caring for our dogs isn’t a solo task. It’s a group effort that teaches teamwork, empathy, and communication. Students of different ages and backgrounds work together—and that collaboration builds respect and community spirit.
Strengthening School Culture
The presence of our dogs creates a calm, warm atmosphere that benefits everyone—not just the students accessing intervention. Staff members drop in for a quiet moment; pupils smile more; visitors feel welcomed. It’s an emotional shift that you can feel.
🐾 Celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week 2025
This week our practitioner affiliate teams are taking time to acknowledge all the quiet ways our dogs are helping us come together
Hosting group walks to promote movement and mindfulness
Offering “paws and talk” drop in spaces for informal check-ins for students who do not usually have 1:1 sessions
Running group sessions and games
Encouraging students to write about how the dog helps them feel connected
- Working with our specialist AAI topic resources
These aren’t just wellbeing activities—they’re moments of community in action.
Our school dogs remind us that community is not built through grand gestures, but through small, shared moments: a calm moment, a lunchtime chat, a group walking the dog together in quiet companionship. These moments make students feel safe. Seen. Part of something special.