The Importance of Transparency and Training: Why Showcasing Your School Dog Matters
Featuring Calthorpe School and their CAL-Affiliate and Practitioner School Dogs
As the benefits of school dogs in education settings become increasingly recognised, so too does the responsibility to ensure their presence is safe, purposeful, and professionally managed. One of the most effective ways to communicate this is through transparency — and the school website is an ideal platform to demonstrate best practice.
Calthorpe School exemplifies how to do this well. Their website includes a dedicated section introducing their CAL-affiliated school dog, Luna, and clearly outlines their partnership with Canine Assisted Learning (CAL). They also provide a direct link to the CAL website, helping families and stakeholders understand the depth of training, safeguarding, and ethical standards behind their animal-assisted provision.
More than a school pet: a regulated, professional intervention
At Calthorpe School, animal-assisted support goes beyond simply having a trained resident dog on site. In addition to Luna, who is a CAL-affiliated school dog, the school also benefits from a visiting school dog twice a week, delivering specialist 1:1 interventions with a CAL-trained Animal Assisted Intervention Practitioner. These structured sessions are tailored to support the social, emotional, and cognitive needs of pupils — and are firmly grounded in evidence-based practice.
This dual approach — having both an on-site affiliate dog and a visiting intervention specialist — reflects a comprehensive and carefully considered strategy, rooted in CAL’s high standards of safety, welfare, and therapeutic impact.
Why showcasing this matters:
🔹 Accountability and safeguarding
CAL’s rigorous training ensures that all dogs and practitioners are equipped to work safely in educational environments. Making this visible to parents and governors builds confidence in the programme.
🔹 Professional credibility
By highlighting their collaboration with CAL, Calthorpe School makes clear that this is not an informal arrangement, but a structured and professionally supported intervention model.
🔹 Whole-school benefit
Through a combination of everyday therapeutic presence (via Luna) and targeted specialist work (via CAL’s intervention sessions), Calthorpe maximises the positive impact of animal-assisted learning for its pupils.
🔹 Transparency and communication
Openly sharing the training credentials, risk assessments, and partnerships behind the school dog programme demonstrates a responsible, forward-thinking approach — one that more schools are beginning to follow.
Calthorpe School’s clear communication and commitment to quality make them an excellent example of how to implement and showcase school dog provision professionally. We’re proud to be working with them, and we’re pleased to have permission to share Luna’s story on our platforms — look out for more on social media soon.