Headteachers personal dog in playground whats your opinion

Absolutely not. Any dog can turn at any time. I would be contacting govenors.

When I was a child at Primary school we were doing a topic on 'people who help us in rhe community' Various groups visited including the police. This included a police dog. Said dog flipped and bit several children. I still have a scar on my hand.
It was terrifying. We were ushered into class. and the dog was sedated and put to sleep.

I would complain personally, I am cautious with dogs and my children when we are out.

Wouldn't appreciate a dog at school

Me too. Lab or Golden Retriever no problem.

So wouldn't it be great for them to be around a calm, well behaved dog that they can observe from a distance, build up their confidence around and learn that not all dogs are terribly behaved? Wouldn't it be great if they learnt how to be around dogs and not be very nervous? This dog is not going to be a threat, it's not going to be jumping all over them or knocking anyone over. I think this is exactly what children like yours need.

It would depend on the dog…if it’s a calm lovely natured dog then this sounds like a lovely idea and I would be pro it. She doesn’t sound like she’s letting it wander about on its own (presumably it’s always supervised?) and so children who are afraid will have support, or not have to go near it. If my kids were scared of dogs I would welcome this as fear of dogs is actually a horrible thing to grow up with given they are all around us in public places, and so exposure to a calm friendly dog to help them get over this fear would be very helpful.

my kids nursery (ofsted outstanding and generally brilliant in every way) used to have the nursery managers dog in once a week. He was a very sweet teddy bear like cockapoo. The kids adored him and did dog theme activities / learning on the day he was in. It was my son’s fav day of the month and one of the only days the nursery staff would hear him speak when he talked to the dog and to the staff about the dog.

Re: the dog turning the playground unhygienic…lol! YABU here

My dc secondary school has a therapy dog who is great and the children love him. I wouldn't be happy about a head teacher bringing in their pet though.

DDs school had a school dog but it was trained not to react and was incredibly gentle. It helped DD1 who was terrified of dogs (she's still not keen but much better than she was) and DD2 loves animals.
However that's different to just bringing a random dog in. I wouldn't be happy but I expect complaints would be ignored.
I was thinking the other day it would be nice if DS's school had a dog. He's low functioning autistic but does love animals but then I remembered when he was at nursery a staff member brought in their tortoise and DS tried to pull it's leg so perhaps it's just as well there's no school dog.

I’ve been bitten by Labradors, never been bitten by any of the “ dangerous” breeds.

Training and personality is more important than breeding. Obviously then power of said dog is critical here too. No bully breed should ever be allowed in a school.

I would have loved this when i was at school! I think it's great and really good for kids that have a fear of dogs that their parents think is best treated by keeping them far away from all and any dogs. I'm allergic to dogs and cats but it wouldn't have put me off having a dog at school, I'd have loved it.

Of course random other dogs shouldn't be brought onto school grounds though, you could have all sorts of large, powerful dogs arriving with their completely irresponsible owners.

My concern would be for the dog if it is stressed and anxious due to the environment. If that's the case then it's not fair for it to be brought to school.

Love this response!

Perhaps all staff should do what they like and bring their pets into school. Just because she loves the dog doesn’t mean others do

I wouldn't be at all happy.
My children are all very nervous of dogs. They didn't start out like that but through hiking and the beach being our main pastimes, they've been chased, jumped up at, bowled over, barked at etc countless times (won't even get started on all the incidents that are simply disgusting rather than daunting). My husband has been bitten multiple times in his old line of work where he had to visit people in their homes. We know someone who was badly mauled with terrible consequences. Many dog owners are the scourge of society and anyone who bleats 'he's just playing/he wouldn't hurt you/he's friendly' deserves to be punched. And now increasingly even schools are not safe from constant threat of dogs. Completely unacceptable.

She will have risk assessed it.

Ridiculous. The headteacher is presumably earning a decent salary. Why can't she get a dog sitter?

I would ask to see if there has been a risk assessment carried out. I think it does also depend on the breed. I would also imagine that school will welcome parents views and feedback.

HT at DS old school had a lovely cocker spaniel he brought to school with him and I can genuinely say that she brought all the children much pleasure - but will also add she was very well trained and well socialised and had her own area during the day that she could rest in. I had no concerns

Parents at DDs school are allowed to take dogs onto the school playground at pick up and collection and over the last few years I have seen no issues. I will add as a dog owner myself, with an old dog (collie cross breed) and now also a very giddy puppy (spaniel) I have discussed with the HT about bringing puppy on the school run with me explaining she is giddy - HT has no concerns at all but as her owner I will be keeping her on a very short lead and have carried her a few times when she has been too excited - because I do appreciate that no child wants a dog jumping up at them. I do think it’s healthy for children (even one’s scared of dogs) to see dogs regularly to see that generally, dogs are not to be feared, and I do allow with close supervision, children to pet the dogs.

Possibly yes. We are rural so most kids grow up with dogs hence no allergies/fears of dogs. The kids get so much from being able to interact with the dogs, especially if they are upset/worried. They aren't trained therapy dogs but from what DD says, the majority act like they are 😆. Personally I feel really strongly that the dogs add a special aspect to the school.

Both kids have teachers' dogs in school and in the classrooms. There's lots of data on how beneficial it is for children. It has to be well managed like everything else. We play rugby in school, swing from the play set etc. School is not a risk free environment.

I didn't say no risk assessment. I said people don't risk assess their own dogs. Meaning they shouldn't because their view is biased. They can't remain impartial.

Same at my kids’ school, and their last. Reading the comments it’s feels like something perhaps more normal/ accepted in an independent school?

so it is not that unusual a scenario by the sounds of it

For me it depends entirely on how impartial the dog owner can be in the risk assessment.

I worked in one school where the DHT's dog came in and it was a great thing. It was a school with two separate buildings so allergies could be properly managed, the risk assessment was done properly and the time children spent with the dog was closely monitored and beneficial.

In another school the HT was completely blind to the fact her dog was entirely unsuitable. The dog frequently escaped her office and had to be chased around corridors barking its head off disrupting lessons. There were also at least 4 incidents where children or staff were nipped by the dog. Each time the HT managed to blame them - they were in the wrong place, they were too loud, or some other thing. At the pint I left staff were getting the union involved

I love dogs and used to take mine to school pick up BUT school had a no dogs policy so I waited in a corner by the gates so nobody had to walk past too closely if they didn't want to.
The Heads dogis not there to benefit the school or its pupils, its so she doesn't need doogy daycare or a walker I would imagine. its inapporopriate and shouldn't be allowed

i think you need to let the head make her own decision regarding this

This dog is a rescue personal pet, it is not a professional emotional/ support/ assistant dog (I know this as im within the school)

How long has the headteacher had the dog?

I understand your concerns, have you asked to see the risk assessment? It's also worth pointing out that many rescues won't rehome dogs to families with young children, I wonder if the rescue knew that the dog would be spending a lot of time in a busy school environment.