Teacher’s dogs in classroom?

[Sunnyday14558]

Our son starts school in September. We had a meeting this evening with the new class teacher and fellow parents and the teacher dropped on that she has two sausage dogs. She said she brings one into class and is going to bring the second into class next week and ‘hopes he gets on with the kids’. All the fellow parents made a lot of ‘awww’ sounds but honestly I was a bit surprised.
is this normal in schools? She also said that if any parents were uncomfortable she’d try and work something out. I’m nervous around dogs but mostly because I have a four year old boy who doesn’t have experience being around them. I feel in an awkward situation where I don’t want to be ‘that’ parent if I say I’m not happy but equally, maybe it’s ok? So confused

DS school has had a school.dog in the past. Belonged to a member of the SLT. He was a a large short hair breed. He cane in a couple of times a week. Children were allowed to walk him round the school perimeter (with the teacher) as a reward or also to help regulate behaviour. He was often there when school opened. DS really struggled to go in (fine when there) so from time to time would be invited to go in with the dog.

However before he came we had quite a lot of information from the school amd it was also mentioned to new parents viewing the school. He was a trained PAT dog and teacher was also trained. He was a low shed breed and we were asked about allergies and there was a plan for children who were nervous and for toileting. Dog was also insured.

The dog lived in the office when not working. Children could come and see it but more importantly the office gave it some time out.

They ca. E great but as with anything need to be properly 'managed'

To presume that all schools are perfectly managed and organised, with sound judgments always made, is very naive.

As someone with a dog allergy, I'm surprised that a teacher is allowed to bring dogs into school.

It's insidious. Drs will be taken their dogs to work at this rate. I like most dogs, but its getting out of control

If this is a genuine post I would ask for clarification from the headteacher regarding this. What the teacher has said and what the reality is might differ.

Also moving your child to the other class is unlikely to solve the issue - reception is set up as free flow. Yes they will have some parts of the day based in their own rooms but a lot of the day as part of the EYS framework is to be exploring and learning through play so usually activities are set up across both classrooms as well as any other learning areas they have access to (for us this is the playground and a room that connects the two reception classes, so your child is still likely to be in the room with the dogs at some point (if this is true).

This annoys me. I have multiple dogs. Dogs are great. But nobody considers whether a classroom environment is suitable for them and if being around kids all day is how they want to spend their day.
Dogs in school settings can be wonderful but they are essentially working and should be treated accordingly… given frequent breaks - and the children need to be trained to be around them.
Just bringing in a random pet is insane.

Mu daughter and I are very allergic to dogs so I’d obviously have a massive issue. I can’t believe this is allowed.

That is mental. At our school no dogs are allowed on school grounds, for obvious bloody reasons. I am a dog owner of the soppiest dog in the world, still would not have her in a classroom all day. Sausage dogs can be total arseholes unless a lot of work has been put into training.

I would not be happy with this at all. The teacher needs to find a dog walker/sitter like the rest of us.

Simply because there will always be children who are highly allergic to dogs while also exacerbating asthma. They may not be a majority but does this not count? If there is one child in a classroom allergic to peanuts the whole class is banned from bringing them in. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

In my son's school the year R teacher was married to a trainer of guide dogs and various Labrador were brought in as part of a training session but only for a 1 off pat type event. And this was at end of training so no I don't think she should bring her dog. I like dogs but 4 year old can be impulsive.

My 5 year old is asthmatic and allergic to dogs. I wouldn’t be happy about this at all.

Not to mention that dogs + unpredictable, loud and excitable kids are not a good combination. Huge avoidable risk. Why do people forget that dogs are animals and so should be treated as such?

I hope this isn’t true. Why do the fuckers need to be everywhere ?!?

I think there has to be some consideration that they know a few things and to not freak out every time something novel occurs because of lack of previous exposure. It's okay to question and not just assume that schools are out to murder children because they love dogs. We used to have science classes with spiders, snakes etc and none of the parents went batshit over it so a couple of sausage dogs and a conversation seems reasonable for the OP.

I worked in a school with an official school dog. It was great. Especially for children who were finding things difficult and really supported emotional regulation. They did have their own RA to assess everything and the dog was one that produces less allergens.

Some schools have school dogs or therapy dogs, and there can be huge benefits. Children will talk to a dog when they wouldn't talk to a human adult. I think though that those dogs have special training and full risk assessments are carried out.

In this situation I'd be worried that the year R classroom is quite a noisy place and that the dogs could feel overwhelmed - do they have somewhere to retreat to if they want a break from 30 children? If not that potentially exacerbate the risk of injury if the dog isn't in the mood to be petted or wants some peace and quiet

Completely ridiculous, I have a very well behaved trainable working dog who literally sleeps between the school runs and she would never be suitable to have in a classroom of 4 year olds. Someone needs to speak up and put their foot down. It sounds like someone got two dogs prone to separation anxiety and didn’t really think through the costs of having them and is now trying to make the school her dog sitter.

Who walks them and takes them for wees and poos all day? I sure hope they aren’t just shitting in the school yard where all the children roll around? What happens if they need to poo in the middle of phonics? Sorry, this screams school with poor leadership to me.

Probably because spiders and snakes are normally in a tank and less likely to lock jaws around a child’s body part if surprised. See also allergies. Really poorly thought out if this is true.

Hope the dog gives the kid really good advice

I like dogs, but they shouldn’t be allowed in a lot of places - including classrooms.

I wouldn't put a dog in that position, first of all. Way too overstimulating. It's also really unfair on kids who are allergic, autistic kids who are often rightly scared of dogs' unpredictability, kids who are easily distracted...

I love dogs, but am severely allergic to them.
This would not have been possible for me.
Personally I think this is nuts

There is an adult nearby listening in! The police and courts use dogs for this as well.

Our dog is a trained wellbeing dog but she has her own ‘office’ and children who benefit from her visit her there and take her for walks. This scenario you describe doesn’t sound right. I’d speak up about it

But, again, do you think the school never considered this with their health and safety, insurance etc?

It's so basic. Do you think schools just don't have the capacity to think or consider basic concepts? Do you think they weren't aware of dogs having teeth and children having allergies before implementing this as part of the curriculum?

It just seems strange to me.

Also, the OP doesn't mention her child having allergies so it's not a concern for her, anyway. It just derails the thread.

As for risk assessments, yes they’re needed, but if someone has already determined they want to do something, they’ll just make the risk assessment fit around that, and aren’t necessarily worth the paper they’re written on.