Our School Dog

Lottie and Olive

Lottie's 2nd birthday! - April 2023

Lottie is our school dog. She is a friendly three year-old black Labrador and joined Cheltenham Bournside School in June 2021, when she was just 8 weeks old.

Lottie is a key member of our pastoral and culture team in the school. She is on-site daily, and works with students on an individual basis, as well as spending time with as many students as possible during social times. Lottie loves attention and cuddles and her presence at school never fails to put a smile on the faces of everyone who meets her throughout the day. We believe that animals can have a significant positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, and Lottie is brilliant at helping us all to be present in the moment.

We are committed to continuous professional development for ALL members of our team, and Lottie has been no exception! She worked hard to achieved the Gold Award in the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme in July 2022. In March 2024 she, alongside her handler Mrs Lees, worked through the training workshops together. Mrs Lees completed written assignements, and Lottie passed the temperament assessment with Therapy Dogs Training UK. They were awarded the TDT UK Therapy Dog Training Award.

In July 2024, Lottie became a mum, and we were so proud to welcome one of her pups to our school. Olive joined us in October this year when her brothers and sister left for their forever homes. She is undertaking the same training journey to hopefully following in her mum’s paw prints and become a fully qualified Therapy Dog in the coming years.

National School Dog Alliance

An exciting part of our journey is that Lottie and Olive, along with two of her other pups are working with the newly launched National School Dog Alliance. The NSDA brings together education professionals, researchers, veterinarians, charities and dog behaviourists, all with a shared interest in how to promote best practice in canine-assisted education. The alliance has been working together for 18 months and its website will launch in November 2024. Its vision is to see the right dog in the right school, working with the right learners.

The alliance aims to:

• provide high-quality guidance and resources to support positive human-school dog interactions
• establish a community in which innovative and research-informed practices are shared and discussed
• inform key stakeholders, including school leaders and policymakers, about current opportunities, issues and challenges
• educate teachers, children and handlers so that interactions are safe

The work of the alliance is based on core values of:

• Compassion: promoting compassionate human-dog interactions
• Respect: respecting dogs as sentient creatures
• Safety: ensuring the safety of all participants

As we see the launch of the Alliance we will start to follow the journey of Olive alongside Murphy, who is at Warden Hill Primary School, Cheltenham and Maggi, who is at Nancledra Pre-School in Penzance, Cornwall (pictured below).

Positive impact 

Studies have shown that school dogs can have a positive effect on students, from helping students who are struggling with things in school, reducing anxiety, improving reading confidence (by being read to), and generally being a calming influence. Children can benefit educationally and emotionally, increase their understanding of responsibility, and develop empathy and nurturing skills through contact with a dog. Children also tend to take great enjoyment from interaction with a dog.

Positive effects of having Lottie onsite, include:

• Learning, including reading and literacy
• Knowledge and understanding of animals
• Reducing stress
• Love and support for groups of students
• Developing self-esteem and interest, especially for some of our most vulnerable groups
• Anger management
• Coping with bereavement
• Developing responsibility
• A feel and sense of community
• Some curriculum involvement

Follow Lottie and Olive's Lead

Remembering Molly, our first school dog

Molly, a black Labrador Retriever from the same breeder as Lottie, joined the school in September 2020 and very quickly became a key member of the pastoral team. Molly was chosen as our first school dog because of her mild temperament and excellent behaviour. She had previously qualified as a Pets as Therapy dog and in 2017, was awarded first place in the Veteran’s Class and Reserve Best in Show in the Gloucestershire Labrador Owner’s Club Competition in 2020.

Sadly, Molly passed away in January 2022, having reached the grand age of 13 years and 8 months. We remember Molly fondly, and we were proud to see her contribution to the school recognised in the local press.