Mental Health, Wellbeing & Therapy Animals

Mental health and well-being are important because we recognise that a rounded education is about the ‘whole child’. Meridian Trust schools are places where students are not only encouraged to flourish academically but are also supported throughout all of the challenges of their life long journey. For more information on Meridian Trust’s role in Well Being & Support click here

Over the last 4 years our support team have worked extremely hard implementing initiatives to promote the importance of mental health in our young people. As a school we have been recognised for our work in this area from awarding bodies such as The Carnegie Mental Health Award and The Safeguarding Initiative. We are one of a limited number of schools in Lincolnshire that has developed such a robust Mental Wellbeing programme and which has received national recognition for our work.

Our Head teacher has played a central role in developing positive mental health strategies in schools. She recognises the need to develop a whole school awareness of mental and emotional health issues. Mrs Lloyd and her team understand that a school-based intervention is to provide an experience that will strengthen the children’s coping abilities to counter environmental stress and disadvantages with which they have had to cope in growing up.

Buddy, an important member of our team, has been in school for a number of months now and the impact he is having on our students and staff, is outstanding. Buddy is used by students to enhance their literacy skills by reading to him in a quiet environment, but also in contributing critically to emotional and relational development.

Buddy can decrease anxiety and enable children to work through issues such as anger management, bullying tendencies and others social problems. We are currently working with other primary schools in Stamford who are introducing a well being dog into their setting. Buddy is being used as a role model to other schools to showcase the benefit of a school dog.

Buddy is a member of the Dog’s Trust which means he has public liability insurance.
This means he will be able to come into school. Buddy has gone to the vet for vaccinations, flea, worm treatments and his puppy checks. Buddy will be based in a House Office space which is separate from the classrooms and pupils will be able to interact with him under supervision.

Buddy will be in school every day. When he is moving around the school he will be on a lead and with an adult. We hope he will be able to support pupils in school in areas such as behaviour, socialisation, emotional regulation, reading, with attendance and also being on the playground at playtimes.