Meet Millie - Our Pilgrim School Dog Mentor

The Dog Mentor programme, founded by Jenny Duckworth in 2014, has built upon the benefits of the human-animal bond by providing children positive experiences with dogs that can help them educationally, developmentally, emotionally and socially.

The programme has been shown to have a positive impact across a range of areas, including self-esteem, behaviour, peer relationships, and engagement skills. By helping children build confidence, develop stronger social connections, and improve their ability to engage in learning, the programme contributes to enhanced academic achievement and overall wellbeing.

Millie is a 1 year old goldendoodle who will be based in the Oak Tree classroom with Mrs Styles and Mrs Chatwell. She has loved visiting the classroom in the summer term and has been learning how to meet and greet the children, how to settle in the classroom during our register time, joining in with worship times and even showing off some of the tricks she has been learning. It has been a delight to see how much positivity she brings to the children and adults around the school.

Our Training Day with Jenny

Millie, Mrs Styles and Mrs Chatwell had a fantastic training day with Jenny. We spent time learning how we can use Millie in the best possible way to support the children in our school along with hearing lots of theory behind the benefits of sharing our environment with a Dog Mentor. We loved learning about Biophilia - the natural human need to connect with living things, including animals and nature. This connection helps the nervous system to calm and regulate - without the need for words or reasoning.

Jenny worked with the children in Year 1 to show them how they can become 'Millie Ready' before she enters the classroom. The children remained calm, they made sure they didn't shout out her name, they kept their feet still and hands on the table and they also did some 'Millie Breathing' to help them relax. Millie loved walking around the classroom to see the children and they were fabulous at helping her to feel safe during her first classroom visit.

After a very busy day, Jenny shared the exciting news with us that Millie was awarded with her Bronze Award and that she will be a brilliant Dog Mentor for The Pilgrim School. Mrs Styles and Mrs Chatwell look forward to helping her visit school more frequently and to work towards our Gold Award.

https://www.thedogmentor.co.uk/post/the-pilgrim-school-keeps-us-cool

Meet Millie - Our Pilgrim School Dog Mentor

Our Training Day with Jenny

Millie Training Day