Saxon's handler, Laura Delaney, is a police office at Grimsby Police Station on patrol, and also a public order trainer for the force. Laura has given her own time to 'Project School with Saxon’ and Stallingborough C of E Primary School is the first school to trial the wellbeing dogs. Laura promotes the OK9 wellbeing dogs on Facebook and other schools have asked if she can attend them too.
Helen Foster-Isaacs, Learning Mentor at Stallingborough said:
Laura initially brought Saxon around school to familiarise with the environment and meet the staff. I was blown away by her calmness and understanding. When approaching a member of staff, she would sit down and wait to be petted, no jumping up at all. She was impeccable.
Our first session was in our Sensory Room and I brought children who would like to read to Saxon. The sense of calm in the room was fantastic, with Saxon choosing to lie or sit down next to the children. She was happy throughout being stroked and read to. The children all had huge smiles on their faces and interacted with Saxon, which was lovely to see. A couple of children who are very rarely engaged with their reading were happy to read to her.
At the second session, we sat in the library area of the school. We had a child whose parent has not consented to her meeting Saxon due to her being afraid of dogs. I spoke to the parent and explained all about Saxon and her training etc. Mum then gave consent with the child expressing an interest after hearing from the other children about the fabulous Saxon. I brought her first and she was able to sit with Saxon and stroked her. She said that she thought Saxon was amazing and was smiling throughout. Saxon remained laying down and showed the child that she was a safe dog, really putting her at ease.
I then invited some children who have some issues at home, who really benefitted from sitting with Saxon. A couple opened up about their worries, with one going into hospital soon for an operation and another around parental contact. These conversations are so beneficial, with the children talking as they stroke her.
Laura is a fantastic handler, really showing the children that Saxon is a trusted dog, she makes sure Saxon and the children are comfortable.
Having Saxon in school has been a huge boost to the wellbeing of the school. Staff always have a cuddle if they are walking past or at the end of the day (which is when most of our sessions have been 2:30-3:30pm). The children are enthusiastic and have started to talk about the "school dog" being the best dog they have ever met. From only two sessions, it's clear that having a wellbeing dog in school regularly will really help the whole school.
We hope to be able to continue working with Laura and Saxon throughout the academic year and really appreciate the time they are kindly giving to the school.
Well done Laura and Saxon!