Funded by The Kennel Club, The Bark and Read Foundation is working with schools around the UK to help children develop a passion for reading with the use of specially-trained support dogs.
The Foundation was set up to support the amazing work of charities that take dogs into schools as ‘reading volunteers’. This unique idea is new to the UK and is a way of tackling Britain’s literacy problems.
The dogs’ calm temperament and friendly personality make them the perfect classroom companion for children learning to read. It is also important that the dog, unlike a human listener, is a completely uncritical audience and listens without judgement.
When asked about the benefits that the scheme offers to young people, The Kennel Club’s Library and Collections manager - Ciara Farrell, stated that, "For students, particularly small children who have difficulty articulating what’s worrying them, having dogs nearby can reduce stress in the classroom, help to build their confidence and increase their ability to learn key skills." She continued, "Interacting with the dogs means that students are able to focus and feel less intimidated while they practice their reading, because it doesn’t matter to the animal if they make mistakes."
A services snapshot taken just before lockdown saw the partner programmes reaching approximately 1500 schools, all benefiting from the work of Bark and Read. Schools vary in how they use the scheme - some doing whole class work and some focussing just on children with additional needs. However, for the many thousands of students who are in the programme, these special dogs are making a big difference.
