We know that animals can have a positive impact on our mental health and well-being.

They can reduce stress (our cortisol levels) and increase our attachment responses.

It is becoming more common for schools to use animals as part of the emotional support provided to young people.

Here at Inclusion School, we are lucky enough to have range of animals that learners can access – including Enzo our therapy dog, and Casper and Fern our emotional support dogs, Guinea Pigs, Blackjack and Shadow, Gizmo the hamster and Lettuce the African Land Snail.

Not only do the schools animals provide joy, caring and love they also play a vital part in supporting empathy, compassion, understanding, commitment and help in building confidence.

We also have regular visits from places such as Miller’s Ark who bring a host of animals from chickens to donkeys as well as planned visits to local centres, farms and parks where learners can see different animals and build that knowledge and trust.

All the animals are an incredible asset to our environment here at Inclusion and we can see the benefits the animals bring every day to both learners and staff.