Pets as Therapy at St Mark's

At St Mark's, we are proud to welcome Jess, our friendly and much-loved Labradoodle therapy dog. Jess visits weekly with her owner, Mrs Nicholls, brining warmth, comfort, and plenty of wagging tails to our school community.

Jess plays an important role in supporting pupils' wellbeing. Her calm and gentle nature helps children feel relaxed and at ease, creating a positive environment where children can thrive both emotionally and socially.

The Benefits of Dog Therapy

Spending time with a therapy dog like Jess offers a wide range of benefits for children, including:

Reducing anxiety and stress
Improving mood and emotional wellbeing
Supporting confidence and self-esteem
Encouraging communication and social interaction
Helping children to regulate their emotions
Providing a calming presence during challenging moments

For many pupils, Jess is a comforting companion who helps them feel safe, listened to, and understood.

A unique approach at St Mark's

What makes St Mark's truly special is how our therapy dog provision is integrated with our ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assisting) programme. Jess is not only a friendly visitor-she is part of targeted, structured support.

Through ELSA sessions, children take part in 1:1 specialised intervention work focused on a pupils individual social and emotional need. Jess helps build trust, eases communication, and creates a nurturing space where pupils can explore their feelings and develop important life skills.

Literacy support

Jess, as well as her owner, is a really good listener. She loves to settle down and listen to children read their reading books to them- sometimes she even nods off to sleep. The children's confidence in reading really improves when they are reading to Jess which becomes something fun that they look forward to. As pupils practice reading aloud:

Confidence grows without fear of embarrassment
They become more willing to take risks with new words
Self-esteem improves alongside literacy skills.