Barnacle - our school dog
Meet the newest member of our Fishbourne Family!
Barnacle (Barney) was born on the 12th February and, during the Easter holidays, he will be coming to live with my family. He is a cocker spaniel and it is our intention that he will spend time in school as part of our team.
Meet Barnacle here…
We have worked with two Pets As Therapy dogs over the last four years and seen for ourselves the enormous benefits that they bring with them!
Our hope is that Barnacle will fit in really well to our Fishbourne family and become an integral member of the team. Introducing a dog into our school is an important commitment which has been carefully planned and understood. We will be working closely with Jenny Duckworth, Dog Mentor, to ensure that Barnacle’s transition into school life is as smooth as possible.
Please see below the school policy and risk assessments for Barnacle. This will be reviewed at least annually.
We were absolutely delighted to work alongside Jenny Duckworth during the summer term in 2023 to learn more about how to support Barnacle's growing role in school life. Jenny spent time assessing and training Barnacle and two of the staff in school who will be working in role as Dog Mentor.
Jenny concluded at the end of her day with us:
‘Barnacle has a calm nature and is happy to meet everyone confidently. He is very intelligent and learns quickly. He can follow all instructions. Barnacle loves to be with children and looks for their attention. He is extremely happy around the school building and will make a great Dog Mentor!’
We are really looking forward to seeing Barnacle becoming a fully integrated member of our school community and seeing the benefits he brings both the children he works directly with and the wider school family.
Barnacle wearing his working collar, lead and jacket!
Mrs Ali Gregory and Mrs Naomi Day working alongside Barnacle to make the world a better place to be.
