There are many benefits to having therapy animals in a school setting, the main one being the health and well-being of both students and staff alike. An animal often has an immediate calming effect by just being near.
Physical benefits: Interaction with therapy animals has been shown to reduce blood pressure, provide physical stimulation and assist with pain management.
Social benefits: Therapy animals promote greater self-esteem and focused interaction with other students and teachers.
Cognitive benefits: It has been empirically proven that therapy animals stimulate memory and problem-solving skills.
Emotional and mental health benefits: Therapy animals can lift moods in the classroom, often provoking laughter. Therapy animals are there to offer friendship and as a comfort to students, which is even more important for our students as we see an increase of mental health concerns across the country.
Introductions
We are delighted to introduce the first members of our animal therapy family who have only arrived this week. Each school base will have two Continental Giant Rabbits. The rabbits are 9 weeks old and we look forward to sharing their names and their progress over the coming weeks.
It's hard keeping the grown ups out of school even on a Sunday for bunny love @VarndeanSchool https://t.co/CLqNCLmQza
@claritatoujours We hope to achieve all of those at a time when being kind to ourselves is so important
To say we're all excited is an understatement! We are pleased to launch our new school animal therapy hub in school. Watch this space for updates! Here are some of our #bunnybuddies @VarndeanSchool https://t.co/qs8K3UItHb