- Tier: Tier 1: Positive mental health promotion
- Category of intervention: Wellbeing animal programs
- Strength of evidence: Level 2: Supported by expert opinion or evidence for practice
- Geographic location: Statewide
Program description
Dogs Connect is an online training program to assist schools in building compliance, process, best practice, and alignment with industry leading standards regarding animal welfare. School staff learn how to introduce a wellbeing dog into a school in a sustainable way.
Connection with a wellbeing dog has positive emotional and social impacts and supports mental health and wellbeing. When these impacts are enabled in education settings they result in positive outcomes.
The program helps create an ongoing connection between a school, community and their wellbeing dog. The program includes 12 modules covering a range of topics to integrate a wellbeing dog in a school.
Schools may also purchase a suitable dog from Dogs Connect, to be trained using the program, provided that the relevant agreement and policies are complied with, as outlined in Purchasing a wellbeing dog on PAL and below in Factors to consider (under Implementation considerations).
Intended outcomes
- Increased student engagement
- Reduced anxiety in students
- Increased student attendance
- Reduced incidents amongst student cohort
- Reduced number of students running late to class
- Reduced staff stress
- Increased teacher confidence and ability to connect with and support students
Program details
| Target audience |
|
|---|---|
| Program provider | Dogs Connect |
| Delivery mode | Online |
Implementation considerations
- Target population: Teachers across all levels of primary and secondary schools.
- Program adaptability: The content of the program can be adapted to meet the needs of participating schools, as determined through consultation with school staff prior to commencement.
- Staffing: A minimum of 2 staff members are required to be enrolled in the program. The Menu provider and its personnel must not be alone with any school student or group of school students in the classroom or in any other place at the school’s premises without another educator, teacher or teacher’s aide present at all times.
- Training requirements: The time requirements are 12 hours of on-demand modules and 12 hours of related competency tasks submitted via email. This can be undertaken over a minimum of 6 months, averaging one hour a week.
- Factors to consider:
- Schools may purchase a suitable dog from Dogs Connect to be trained using the program in accordance with the requirements outlined in Purchasing a wellbeing dog on the department’s Policy and Advisory Library. The supplier must provide a warranty to the school that the dog is fit for purpose.
- Schools must comply with the school’s and department’s policy, procedures and guidelines including the Animals – Wellbeing and Engagement: Policy.
- Please contact the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu team at mentalhealth@education.vic.gov.au if you require any assistance with these agreements.
- Australian context: The program has been developed and applied in Australia.
Cost
Minimum cost
$5,000+
Detailed cost
The Dogs Connect online program is priced at $7,700 (including GST) and runs for a minimum of 6 months. This includes:
- 12 x one-hour on-demand online training modules
- 12 x one-hour tasks related to module content
- unlimited access to the online portal for the school, including downloadable content and additional videos
- school accreditation as a Dogs Connect School for 12 months
- animal behavioural consultants for schools on request
- refresher training of new lessons, webinars and new resources.
Schools may also wish to purchase the optional 12 months accreditation renewal for $385 (including GST) per school.
Purchasing a suitable dog
Schools may purchase a suitable dog from Dogs Connect to be trained using the program in accordance with the requirements outlined in Purchasing a wellbeing dog on the department’s Policy and Advisory Library for $4,950 (including GST).
The supplier must provide a warranty to the school that the dog is fit for purpose and intend for the dog to be trained using the Dogs Connect Program.
Schools must comply with the school’s and department’s policy, procedures and guidelines including the Animals – Wellbeing and Engagement: Policy and the relevant school council as outlined above in Factors to consider (under Implementation considerations).
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