Education support dog for Tin Can Bay School

In week one the Tin Can Bay school community welcomed Ryder to our Tin Can Bay family.

Ryder is a 15-month-old Labrador who has been trained to work in an educational setting.

Support dogs in schools are known to promote calm classroom environments, and can provide individual students with both attention and affection, contributing positively to the development of emotional self- regulation skills.

The tendency to pay attention to animals is associated with an increased capacity for response inhibition, which is particularly enabling for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or those who have difficulty learning in a traditional class situation.

Ryder will be involved in a period of training to transition to the school setting at Tin Can Bay P-10 State School.

The primary handler has undertaken dog handling training and will be working with Ryder to achieve a smooth and successful transition. Over time, a small number of secondary handlers will undergo training.

During this time, students and other staff will have limited supervised contact with Ryder which will increase as the transition progresses.

Students in each class will undergo a formal induction program. Once fully transitioned to our school environment, a schedule of class visits and regular interaction will be developed.

We look forward to sharing Ryder’s progress with you on our school’s Facebook page.