National School Dog Alliance Official Launch
The National School Dog Alliance (NSDA) officially launched on 3rd December 2024 at Ysgol Crug Glas, Swansea. Attended by over 100 delegates both in-person and online, the hybrid event explored the benefits of integrating dogs into schools, discussed key challenges, and outlined how the NSDA plans to address these issues.
Speakers included:
• Dr Dion Curry (School Research Lead, Swansea University)
• Dr Helen Lewis (Chair, NSDA)
• Sally Lees (Assistant Head and Designated Safeguarding Officer, Cheltenham Bournside School)
• Suzi Smith (Assistant Headteacher, Ysgol Crug Glas)
• Dr Marc Abraham, OBE (NSDA Ambassador and Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Welfare Advisory Group)
Delegates joined from Australia, Europe, the USA, and Canada, alongside some very special guests – Snoopy, Lottie, Olive, Murphy, and Maggi, the school dogs.
Visit the NSDA website: nationalschooldogalliance.co.uk
Watch a video of the event
All-Party Parliamentary Dog Welfare Advisory Group
The newly launched National School Dog Alliance (NSDA) was honoured to participate in the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Welfare Advisory Group’s January event at the House of Commons. During the drop-in session, the NSDA team, represented by Carol Lincoln (Therapy Dog Training, UK, Selina Gibsone (Dogs for Good), Helen Lewis and Russell Grigg (Swansea University) engaged with MPs from across the UK to discuss the alliance’s work and its mission to support best practices in animal-assisted education. Later that evening, NSDA Chair Dr Helen Lewis was invited to speak, highlighting the importance of developing evidence-based approaches in this field.
In January, Dr Helen Lewis also featured on BBC Local Radio, discussing the alliance’s work. Additionally, the NSDA received media coverage in outlets such as BBC Online, further amplifying its mission to improve animal-assisted education practices.
Read more: APDAWG January Meeting | BBC Article
Prizes
Dr Helen Lewis’ presentation at the Society of Companion Animal Studies annual conference Interdisciplinary Innovation: How can we advance research and practice in human-animal interactions? has been awarded the SCAS annual prize for the best research presentation. Helen’s talk 'Dogs in School: What lessons can be learned from research?' highlighted the potential of the human-canine bond in educational settings, identified some of the potential challenges of such approaches, and explored how research can help address these.
Funding
Dr Helen Lewis and Dr Russell Grigg have been funded via the UKRI ESRC Impact Acceleration Account to continue to develop the work of the NSDA. The new project will allow the NSDA to work closely with teachers to co-design and develop resources to support the wellbeing of children and dogs in schools.
The NSDA also welcomes Willow Browning, a postgraduate student at Swansea University as a SPIN intern (Swansea Paid Internship Network) for the spring term. Willow will take the lead on developing a quarterly newsletter celebrating dogs in schools.
