Safe and Sound teaches children how to interact with dogs
The UK's first resource to teach primary school children about safety around dogs has been launched in a bid to reduce the number of dog bites in young children.
Recent NHS figures revealed children up to the age of nine are the age group most highly affected by dog bites, with over 1,100 hospital admissions between March 2014 and February this year.
The new Safe and Sound Quality Kitemark Teaching Resource, launched by the Kennel Club, is the first of its kind to fit into the national curriculum.
It is made up of elements such as how to understand 'dog language', how to approach dogs, what to do and what not to do, recognising behaviour that could lead to aggression, what to do if dogs show aggression and why dogs bite.
Robin Hood Primary School in Kingston, London, is the first UK school to successfully implement this resource and is now an accredited 'Safe and Sound School'.
Safe and Sound is designed for children in Year 4, as eight-year-olds are at the developmental stage most adapted for absorbing, understanding and retaining information when taught. The resource can also be adapted for years 5 and 6 depending on ability levels.
It can be taught as a standalone module across four lessons, ending with an assessment, or schools can work it into other lessons.
The resource has received backing from Michael and Shirley Anderson, the parents of 14-year-old Jade Anderson who was tragically killed in a dog attack in 2013.
In a joint statement, they said: "We are firm believers that education plays a key role in helping to reduce the number of dog bite incidents in this country… In the past there’s been nothing available for schools to use to write this kind of thing into their lessons, so we are excited to be able to support something that is so important to us and close to our hearts."
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Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.
