‘Animals are comforters and confidants’
Anna Turns looks at how a close connection with donkeys, alpacas, dogs, ponies, chickens, and even bees and other insects has allowed school pupils to experience the benefits of animal therapy during a stressful year ‘Spending time with these animals leav
Every Thursday afternoon, teacher Tara Warren runs special sessions with the help of David and Rupert in a classroom surrounded by Hertfordshire countryside. These are no ordinary teaching assistants. David and Rupert are, in fact, retired donkeys, and pupils at York House School in Rickmansworth enjoy stroking and grooming them in the paddock while discussing any worries with Warren during “donkey downtime”.
Almost 30 rescue animals, from horses to pigs, sheep and goats live on the smallholding within the grounds and, since the pandemic began, the school’s outdoor education schedule has been more vital than ever.
In addition to regular outdoor learning lessons, Warren leads lunchtime and after-school clubs so that all 380 children aged three to 13 benefit from hands-on experience.
“Our students help feed the animals, groom the ponies and donkeys, some even take the pygmy goats on walks, so they bond with the animals and develop a sense of responsibility,” says Warren, outdoor learning teaching assistant and smallholding leader for the prep school. “Most importantly, by talking to their favourite animals about any problems they’re having during this pandemic, they feel comforted.”
Because outdoor learning is integrated into the daily routine and with the smallholding on site, there’s flexibility to be on hand if a child needs time out from a lesson. For children who might be having a particularly tough week, Warren’s therapeutic one-to-one donkey downtime sessions have been invaluable.
She says that some children have really needed to process their emotions and anxieties this year: “While these children stroke the donkeys, I’ll talk through how their week has been with them so they can reflect and it’s really soothing,” explains Warren, who has noticed huge transformations.
“Children who struggle with friendships might not want to play football at breaktime – when they come along and stroke the animals, they can build friendships here with others who share their interests and that builds their confidence. Spending time with these animals leaves them feeling good for the rest of the day and that positive outlook improves their learning once they return to the classroom.”
Jon Gray, headmaster at York House School, says that the donkeys and the rest of the animals – which are not farmed – have become valuable companions for many pupils who can express themselves without fear of judgment. “The first lockdown saw an increase in anxiety and worry affecting adults and children’s mental health. As we continue into this second phase, the school’s smallholding has become even more important in promoting positive thinking and encouraging children to talk about their feelings.
“So many children, especially only children, have been separated from the social interaction they normally get because of lockdown,” explains Gray. “We want them to have that greater warmth. Often even if they are seeing grandparents they might not be having physical contact with them, so touching these animals has been a real benefit.”
Many other schools are embracing the benefits of animal therapy too. For some, that might involve inviting a well-trained labrador into class. Animal husbandry is the focus at other schools, such as Bedales in Hampshire, where learning to care for alpacas, chickens, sheep and pigs is on the timetable alongside wood whittling and wool spinning. At Lancing College in the South Downs National Park, budding vets, farmers, scientists and conservationists look after the donkeys and alpacas or help with the lambing.
At Hanford, a girls’ school in Dorset, 21 horses and ponies live in stables on site. Before they eat their own breakfast, pupils bring in the ponies from the field to feed them, come rain or shine, and one pony usually stars in the school summer play.
“Our founder, Mrs Canning, believed very firmly that children have much to learn from animals – from empathy to restraint via responsibility and organisation,” explains Charley Pearson, head of riding at the school, which also has a Jack Russell called Bandit, one of many resident staff dogs.
“Animals at Hanford are more than just companions, they are comforters, confidants and teachers. There’s a lot of hugging of our ponies and pets – even the chickens get a cuddle and are often fed with worms hand-dug out of the ground by one of the girls.”
This hands-on approach to learning is one that beekeeper Mark Patterson very much abides by. He has been involved in environmental education for more than 20 years and finds that even the smallest interactions with nature have a positive effect, particularly with children that have special educational needs.
“One boy was a selective mute when I started working with him; he didn’t speak and had deep behaviour problems,” he explains. “When I first took him to the garden where I keep my beehives, he started off unsettled and excited. Then, as soon as he zipped up the bee suit, he completely Zen’d out.”
Patterson ensures that students understand that they need to stay sensible and calm so that they don’t get stung by the bees. “Once in the apiary, this boy said ‘wow’ and that was the first word his teacher had ever heard him say. After that, he didn’t stop asking questions about the bees and he’s now a lot calmer than he used to be, so beekeeping has really helped him.”
Many of the seven-to-19 year olds Patterson works with at TCES, a group of schools in London, are on multiple spectra, often with severe learning difficulties, and have typically been excluded from other local authority schools. “Beekeeping really does work in special needs schools – I’m amazed that more people don’t do it,” says Patterson, who spends time getting to know what a child’s triggers are and what motivates them before matching them with specific projects that might include gardening, beekeeping, making bird boxes, looking after the chickens or finding food for the classroom pet.
“I’ve given each of the 10 small classes at the school I work with in Stratford a giant insect – some have stick insects and have to forage in the school grounds for bramble twigs to feed them, some have praying mantis that have to be fed crickets and locusts, others have huge tropical beetles or butterflies,” says Patterson, who uses these classroom creatures as a way to teach the children environmental awareness, biology, but above all respect and responsibility.
This fits in well with the school’s student-led approach and the children love being able to take these pets home during the holidays. It can transform even the liveliest behaviour too: “Give them a stick insect to handle and they are so gentle and protective.”
Beekeeping is “a brilliant tool in that toolbox” with huge therapeutic benefits to the children. He has observed how beekeeping has positively influenced certain children, especially during lockdown. “Some children struggle with traditional indoor classrooms and just need to be outside. These kids respond well to sensory input and working with the bees can give children stability and calm their behaviour.”
But it also works well as an enterprise project. Patterson teaches his students how the hives work, how to care for the bees and harvest the honey, which they can sell or cook with, and how to make candles or soap using the wax. “It’s about discovery,” he adds.
And that’s true for all of these interactions, whether they involve feathers, fur or antennae. Creature comforts open up new possibilities for nature connection, and that’s a lesson that could last a lifetime.