Are you considering bringing in animals to your school, nursery or other education setting? Perhaps you already work with animals…Dr Helen Lewis shares her work around animal assisted education, explaining the importance of moving towards the view of animals as members of the classroom, rather than simply using animals to serve us. Helen shares the vast benefits for children when involving dogs as partners in learning, from self-regulation to understanding sustainable citizenship. Read Helen’s article: Animals in education settings -  https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/animals-in-education-settings/ Listen to more: If you enjoyed this episode you might also like: Impacts of outdoors on children’s behaviour and attention: The science behind outdoor play series with Gemma Goldenberg -   https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/articles/outdoor-learning/ Essential skills for social sustainability with Carmela Garcia Manas - https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/articles/sustainability/ Episode break down: 00:00 – A holistic view of animals in education 02:24 – Social skills, wellbeing and citizenship 06:00 – Animals supporting self-regulation 09:40 – Therapy dogs vs ‘animal assisted education’ 13:00 – Training and regulations 14:30 – Differences between breeds of dogs 16:00 – Thinking about the dog’s best interests 15:35 – A practical view of dogs in settings 20:40 – Matching dogs with children 23:40 – Involving dogs in the learning process rather than ‘using dogs’ 25:25 – The safety of dogs in settings 29:00 – Understanding consent and emotions 31:00 – Playful learning is powerful in animal assisted education For more episodes and articles visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com