🐾 ALN at PPS: Reading Dog Support – Pumpkin
Building Confidence, Developing Literacy and Supporting Wellbeing
At Penllergaer Primary School, we recognise that every child learns differently and that some learners benefit from additional encouragement to develop their confidence and enjoyment of reading.
As part of our Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision, we are delighted to offer Reading Dog sessions with Pumpkin and her owner, Mrs Gorst, who have both undertaken training to support this valuable intervention.
Our Reading Dog sessions provide a calm, nurturing and non-judgemental environment where pupils can practise reading aloud, build confidence and develop positive attitudes towards books.
Pumpkin is a wonderful listener! She doesn't interrupt or judge, helping children feel relaxed and comfortable as they develop their reading skills.
🐶 Why Is Reading Dog Support Important?
Our sessions aim to:
📚 Build reading confidence – helping pupils feel comfortable reading aloud.
🐾 Develop reading fluency – providing opportunities to practise expression, pronunciation and reading skills.
❤️ Support emotional wellbeing – creating a calm, reassuring learning environment.
🌟 Encourage a love of reading – making reading an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
🗣️ Develop communication skills – encouraging pupils to talk about stories and share their ideas.
💚 Supporting Every Learner
Reading Dog sessions complement our high-quality classroom teaching and targeted literacy interventions. They are particularly beneficial for pupils who may experience anxiety, lack confidence or need additional motivation to engage with reading.
This provision also supports our whole-school improvement priority of raising standards in reading and developing a strong reading culture.
We recognise that progress looks different for every child. For some, success may mean reading a whole page independently; for others, it may simply be finding the confidence to read a sentence aloud.
At PPS, we celebrate every achievement.
🌈 Our School Is for Everyone
Our Reading Dog provision reflects our commitment to inclusion, wellbeing and ensuring that every learner has the opportunity to succeed.
We are incredibly grateful to Mrs Gorst and Pumpkin for helping us make reading a positive and enjoyable experience for our pupils.
Because sometimes, the best reading partner has four paws and a wagging tail! 🐶📖
Penllergaer Primary School – Our School Is for Everyone.
