Literacy at a Suffolk school is going to the dogs – in the best possible sense of the word.
The reading skills of children at Benhall Primary School, near Saxmundham, have been improving thanks to help from regular visitor Mabel the Lhasa apso.
The idea is to build children’s confidence and ability reading aloud to an audience free of judgement or criticism.
Mabel’s owner, and deputy headteacher, Katie Jenkins said staff are already seeing good results.
“It’s really interesting to watch the children reading to Mabel,” she added.
“She can’t intervene or tell them they’re doing something wrong, so their confidence starts to build straight away.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here