A FURRY, four-legged friend may not be the usual reading buddy, but for some of the children at St Michael’s Primary School in Bournemouth reading to a dog rather than a teacher is the norm.

As part of a pioneering new scheme launched by Caring Canines, four children from Year 3 have been reading to their own designated dog once a week to improve their literacy skills.

At first this might seem bizarre but according to American research, children with poor literacy skills who read regularly to a dog improve more quickly than if reading to an adult.

This certainly proved to be correct at the school and an awards ceremony took place on Monday to celebrate the project’s success.

The reading sessions lasted for 45 minutes and have only been running for a term but have already had a “significant impact” according to Mr Ford, a teacher at the school.

He said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed it.

“They always looked forward to their sessions and it certainly helped with motivating them to read both at school and at home.

“There was also a real sense of ownership and pride from the children towards their dogs.”

At the ceremony the four children were awarded with certificates and rosettes from their dogs to say thank you for being their reading buddies.

A Yorkshire Terrier, Labrador, Samoyed and Shetland Sheepdog were involved.

St Michael’s Primary School is planning on running the scheme again and Mr Ford said he hopes it does continue because it has been “so beneficial”.

He did admit that it seemed a little different at first, but added: “any way to get the children to read is a positive way.”

Caring Canines are meeting with Pokesdown school next term to discuss the project.

Sue Dennett from Caring Canines said: “It would be nice if more schools got involved in the scheme. Although we don’t have unlimited manpower, we would do what we could to help.”