Geluwe (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Futura Primary School in Geluwe use 3 classroom dogs to support children with learning or intellectual disabilities. Vooruit urges a legal framework for schools adopting classroom dogs.
As VRT News reported, at Futura Primary School in Geluwe, near Wervik, in the province of West Flanders, Belgium, 3 classroom dogs are helping students learn. The dogs are carefully trained and tested to make sure they can stay calm in school. Teachers also received training from a certified dog therapist.
What role can Futura’s 3 classroom dogs play in schools?
Flemish Parliament member Gianna Werbrouck from Roeselare (Vooruit) said schools need clear rules for classroom dogs. She said the dogs should be certified for school use and that their owners should have proper training.
“Charlie is my dog,
says teacher Sofie Doornaert.
“I take him to class. He calms the children down. And I trained with a dog trainer so I could bring him to school. Because they’re still animals, and sometimes they’re unpredictable. We also had Charlie take a stress test to see if he could handle the hustle and bustle of a classroom.”
At Futura Primary School in Geluwe, the staff have set their own rules for using dogs in the classroom.
“We chose these guidelines ourselves at school,”
a spokesperson said.
“But as a school, it would be useful to have a legal framework for this. One of the benefits is that children learn to interact with animals, and the dogs also make the classroom calmer.”
For the students, the dogs are more than helpers; they are friends. Young Sean, a pupil, spoke about his class dog, Lou.
“Lou creates the classroom atmosphere. When we are sad, he comes to sit next to us. We can pet him when we have free time. And when he is not here, the classroom feels empty. Without him, we feel lonely.”
“Flemish Minister Ben Wets let us know he’s not a fan of the concept,”
Werbrouck adds.
“But with this case, we want to prove otherwise.”
In recent years, the integration of therapy dogs into classrooms has gained momentum across Flanders, with Futura Primary School in Geluwe emerging as a notable example. In April 2023, the Brussels Times reported that more teachers in the region were introducing dogs into their classrooms to help settle boisterous children and encourage shy ones to engage.
This trend follows the pioneering work of German educator Bernd Retzlaff, who began bringing his Labrador, Jule, to school in the 1990s, demonstrating the positive impact of animals on student behaviour and learning.
Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.
