A dog on the loose during drop-off taught this leader that all schools need to have a plan to deal with the risk of a dog attack
25th October 2023, 6:00am, TES Magazine
The news reports about people being attacked and even killed by the American bully XL dog breed have been shocking.
For us in schools, the fear of a child being hurt is all too real – as a recent incident at our school underlined.
It was a Wednesday morning and, like every day, the senior leadership team, including myself, were on gate duty for drop-off.
I was standing by the kindergarten entrance when I suddenly spotted a pitbull-type dog running directly towards me at high speed with no owner in sight.
I realised the dog would rapidly reach the playground entrance, where hundreds of children were happily playing. I shouted to staff to shut the gates. They didn’t know what was happening but knew from my tone it was something serious and acted swiftly. Relief hit as the pupils were now safe.
Then I heard the scream. A three-year-old child, not yet in the playground, had seen the dog and was scared by it. His mum, a few feet away, had no idea a dog was on the loose.
The dog, hearing the scream, ran towards the child – reaching him before I or the mum could do so.
Thankfully, it didn’t directly attack but instead jumped around the child, scaring him but not doing any harm. The mum then grabbed the child and lifted him up, at which point the dog started jumping on her instead.
Dog attack danger
By now passers-by and other staff had seen what was happening and stepped in to help try to calm the dog down.
Some nearby roadworkers came over and, with the dog attracted to their fluorescent jackets, thankfully its interest in the mum and boy faded.
- Safeguarding rules: Key KCSIE changes schools need to know
- Pupil safety: Safeguarding concerns rising, say most school staff
- Safeguarding: Tips for teachers on handling a student disclosure
As all of this was unfolding other parents and children were arriving and had no clue about what had happened.
We were so lucky that nothing more happened than one child being scared. But it could have been so much worse. The dog’s speed and strength meant there was little I or the mother could have done if it had latched on to the boy.
“Great leaders inspire greatness in others” 