People and Animal Wellbeing Services CIC
It's all in the name
Service Impact Report
At Paws CIC we pride ourselves in providing therapeutic, relationship-led support to children and young people through animal-assisted interventions. We specialise in working with those experiencing emotional distress, social communication differences, trauma, and anxiety — offering safe, calm spaces where healing and growth can begin.
We believe in the power of co-regulation, inclusive practice, and advocacy that really listens. This report showcases the incredible journeys we’ve walked alongside young people; their schools; their families and the passion our team brings to every step of that journey.
Within this report we have broken down the analysis of feedback and system data to show;
PAWS CIC – Service Success Summary
The phenomenal growth that we have seen over the last 5 years has been a powerful demonstration of the PAWS CIC ethos in action, shaped by skill and care, growth together, and a deep commitment to meaningful connection.
Between 2020 and 2025 we have supported approximately 1,500–1,600 young people supported across more than 60 schools and more than 10 local authorities — with consistent year-on-year growth in both referrals and measurable outcomes.
Whether through structured emotional literacy interventions or gentle, sensory-based regulation sessions, our animal-assisted approach continues to meet young people exactly where they are supporting them in building emotional resilience, develop their self-belief, and help them to nurture safe supportive relationships.
In addition to this we have directly supported 58% of those families where we work via self referral to successfully access long-term school or local authority funding, helping ensure our service is accessible and sustainable for all. This work reflects our commitment to inclusive community and supportive advocacy — making sure no child or family is left behind due to funding gaps or eligibility barriers.
Our success isn’t just measured in numbers — it’s seen in calmer classrooms, fewer anxious mornings, and young people who begin to believe in themselves again. The feedback and impact reporting reflects this and speaks volumes: “I feel like a new person.” “She felt important and competent — something she hadn’t felt in school.” “He’s calmer, more reflective, and has built real relationships.”
Children frequently described the sessions as "calm," "fun," and "safe," often expressing that therapy dogs and practitioners provided a space where they felt able to open up. One young person shared, "It makes me feel happy because I have someone I can talk to about my feelings instead of talking to my friends... I don’t keep my feelings bottled up." Another wrote simply but powerfully: "Amazing — I feel like a new person”.
These outcomes are a direct result of our collaborative spirit — working alongside teachers, social workers, families, and children themselves to shape support that truly fits.
As we look ahead, our values remain our compass: to walk beside young people with skill and care, to foster growth together, and to build inclusive, emotionally safe spaces where healing and progress are possible.
The incredible feedback from this last year shows that PAWS is more than a service — it’s a place of belonging, co-regulation, and trust.
Quantitative Data
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Emotional Literacy Improvement Scores
Overall young people showed a 69% Increase across all measured emotional literacy areas with the greatest overall improvement being in their feeling emotionally supported, having improved motivation and their ability to access learning.
Children supported in school consistently showed strong gains, particularly in feeling emotionally supported, reducing anxiety, and accessing social interactions. One member of school staff noted:
💬 “(YP) is calmer, more mature and has far fewer behavioural incidents than in previous years. Significant impact.”
For young people receiving outreach support, particularly those in care (CLA), outcomes were similarly positive. Reports noted improved confidence in accessing the community, expressing emotions, and managing transitions. One worker shared:
💬 “Over time she opened up about friendships, family, and lifestyle. She’s made great progress sharing her feelings and not bottling things up.”
2. Wellbeing Measures
Data based on in-the-moment wellbeing measures recorded by practitioners with young people each term, shows a mixed but generally positive picture of self-reported emotional wellbeing during PAWS sessions.
Responses to “I am happy with who I am” and “I feel good about myself” skew toward the higher end of the scale, with a substantial proportion of young people selecting “Often” or “All the time,” suggesting good levels of self-acceptance and self-esteem. Conversely, questions such as “I feel hopeless” and “I feel alone and isolated” are most often answered with “Never” or “Rarely,” indicating that persistent negative feelings are less common. However, some individuals do report experiencing these feelings “Sometimes” or “frequently”, highlighting that pockets of vulnerability remain.
Questions relating to capability (“I feel able to do most things”) and agency (“I have achieved the things I want to do”) show a broader spread of scores, suggesting that while many young people feel confident in their abilities, others still struggle to recognise or achieve their goals.
Overall, the snapshot nature of this measure provides practitioners with a useful real-time insight into emotional states, enabling targeted support in areas where individual responses flag emerging or ongoing challenges.
3. Short Form SDQ
The Short Form Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief, validated screening tool designed to identify emotional and behavioural strengths and challenges in children and young people.
For our looked after children, it provides a structured, comparable way to capture both positive attributes and areas of concern across key domains such as emotional wellbeing, conduct, peer relationships, and pro-social behaviour.
By using the UK-standard scoring cut-offs, we can categorise results into low, medium, or high ranges of difficulty, helping us to interpret whether a child’s profile suggests minimal, moderate, or significant need for support.
Crucially, by administering the Short Form SDQ before and after intervention, we can track changes over time, giving a clear, evidence-based picture of the impact our support is having.
In this case, a shift from an overall score of 25 (medium range) prior to support to 19 (low range) following support reflects a meaningful reduction in reported difficulties, indicating improved emotional and behavioural wellbeing.
4. Service Satisfaction Summary
Satisfaction with PAWS CIC services has remained exceptionally high throughout 2024/25. 84% of Respondents consistently rated communication, support, and impact as a 9 out of 10 with the highest scores in their likelihood to recommend the service and their satisfaction with the level of support provided.
One school staff member shared,
💬 “PAWS are communicative and helpful – quick responses and excellent support throughout.”
While a parent of one of the families reported;
💬 “PAWS is very well run, every interaction I have had shows me how caring, professional, empathetic and flexible the team are. You have gone above and beyond to support our family from the actual sessions to attending meetings with professionals supporting us and providing information for CAMHS and the teams re-assessing his EHCP”
Qualitative Data
This feedback is essential to understanding why our service works — not just what changes occur. It allows us to hear in children’s own words how the support provided helps them feel safe, calm, and able to express themselves. Adults share insights into behavioural changes, emotional development, and positive relational growth that aren’t always visible through numbers alone.
As one young person shared, “I feel like I can talk in this room.” These human stories are at the heart of our work, shaping our approach and guiding our decisions.
This year already, we have actively used feedback from children, families, and schools to strengthen our offer and adapt to emerging needs. including Creating a new Schools Guide outlining session expectations, communication channels, and what to expect from our team — ensuring better collaboration with staff across settings and Updated session planning and tracking tools enabling more responsive and personalised approaches, particularly for young people with PDA profiles or high levels of dysregulation.
We continue to build our service around the voices of those we support. As feedback shows, trust, flexibility, and emotional safety are the cornerstones of our impact — and these principles remain central to everything we do.
Voice of the child
The voice of the child in this year’s feedback tells a clear story: PAWS sessions help children feel “safe”, “happy”, and “heard”.
For many, the opportunity to spend time with a calm, affectionate animal in a non-judgemental space is transformative. Children shared that the sessions help them "talk about my feelings instead of bottling them up", "feel less anxious", and "calm down after a hard day."
The dogs act as emotional anchors, offering comfort and companionship while practitioners create the relational safety needed for therapeutic dialogue. Many children describe feeling “relaxed”, “excited”, and “able to talk about anything” during their sessions. One child summed it up by saying, “Amazing – I feel like a new person.”
Voice of the Adult
Parents, carers, and professionals consistently emphasised the profound changes they’ve seen in the young people accessing PAWS services. Emotional regulation, self-expression, and confidence were commonly cited areas of improvement. One adult observed that their child “only smiles when talking about Barney [the therapy dog]”, while another noted that a previously withdrawn young person had begun “sharing her feelings and not bottling them up.”
Practitioners were described as embedded, trusted, and vital to school and home environments alike. Staff shared how sessions supported wider engagement in learning, enhanced relationships with peers and adults, and reduced behaviours of concern. For those in care or with complex trauma backgrounds, the service provided meaningful continuity and emotional safety — with one worker stating, “She’s made great progress and feels valued and competent, which she hadn’t felt in school.”
Verbatim Feedback - Thematic Analysis
To ensure that our analysis captured meaningful real world outcomes, verbatim feedback was reviewed and themed to align with emotional literacy indicators. By mapping feedback against these core emotional domains, we can better understand how young people are developing skills such as self-awareness, regulation, empathy, and confidence — providing a clearer picture of the true impact of PAWS CIC’s support.
The analysis highlights strong emotional gains across key areas of wellbeing. The most frequently mentioned themes were stress reduction (20.3%), reduced anxiety (20.3%), and self-belief (20%), indicating that young people are experiencing greater emotional stability and confidence as a result of their sessions.
A further 11.5% of responses reflected feeling emotionally supported, while around 9% related to improved communication, advocacy, empathy, and compassion. Smaller but meaningful proportions referenced motivation and social connection, showing that while most young people report broad emotional progress, some continue to work on developing confidence in social and learning contexts.
Verbatim Feedback - Thematic Analysis Methodology
Verbatim Examples
💬 Communication and Advocacy of Self
Children feel safer expressing themselves, sharing their thoughts, and talking openly. This category often overlaps with trust, confidence, and emotional honesty.
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“It makes me feel happy because I have someone I can talk to about my feelings instead of talking to my friends.”
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“Dog therapy helps me a lot because I get to talk to someone about how I am doing. I feel better after having had a dog therapy session.”
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“I feel the sessions help me because I can talk about what I need to without fear of judgement.”
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“She’s made great progress sharing her feelings and not bottling them up.”
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“I feel like I can talk in this room.”
🐕🦺 Feeling Emotionally Supported
Feedback here reflects relational safety, warmth, and compassion — the sense that someone is reliably there, listening, and caring.
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“I feel calm and happy as Heather and Misu create a lovely environment for my therapy dog intervention.”
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“I feel happy with Sarah because I can do anything when we’re together.”
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“Becky and Bella have well and truly embedded themselves into our school community.”
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“Rudy makes my Fridays easier — I just like her and care for her.”
😌 Reduced Anxiety
Young people feel less stressed, overwhelmed, or worried. For many, PAWS sessions provide a safe break from pressure or chaos.
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“I feel calmer after my sessions, like I have reset myself.”
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“I feel less angry as a result of my sessions — I always feel calmer for the rest of the day.”
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“I feel relaxed and like I can think about my worries more clearly. I find the day easier after I have seen you.”
🌿 Stress Reduction
These responses reflect the calming, grounding effect of animal-assisted interventions, especially during or after tough days.
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“Fun, peaceful, exciting, calm. I am excited to come to dog therapy because I find it calming and peaceful.”
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“I have a long day and it is nice to settle down for a little bit away from any drama.”
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“When I come to dog therapy I feel relaxed because there aren’t classroom expectations — I can just be.”
🌟 Self Belief
Children and young people feel more capable, more willing to try, and proud of themselves.
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“Amazing — I feel like a new person.”
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“Her confidence was boosted, and she always looked forward to the sessions.”
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“He has stopped wearing his support hoody since his sessions have begun and seems more positive about himself.”
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“She felt valued and important and competent which she hadn’t felt in school.”
👫 Able to Access Positive Social Interactions
Children build stronger friendships, experience less conflict, and develop a more positive understanding of social relationships.
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“These sessions have helped me with friendship barriers I previously had.”
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“I have seen a marked improvement in Ivy’s ability to see things from others’ perspectives, which has helped to develop her empathy.”
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“Children who aren’t accessing 1:1 still enjoy seeing the dogs and saying hello.”
🧠 Improved Empathy and Compassion
Children become more aware of others’ feelings and more considerate — particularly in their interactions with the therapy dogs and peers.
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“She is empathetic and careful with her actions when it comes to being around the dogs.”
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“He displayed empathy for his peers and the therapy dog and reported feeling happy in sessions.”
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“Rudy is kind, lovely, cute, adorable — she takes my mind off things.”
🎯 Improved Motivation
This includes both emotional motivation (wanting to engage) and academic motivation (wanting to do better at school).
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“It has helped me think more about my life and progress I can make if I try.”
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“She has made an improvement on her report cards and motivation to want to do better in lessons and at school.”
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“These sessions are the highlight of his week — he is really struggling with being in school at the moment.”
🏫 Incentive to Attend School or Access Learning
Sessions provide structure, predictability, and motivation to attend school — particularly for those who struggle with anxiety or disconnection.
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“PAWS sessions help on a Friday — I usually get detention in RE and Spanish but not when I’ve seen the dog.”
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“Due to this support she was able to access education and sit her final exams.”
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“He is always excited to go to school on his day to see Bramley.”