Overview
The Victorian Government has committed to provide funding to schools for the implementation and delivery of animal-assisted programs in Victorian government schools, to support the wellbeing and engagement of students.
Animal-assisted programs may be used to support:
- individual student(s) to participate, learn and succeed at school
- the inclusion of specific cohort(s) of students within the school
- whole-of-school approaches to wellbeing and engagement.
From October 2024 schools can apply for a grant for the delivery of a animal-assisted wellbeing and engagement program. This includes costs associated with implementing a new program, costs incurred in 2024 for ongoing programs, and/or professional development for staff in the effective use of in animal-assisted programs.
This initiative is available to all Victorian government schools and is a separate and complementary initiative to the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu. For information on the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu please visit the Policy and Advisory Library.
While a limited number of animal-assisted programs are available through the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu, the Animal-Assisted Programs Grant is broader in scope and schools can use it to implement their own innovative animal-assisted solutions.
These guidelines relate to the October 2024 application round, and include information about:
- who can apply for funding
- what the funding can be used for
- how to apply
- how your information will be used
- additional guidance and support available to schools.
Animal-assisted programs
Animals can be incorporated into school communities in a variety of ways, including:
- School support animal – where an animal is trained to work in a school under the care of a trained handler to engage in goal-directed, structured programs to support student wellbeing and engagement.
- Animal-assisted therapy – where an animal is used by a psychologist, counsellor or social worker in delivering their professional services to help support the psychological needs of students (e.g. canine-assisted therapy, equine-assisted therapy. Animals trained to work alongside qualified health professionals are referred to as therapy animals.)
- Animal-assisted activities – where students participate in activities involving animals for the purposes of student support or environment enrichment for example, programs where students read to dogs. Activities may involve the engagement of an external organisation.
There is a range of policies and resources to support schools to deliver high-quality animal assisted programs. For more information, refer to the Further Support and Guidance section at the end of this page.
Animal-assisted program grants
This grant initiative provides funds to support schools with the cost of integrating animal-assisted wellbeing and engagement programs into their school. Before applying for a grant, schools should ensure best practice has been followed for designing and implementing an animal-assisted program. Schools should consider factors such as:
- the need being addressed through the proposed animal-assisted program
- whether an animal-assisted program is appropriate and, if so, the type of animal-assisted program that is best suited to address that need
- the outcomes expected from the animal-assisted program
- the practicalities of implementing and maintaining an animal-assisted program, including the ability to uphold animal welfare standards
- the type of training and support needed for staff, students, and animal(s) to ensure the animal-assisted program is implemented safely and effectively
- ensuring any external organisation engaged to help implement the program adheres to principles for best practice including, and not limited to:
- appropriate training qualifications relating to the use of animals for therapeutic purposes
- provision of appropriate and ethical services
- continued staff professional development.
- how the school will evaluate the effectiveness of the animal-assisted program.
Further information and resources to support schools to plan and deliver high-quality animal-assisted programs can be found below under Further Support and Guidance.
Grants open
7 October to 15 November 2024
Guidelines
Updated