Young children at Chilton Primary in Ramsgate have made friends with a guide dog and its owner as part of their learning about senses.

The topic for the Year 1 pupils also encouraged them to consider what life is like for people who have some senses that they cannot rely on

To bring this into perspective they welcomed the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in to school and met Aarron who brought Rufus the dog along with him.

The children got to experience first-hand how Rufus helps Aarron in day-to-day life, with the owner describing how he trusts and relies on his dog as his best friend.

The school had a non-school uniform day, as well as holding a cake sale for the charity, raising more than £400.

The visit formed part of the year group’s ongoing thematic topic called I Care About Me and as part of this they investigated their senses through a series of science experiments.

They explored their touch, sight, taste, hearing, and smell. When exploring their taste they tested sweet, sour and salty foods to see if they could identity which foods they were experiencing.

For listening, they went on a ‘sound walk’ around school, shutting their eyes at various points to use their listening skills to identify their sounds around them. For touch, they identified objects in a feely bag using that sense only.

Deputy Head of School Hannah Cheshire said: “This is an important topic as it helps our younger children explore their world and consider their part in it.

“Learning about senses magnifies how and what they experience as a person, while the session with Aarron and Rufus really highlighted just how much a person with deprived sight can function through the eyes of a trusted and well-trained dog.

“We wanted to support the charity in its fantastic work and we are happy to have raised funds for them.”

Other aspects of the topic include health, wellbeing and hygiene; learning about the basic parts of a human body; finding out about scientist Edward Jenner, the English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine; and investigating germs and their impact on how bodies function.

To understand the importance of nutrition they will use the knowledge they gain during the topic to create a healthy dish which they will prepare by cutting, peeling and grating food.

Chilton Primary is part of the Viking Academy trust with partner schools Ramsgate Arts Primary and Upton Junior.