Te Wairua Fernandez, who has autism, is afraid to go to school because he is scared of a dog a parent brings in before and after class.

A 5-year-old boy with autism is often afraid to go to school due to the presence of a dog outside his classroom.

Janisa Fernandez said although her brother, Te Wairua, had only been attending school for a month, he was finding it hard to cope.

​The dog, a labrador, was brought into Halsey Drive School in Lynfield, West Auckland, both before and after classes.

"Often the dog is pressing up against the door of the classroom and he has to pass it to get out. He's so scared of it."

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Fernandez and her mother have approached the school directly and explained the stress Te Wairua was under, she said.

Chris Skelton/Stuff Janisa Fernandez wants dogs banned from the premises of her brother's school.

They want dogs banned from the schools grounds.

"We emailed the school and asked them about their policy on having dogs inside the school. They told us parents were welcome to bring their dogs into the school as long as they were on a leash."

In the return email Fernandez received, the school's principal Cheryl Davies-Crook said she saw having animals around the school as a "positive experience".

"The dog in question is a young dog in training and I know the parent is a very responsible dog owner," the email read.

"I will mention it to her and if you can use this opportunity to help Te Wairua with animals it will be a win win."

Fernandez said she wasn't impressed with the response, as it wasn't a matter of her brother not being comfortable around animals.

Chris Skelton Fernandez's brother has been at Halsey Drive School for around a month.

"We have a dog at home and he's fine, it's just because this is a dog he doesn't know and it often barks loudly at him – it's just a sensory overload.

"As a family we're all just very worried about how this is affecting him, he's only just started school and we want it to be a good experience for him."

Davies-Crook said she had spoken with the owner of the dog about the issue as well as having a discussion with teachers and staff at the school.

"According to everyone I've spoken to, the dog has not been barking and just sits quietly on a leash.

"The dog is always right next to the owner."

Any dog that was not well-behaved or aggressive would not be allowed on school grounds, Davies-Crook said.

Chris Skelton The noise dogs make can be overwhelming for children with sensory issues.

"I've been working here 13 years and we've never had this problem before. There is no issue here."

A Ministry of Education spokesperson said while most schools did not allow dogs on their grounds, it was up to the principal to set the rules.

Bark NZ director Heather Laanbroek, who helps communities with safety around dogs, also said it was very common for schools to have a no dog policy.

"[However] this means [people are] leaving their dogs tied up outside the gates, which isn't great either."

Laanbroek said about 60 per cent of the children she worked with who had a phobia of dogs, known as cynophobia, had autism or other sensory processing challenges.

"When a child with autism sees a dog in a place where they don't expect it to be, like a school, it can cause them to feel afraid."

However, Laanbroek said she believed allowing dogs into schools on leashes was a good thing.

"There needs to be good guidelines around it of course, but I think it's better than having dogs left unattended outside the school gate."

Fernandez has complained to the school's board of trustees.