Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum

Holy Cross College teaches Protective Behaviours through the evidence based ‘Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum’ which assists students to recognise unsafe situations, respond to unsafe situations and tell a trusted adult if they feel unsafe. The trusted adults in children’s lives might include parents, teachers, neighbours and emergency helpers such as Police and Counsellors from the Kids Help Line. This is another reason why we avoid using the catch phrase ‘Stranger Danger’ as there may be times that a stranger is the very person a child needs to turn to for help.

Protective Behaviours education through the Keeping Safe Curriculum is about providing students with information and skills that can help prevent abuse, without making students frightened of their world and includes topics such as:

• Feelings
• Body signals/warning signs
• Networks (trusted adults)/Persistence
• Safe and Unsafe Secrets
• Correct anatomical names for body parts
• Rules about touch
• Personal space and consent
• Assertive skills – the right to say no
• Problem solving strategies
• Responding to emergency situations
• Online safety

Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum is integrated into the Health Curriculum and as well as being taught at Holy Cross College by all teachers in every year group from Kindy to Year 12. Teachers also integrate the Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum topics into other curriculum areas. Every staff member at Holy Cross College finds teachable moments to reinforce key safety messages such as “We all have the right to be safe” and “We can help ourselves be safe by talking to people we trust”.

A Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum and Cybersafety or Legal Aid R U Legal? parent workshops are both held once a year to ensure that parents have information on how to reinforce the Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum safety messages and topics at home.

There are many fabulous story books that can assist you in having safety discussions at home. WA Child Safety Services has an online bookstore Shop – WA Child Safety Services Protective Behaviours Books (wacss.com.au) or request to borrow from your local library.

Some suggested titles include:

• Everyone’s Got a Bottom
• My Body Belongs to Me
• My Body What I Say Goes
• My Body Your Body
• My Underpants Rule
• No Means No
• Only For Me

The College has a responsibility to students and their family, other members of the school community and the wider community to provide and support safe and competent education and care of students.

Mrs Christina Davini

Assistant Deputy Principal, Inter-relationships