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Learning objective
Students explore trusted adults who can help them to feel safe on a 'helping hand'.
Take home messages
Curriculum links
HPE: Being healthy, safe and active
- Protective behaviours to keep safe and healthy
- Trusted people in the community who can help individuals feel safe
International technical guidance on sexuality education
Key concept 4.2 (5-8 years)
- Everyone has a right to decide who can touch their body, where, and in what way.
Key concept 5.2 (5-8 years)
- Everyone deserves to make their own decisions and all decisions have consequences.
Key concept 5.5 (5-8 years)
- Friends, family, teachers, religious leaders and community members can and should help each other.
Materials
- Blank A4 paper (can be coloured) - 1 per student
Before you get started
Before you get started
- Protective interrupting - Teachers need to know and understand how to use this technique to prevent students form potentially disclosing sensitive information or abuse in front of other students.
- Dealing with disclosures - Teachers must be aware of the school and legal procedures if a student discloses personal issues, particularly disclosures of sexual abuse.
Learning activities
Discussion: Adult we can trust
10 min
- Ask:
Who are some people in our families that we can go to if we need help?
(mum, dad, grandmother, grandfather, aunties, uncles, elders, older siblings, bonus-aunties and uncles)
Teaching tip: This is a good opportunity to discuss cultural diversity - different names used for grandparents and aunties/uncles, etc (e.g. Nonna/Nonno, NaiNai/YeYe, etc)
Who are some people in our community that we can go to if we need help?
(teachers, police, doctors, security officers, nurses, neighbours, etc)
Body signals
10 min
- Discuss:
"Close your eyes and think of one of the adults in your life that you love and trust. Picture them being here with you."
- Ask:
How do you feel when you are with someone that you love and trust?
(good, warm, safe, loved, happy, cuddly, protected, etc)
How does your body tell you that you feel this way?
(feel warm in my tummy, feel it in my heart, mind is calm, body is relaxed)
- Discuss:
"Our bodies are very good at giving as signals to tell us when we feel safe or not safe. A trusted adult is someone that's actions and words make us feel safe."
- Invite students to share who their person was that they thought of as someone they love and trust.
- Ask:
Did everyone have the same adult?
(It is likely that there will be a range of responses.)
- Discuss:
"We all have different people that we are close to and love and trust. That is ok. Only you can tell who you feel safe with."
Helping hand
15 min
- Ask students to hold up one hand (5 fingers) and see if they can list a trusted adult for each finger.
- In pairs, give students a piece of A4 paper each and have them trace around their partner's hand on a piece of blank paper.
- Ask students to draw a face on the end of each finger to show a different trusted adult.
- Remind students that trusted adults can include teachers, police officers, doctors, family friends, etc.
Teaching tip: It is very important not to list the trusted adults for students to write (e.g. Do not tell them to write mum on the first finger, dad on the second finger, etc). For some students these may not be trusted adults in their lives.
3-2-1 Reflection
5 min
- Explain:
"The trusted adults we have listed on our helping hands are all people we can go to if we need help or to talk to about anything."
- Ask:
Who would you call if there was an emergency?
(000, ensure students do not think that the American/UK/etc emergency number works in Australia)
- Say
"Let's pretend we need to phone 000. Pick up your phones and dial 000."
(Model the conversation with the teacher as the operator...
Operator: Ambulance, Fire or Police?
Students: (answer)
Operator: What address?
Students: (say address)
Operator: What has happened?
Students: (answer)
- Note any students who do not know their address and have a teaching assistant work with them to rehearse their address in this scenario at a later date.
- Ask students to add '000' to the palm of their helping hand.
