PROTECTING CHILDREN - A SHARED RESPONSIBIITY
Chapter 6: Education for child protection
121. Schools can play a part in the prevention of child abuse through the curriculum by:
- raising pupil awareness of risks;
- developing in them skills which will help them to keep themselves safe;
- helping them recognise behaviours in others which make them feel uncomfortable; and teaching them how to respond in order to protect themselves or others.
122. There are 3 dimensions to such a curriculum:
- personal safety education;
- cross curricular and informal curricular initiatives;
- specific courses on childcare and parenting
Personal safety education
123. Following the publication in 1996 of A Commitment to Protect, there has been a national expectation that 'all education authorities should have in place a personal safety programme promoting pupils' skills, knowledge and understanding to assist them in living safely and to feel empowered to reject inappropriate behaviour.' The Scottish Office publication Promoting personal safety and child protection in the curriculum 1998 provided schools with good guidance on approaches to developing such a personal safety curriculum, and the range of resources then available. Key components of such a curriculum should be:
- respect for self and others (children's rights, anti bullying, valuing diversity; citizenship);
- risks from the environment (prevention of accidents);
- risks from others (bullying; internet chat rooms; sex offenders; prostitution);
- risks from one's own actions (alcohol, drugs, dangerous relationships, running away);
- risk assessment; and
- sources of help.
124. More recently the need for such a curriculum has been reinforced by the Expert Panel on Sex Offending Report published in June 2001, Reducing the risk -improving the response to sex offending (the Cosgrove Report). Within it are recommendations on how best to protect vulnerable young people from abuse and how best to treat young people who are causing concern because of sexually aggressive behaviour or offending. A list of the relevant recommendations is attached at Appendix 4. The Expert Panel on Sex Offending recommended the universal promotion of personal safety programmes through the education system and the promotion of healthy and safe relationships within these programmes.
125. Education in personal safety should be available to all pupils, including in independent, grant-aided and residential schools, and should be a progressive programme that is taught throughout the school year. School staff should consider the benefits of involving members of other agencies, in the delivery of these programmes. Teachers and such other professionals involved in its delivery should receive appropriate training.
126. In developing a personal safety course, there is a need to ensure that children's awareness is raised without causing undue anxiety. In line with the advice in Circular 2/2001 sex education should ' provide provide knowledge and understanding of the nature of sexuality and the processes of human reproduction within the context of relationships based on love and respect. It should develop understanding and attitudes, which will help pupils to form relationships in a responsible and healthy manner'. The principles and aims of sex education, as recommended by the Working Group on Sex Education are set out in Appendix 10.
127. It is important that the materials and approaches used are appropriate to the age and experience of the children, and that progression is evident to the children themselves. Materials appropriate to the needs of children in one school may be 'over-the-head' of those in another. However it is never too early to begin - increasingly nurseries find themselves addressing the needs of the children of drug using parents.
128. It is important that education about protection from child abuse is linked in other aspects of the formal and informal curriculum. Young people need to learn about personal safety in relation to mobile phones and texting, computer use, and in the environment when engaged in outdoor education or fieldwork. Teaching should also include guidance which helps children and young people to develop the necessary skills which will alert them to inappropriate behaviour. The very close links between education for personal and social development and health education must not be forgotten. Good personal safety courses extend beyond catalogues of information to opportunities to develop values and practice relevant skills in role play and game situations. Pupils need to regularly revisit these experiences in varied and more demanding ways if they are to maintain and develop their skills and understanding. This presents a particular challenge when pupils move to the next stage of their education, and requires good links between establishments. In putting such courses into place, schools should ensure that parents are aware of the contents, both as a way of developing partnership, and to better inform parents themselves about the nature of the risks to which children are exposed. Such communication should be two-way, allowing parents to express any concerns they have about personal safety programmes.
Personal Development - Cross curricular and informal curricular initiatives
129. Many children are vulnerable to abuse because they lack self-confidence or a sense of self worth. Others have had their sense of self systematically eroded by the circumstances in which they live. School staff can do much to help restore children's sense of self esteem.
- Whole school and class initiatives which seek to identify and recognise individuals' strengths can contribute to a better sense of worth;
- Well- judged allocation of responsibilities to individuals can enable them to experience the success of a task well -performed;
- Effectively planned circle time can enable younger children to hear the positive comments of their peers;
- Opportunities to participate in extra curricular activities or residential experiences can develop social and non- academic skills;
- Good whole school anti- bullying initiatives address the whole range of peer behaviours which can result in children feeling diminished;
- In particular cases, a specific plan which enables a child to receive regular 1:1 attention from a caring adult may help them develop appropriate relationships.
130. Special efforts should be made to engage with those children who are less easy to reach, such as those with a history of truancy. For such children programmes can be delivered through other forms of community activities.
Childcare and parenting
131. When children have not experienced good parenting and affection themselves, they have difficulty in identifying the range of behaviours which will allow them, in turn, to be good parents. Although a number of people are able to overcome childhood adversity, some parents who were themselves neglected or abused as children, are unable in adulthood to protect their own children from abuse. Family centres and adult parenting classes address these concerns, but often only after problems are already evident. There is a place within the mainstream school curriculum for certificated childcare and parenting courses, which will allow young people to learn the principles of child development and the roles and responsibilities of parenthood and also to develop practical skills in school based crèches or through work experience. Such courses, dealing as they do with the fundamentals of human relationships, are appropriate for all young people, but will be particularly valuable for young people who for one reason or another have been deprived of a caring home life.