1. Recognise, React, Report
Welcome audience members and thank them for attending
Introduce yourself
Provide any housekeeping information such as:
Toilets
Fire evacuation procedure
Mobile phones – off or silent
Question time available at the end – to ensure presentation finishes on time and to allow for people who have to get away on time
Confirm duration time of 30 minutes with time available for questions at the end
Identify where in the room hand outs/materials are located for viewing/taking.

3. Background
The Department of Education, Training and Employment together with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation have developed a child safety curriculum for Queensland students in both state and non-state schools.

4. and representatives from the:
The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum has been developed in consultation with a working group comprising:
Bruce and Denise Morcombe
the Commissioner for Children, Young People and Child Guardian,
and representatives from the:
Department of Education, Training and Employment
Queensland Police Service, and
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.

5. The following experts in the field of child safety education also provided advice and critical feedback about the curriculum materials:
Dr Kerryann Walsh, QUT, Associate Professor
Dr Jennifer Sanderson, Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian
Holly Brennan OAM, Family Planning Queensland

6. Purpose of this session
Shared responsibility – a home, school and community partnership
Outline the key safety messages of the curriculum
Skill development - strategies
Dangerous messages & myths
Providing support for parents/carers.

7. Why teach child safety?
Support children and young people to make safe decisions
Many injuries sustained by children and young people are preventable accidents
The curriculum covers a broad range of safety issues:
– home
– environment
– personal.
This curriculum is not about making children totally responsible for their own safety.
However, as parents/teachers it is impossible to guard over children every second of the day.
Safety education in school is a way of supporting children and young people to think about the choices they make to keep themselves safe or to know how to get help if they are unsafe.
We explore a range of realistic safety issues that children and young people may encounter in the home, in their environment or to them personally.

8. Benefits for students
Increase in knowledge and skills to respond to unsafe situations
The more comprehensive the program = more knowledge and skill gain
Children as young as four years of age can benefit
Can encourage children or young people to speak out about harm.
There are many positive outcomes for students who are involved in a child safety curriculum.
The research indicates that children do increase their knowledge and skills to respond to unsafe situations.
There is also a measurable increase in skill and knowledge when the program is more comprehensive.
The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum can be considered ‘comprehensive’.
The research also tells us that children as young as four years of age can benefit from learning about safety and that safety education can encourage students to report when they are being harmed.

9. Good practice recommendations
Integrated into the curriculum
Health and Physical Education (HPE):
– Health
– Physical Activity
– Personal Development.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT):
– ethical, safe and responsible practices when working with ICT.
The Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum has been developed using evidence-based research from around the world.
This research has informed the curriculum writers about what is important to include and how it is best delivered to students.
The safety curriculum is integrated into the existing school curriculum as a recommended good practice.
We are primarily aligning it with the Health and Physical Education curriculum. HPE is a three part curriculum.
Many of you will be familiar with the Physical Activity section which relates to movement skills.
In both primary and secondary schools, this part is normally taught by the specialist PE teacher.
However, in primary schools, the other two sections, Health and Personal Development are generally areas that the primary classroom teacher will be teaching.
Health includes individual behaviour and actions that promote wellbeing and safety, e.g. wearing a helmet when cycling, being SunSmart and adopting safe strategies such as when we cross the road.
Personal Development includes effective communication, self confidence and resolution strategies.
These are all aspects of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum.
ICT is also an important part of the integration with time spent considering safety practices that relate to safe communication on phones and computers. In the early years this includes learning not to share personal information. With older students its focus turns to issues such as cyber bullying, online gaming and social media sites.

10. Comprehensive programs repeated annually
Developmentally appropriate (Phases: Prep –Year 2, Years 3 – 6 and Years 7– 9)
Parent information provided
Not limited to one issue e.g. bullying
Includes online safety
Variety of teaching methods.
Briefly, there are many aspects of good practice which have been considered in the development of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum. Some of these include:
Prevention education – Prevention education is most effective if it is repeated each year and when the program or curriculum is comprehensive rather than ‘one off’ sessions.
Designed for a range of years – The curriculum has been designed for the learning needs of students across a range of years not just one program for a whole school.
Parent information – Parents are provided with information about the curriculum. That is the purpose of this session, for you to learn about what is being taught and to give you an opportunity to ask questions.
Not limited – Good practice means that school safety programs are not limited to one issue, e.g. train safety, bullying or sun safety. The skills and strategies students develop are ‘life long learning’ strategies that can assist them to stay safe in a variety of situations.
Online safety – Good practice also includes an online safety component. As previously mentioned, the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum does address safety issues associated with modern technology.
6. Variety – The curriculum uses a variety of teaching methods to engage students including books, role play and discussion groups. Some of the interactive technology used includes interactive white board activities and online tasks.

11. Parent involvement Reinforce messages at home Continue discussion
Use ‘teachable moments’ to develop skills.
The research tells us that safety education is most successful when it is a combined message from both the home and school.
We believe it is important that children and young people discuss what they learn about safety in the classroom with you at home.
Classroom activities and safety postcards with key safety messages will come home with primary students throughout the safety program.
We hope this will encourage students to chat with you about what they are learning.
We also hope it will inform parents about what is being discussed and when, and allow you to reinforce these messages in your home.
This provides further opportunity for children and young people to increase their knowledge and develop their skills.
Teachers often use ‘teachable moments’ to reinforce messages.
With the issue of safety, this helps give children a context. This means they understand when to apply certain strategies or learnings.
We suggest parents can also reinforce safety messages using ‘teachable moments’.
For example when you go into a busy location such as the Ekka, you might make a plan about where you meet if someone gets lost. You could talk about who you can approach for help if you get separated and you might ensure that the child knows your mobile number or has it written down so they can get someone such as the police to call you.
With the increasing independence of young people in the Years 7-9 phase, discussion could include what to do if, for example, they miss public transport from school, a friend’s house or a part-time job. It is also important to let young people know that you will be happy to answer any questions they may have about relationship safety, social media and other aspects of adolescence and give support if they are in a risky situation.

12. Recognise, React, Report
– awareness
– clues in the environment
– body clues.
React
– becoming safe as quickly as possible.
Report
– must tell an adult.
There are three core messages we use across all year levels - Recognise, React and Report.
We believe these messages are just as valid for a Prep student as they are for us as adults.
What these mean:
Recognise: We start with teaching awareness of surroundings.
Using the clues around us can help to keep us safe or warn us about an unsafe situation.
We also encourage children and young people to respond to their own body clues.
These can warn us when something might not be right and we want them to trust in the message their body is giving them.
React: React is about making yourself safe again as quickly as possible.
It also includes selecting the best option when there are choices available.
Report: Report is about encouraging children and young people to report to an adult when they are unsafe, or have been unsafe.
Even if they have been able to make themselves safe we still want them to Report.
This is important where there needs to be some follow-up action by an adult, to resolve a problem or to ensure it does not happen again.

13. Recognise Clues – environment, body Alert to indicators
Identifying risks and assessing
Knowing what is wrong, breaks rules or against the law
Private body parts.
Recognise is our first key message.
Clues are the things in our environment that can alert us to a potentially unsafe situation.
Our early years students start with things that might be seen e.g. warning labels; heard e.g. fire alarm; or smelt e.g. sour milk.
The indicators for danger can be all around us and it’s important to use these clues to help keep us safe.
Clues are just as relevant for teenagers and adults as they are for young children.
Being aware of our surroundings can help keep us safe. For example using a well-lit area when walking at night rather than cutting through a park or laneway.
Our body can also give us clues and alert us to unsafe situations.
We encourage children and young people not to disregard these body clues if they do experience them. For example, a teenager is feeling uneasy about getting into a car with mates.
This body clue is possibly identifying that there may be some risk associated with the activity.
Recognising what we are feeling, and trusting in this may keep us safe from harm.
Recognise is also learning that we have rules to keep us safe.
Even in Prep, children develop an understanding of why it’s necessary to have rules and how these keep us safe.
The phases for older students’, Years and Years includes discussion about children’s rights and extends to discussions about the right to be treated fairly e.g. in the workplace.
Children and young people also learn about rules associated with private body parts.

14. Private body parts Anatomical language (vagina and penis) Research
Shame and embarrassment
Inappropriate touch
Confidence – deterrent to abusers.
It is important that children and young students use the anatomical language for their bodies so that if they need to report anything related to these private body parts there is no confusion. With young students we explain that is the language a doctor would commonly use.
Using slang like ‘pencil’ for a penis can confuse the message the child is telling us.
By making the word penis as ordinary as the words arm or leg, we are reducing the shame and embarrassment that children and young people may experience talking about private body parts.
This is critical for giving them the confidence to report if they are exposed to inappropriate images of private body parts or they are being inappropriately touched.
Research also informs us that if children and young people are confident using this language they are also less likely to be a victim of this sort of harm.
We are empowering our children by using anatomical language.
We accept this can be confronting for some adults because of their own beliefs, background or culture but it is critically important for the protection of children and young people.
Research also tells us that sadly, even very young children can be the victim of sexual abuse and this is why it is necessary to start using this anatomical language from an early age.

15. React Becoming safe as quickly as possible
Rule breaking and contesting adult authority
Choices - best option if you can
Exit plans / problem solving
Planning ahead / prevention.
React is our second key message which is about becoming safe as quickly as possible.
Children also learn that to become safe may mean breaking the usual rules.
For instance, saying “no” or yelling at an adult who is harming them, smashing a window to escape a fire or running across a road to escape from someone.
Children and young people are also taught that sometimes we may have several choices available about how we can react.
Our early years students are given the following scenario: a syringe in school grounds.
They consider all the possible options (e.g. pick it up and put in bin; stomp on it and bury it; tell all their friends to come and look; tell the teacher on duty; stay with it and get a friend to go and report it to duty teacher or office; pick it up and play with it).
The focus is on selecting the best option. In this scenario we discourage children from picking it up, even though putting it in a bin would be removing the risk. The best option is to inform an adult who can help to remove it.
This also helps prepare children for a future similar incident e.g. broken glass in the park, allowing them to reflect on the choices that were considered in the classroom.
For older students, avoidance or exit plans are discussed to help them prepare ‘back out’ options to save face in front of peers. For example, if they are being pressured to get into a mate’s car, it might be better to say “I’m feeling sick, I think I’m going to vomit”.
Rather than saying they don’t trust the mates driving skills, it gives them a safe way of removing themselves from a high risk situation.
By planning ahead for scenarios like this, young people have a toolbox of possible react strategies to choose from if faced with unsafe situations with their peers. They are learning to make decisions that will aid personal safety.
Planning ahead and considering issues such as street lighting, or informing people where we are going and who we are with, can prevent children and young people from being in unsafe situations.

16. Report Telling an adult Someone who will listen and help
Safety helpers – let them know
Display list (safety hand in room).
Report, the third message, is a critical aspect of the curriculum. Children and young people are encouraged to report when they are unsafe.
Even if they have made themselves safe we still encourage them to report what has happened to an adult.
This is important to ensure that if some further action is required, such as fixing a problem or telling the police, then this can occur.
As a part of report we encourage children and students to make a list of adults who they think would be prepared to listen to them and help them if they asked. Our younger students use the safety hand.
While the list can include adult family members, we suggest students also include adults outside of the home, for example, a friend’s parent, teacher or coach. Students in the Years 7-9 phase will have opportunity to research organisations and websites that provide support for a range of issues that young people may face, including forms of abuse.
We hope you will encourage your child to inform the adults on their list that they have been nominated as safety helpers. This is important so those people know to stop and listen if your child comes to them for help.
For our young students we especially hope the safety hand will be placed somewhere they can easily see it, e.g. in their bedroom. You might help to provide the phone numbers for the safety helpers and write them on the hand.

17. Dangerous messages Stranger danger Police will take you away
Obeying an adult’s instructions
Affection and expectations.
Safety education is not about causing anxiety and fear for children or young people. This curriculum is designed to provide students with skills and strategies that can support them to be safe. It is about making them confident to deal with a range of situations.
Some common messages that can be confusing for children include:
Risks posed by strangers: Young children often form images of what a stranger looks like, generally someone big and scary, who wears black and possibly has tattoos. They rarely conceive that a stranger is simply someone they don’t know, whether they are male or female.
While we need to treat strangers with some caution, we need to remember that it might be strangers who can help us when we are unsafe. It would be unfortunate if a child disregarded potential help, such as someone watering their front garden or a mother walking with children just because they are strangers.
Unfortunately, the data tells us that the majority of young people who are harmed, are harmed by someone they know. Whilst messages about getting into a stranger’s vehicle, accepting gifts from strangers or going with strangers at their request are valid, these need to be balanced with messages about how strangers can also help us when we are unsafe.
Police will take you away: This is a common message that parents use to discipline children who are misbehaving. However, we want children to know that police are adults that can help them become safe.
We want children to feel safe approaching police rather than being afraid of them.
Obeying an adults instructions: A variety of strategies are considered when students are thinking about how to react in unsafe situations. One strategy is to say or yell ‘no’ or ‘stop’ to a person causing the harm.
It can be difficult for children to question the authority of an adult, particularly if they constantly hear “you must do everything an adult says”. It is important that we tell children it is OK to say no if someone is making them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.
Affection: If children or young people feel uncomfortable about receiving affection, for example, a kiss from grandma, regardless of how well intentioned or innocent it is, we need to respect their choice to refuse.
We suggest in the safety lessons that students respectfully seek an alternate greeting such as a handshake or verbal greeting if they don’t feel comfortable receiving affection like kisses or hugs from a particular person. If we insist that a child comply with the unwanted affection against their wishes then it becomes difficult for this child to resist possible abusive touches or to report the incident because we have previously ignored their wishes.

18. Child sexual abuse It won’t happen to us Grooming – child and parents.
This is a common response from parents.
None of us like to think that our own child is at risk or that we could expose them to this sort of risk.
We generally believe our friends and family could not possibly harm our child.
However, in 85 – 90 per cent of child sexual abuse cases, the offenders are known to the child.
Sex offenders target children from every possible demographic.
The statistics prove that victims come from every part of society regardless of their education, religion, skin colour or socioeconomic status.
Research also tells us child sex offenders (aka paedophiles) frequently spend time grooming not only their victims but also the families.
They can manipulate parents to form trusting relationships with them and the child/ren.
They gain trust over time and spend considerable time convincing parents what a nice person they are before any touching behaviours occur with a child.
Abuse of a child often begins with non-sexual touching (e.g. tickling, bathing, hair brushing, wrestling) before escalating to sexual touch.
Rarely is physical force used.
Sex offenders can groom children using gifts or rewards or by giving special attention to a child who is feeling neglected.

19. Harm School policy Types of harm (abuse): Disclosures Report to:
– physical
– emotional
– neglect, or
– sexual.
Disclosures
Report to:
– Queensland Police Service
– Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
Each educational jurisdiction will have its own relevant form of Student Protection Policy.
Education Queensland has the Student Protection procedure which outlines the responsibilities of employees in their care of students. The procedure includes a definition of ‘harm’ - this means any detrimental effect of a significant nature on the child’s physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing. It is immaterial how the harm is caused. Harm can be caused by:
physical abuse
psychological or emotional abuse
neglect, or
sexual abuse or exploitation.
Harm of a child can be a single incident, or can be a number of different incidents that take place over time.
In Australia a child is reported abused or neglected every two minutes (NAPCAN, 2008).
In 45 per cent of cases where a child is hospitalised for assault, the perpetrator was either a parent, carer or family member (A Picture of Australia’s Children, 2009).
Disclosures: It is possible that when students undertake safety education in school they may make a disclosure about some sort of harm. Disclosure means they are telling. This might be to teachers, friends, an adult they have enlisted as a safety helper, or to you. We encourage students to ‘REPORT’ and we want you to be prepared if your child comes to you.
It is important that if a child makes a disclosure that you respond in a way that will not further distress or harm the child. It is important that you give the child your full attention.
Allow them to tell you what happened in their own time and in their own way, without interruption.
Remember that they may be experiencing shame, embarrassment, anxiety or fear and it may take time for them to articulate the abuse.
It is crucial to be supportive and reassure the child that you will listen to what they have to tell you.
If a disclosure of harm to your child or a child you know is made then you are advised to contact the police or the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.

20. Disclosures Shame and embarrassment
Fearful of perpetrator – threats of harm to child or someone else they know
Fear they won’t be believed
Scared of outcome – for the perpetrator, impact on the family.
It can be extremely difficult for a child or young person to make a disclosure.
It is very normal for them to experience fear of retribution, embarrassment and shame.
The harm they are reporting may have gone on for some time and it may have been caused by someone they know and possibly like.
It is important to listen and try to stay calm.
Allow the child time to articulate what has happened. Remember they may be feeling quite anxious or scared, and it may take time.
They may be worried that they won’t be believed.
This is often something the abusers will have told them to stop them ‘telling’.
Another common tactic perpetrators use is to tell the victim they will be responsible for the family unit being destroyed as a result of them ‘telling’. If the abuser is an immediate family member this can be a complex issue, however, you must be supportive of the child reporting the harm and take steps to ensure this harm does not continue.
If what the child or young person is reporting is serious, for example, abuse by an adult or young person, then you need to seek the assistance of police or the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to investigate the matter.
The phone number for the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services is included in the Parent Guide.

21. Question time
This is your opportunity to ask questions or seek clarification about the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum.
Thank audience members for attending.
Indicate where in the room the materials/brochures are located.
We welcome any questions about the curriculum. We do ask that personal stories or details are not used during this session but please feel free to see me at the end of the presentation if you would like to discuss anything of a personal nature.
Any questions? (Be prepared to use protective interrupting in the event that someone starts to reveal personal stories).
Possible questions/issues that may be raised and possible responses (also continued on following slide)
1. This is just another version of ‘stranger danger’ / focus on abduction
Stanger danger is a program that many of us would have grown up with. At the time its aim was to keep children safe. While there are some valid messages in that program, for example, not getting into stranger’s cars, we acknowledge that strangers can in fact be very helpful people if we are unsafe.
Sadly, the majority of young victims are harmed by someone they know and trust. Our curriculum considers abduction scenarios and discusses safety strategies, like walking with a friend or telling someone where you are going.
The curriculum is devoted to a range of safety issues that children and young people are more likely to encounter. Our aim is to help them develop skills that might help them to avoid or react to a range of unsafe situations.
2. Too much onus on young children
The curriculum has been purposefully designed and considers children’s age and development. We are not promoting that children become totally responsible for their safety but we are teaching them that they have a role in making sensible choices, whether that is in the playground or crossing the road.
Private body parts/ sex education
We do teach and encourage students to use anatomical language when identifying private body parts. We do not teach sexuality but simply name these body parts in the same manner we call an arm or leg by its name. By doing this we remove the embarrassment or discomfort associated with saying private body part words that can inhibit students from reporting sexual abuse. The anatomical language used is age appropriate and it is a best practice recommendation based on world wide research in the area of child sexual abuse prevention. Within the Years 7-9 phase of the curriculum, there are age appropriate scenarios provided to assist young people to make safe decisions in a range of situations that may occur in real life. Some of these scenarios include information about relationship safety so that young people know their rights and responsibilities.

22. Further information and safety resources can be found at The Department of Education, Training and Employment website at:
Display this slide during question time
Extra question/answers
Saying no to adult ‘affection’ – cultural impact / offensive to relative/adult authority / polite behaviour.
When students are uncomfortable receiving affection or embraces from adults we are encouraging them to politely say “no” and to suggest an alternate form of greeting, for example, a handshake. It is important to support our children if they are uncomfortable with an embrace. We want them to trust in their sense of discomfort or the ‘body clues’ they might experience and to be confident to speak up.
If we insist on them receiving an embrace from a friend or relative even when they are uncomfortable then the child will not feel supported to tell you about inappropriate contact because you have insisted on it occurring previously. We appreciate that this can be awkward with some relatives/friends e.g. grandparents, but we do need to respect the child’s choice not to be kissed/hugged.
5. Scaring children
The purpose of this curriculum is to help our students. The curriculum is age appropriate and uses recognised best practice in its implementation. We aim to teach safety messages in a positive way. We do not intend to create anxiety in our students or parents but to build confidence in our students to respond to safety issues in a proactive way. You are most welcome to discuss any issues that may be of a concern with me (or your child’s teacher) in private if you have a particular concern.
6. Harm won’t happen to my child (good neighbourhood, friends etc.)
World wide research informs us that child sexual abuse occurs everywhere. It is not limited to certain groups based on race, wealth or where you live. The sad reality is that perpetrators of child sexual abuse are manipulative and can work hard to create a level of trust with parents. Your child may be at risk without you realising. Providing this education may give a child the courage to stop it happening or report it if it does. What is important is that you also talk with your child about safety and issues like inappropriate touching. The more it is talked about with the child, the less likely they will become a victim.