| Pupils to get Sex Abuse Warnings (Keeping Myself Safe - Evening News) |
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| Thursday, 30 November 2006 01:00 |
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One cartoon shows a stranger indecently touching an 11-year-old girl on a bus. Another features a boy of the same age who has to fend off the advances of his swimming instructor. The cartoons also deal with alcohol abuse, bullying, peer pressure and violence - one child is beaten up at home by his stepfather - but sexual abuse is the most frequent theme. One girl has to advise a friend who confides in her when her brother starts coming into her bedroom at night. A city council education spokeswoman said: "These are sensitive issues and we will be approaching them using fictional scenarios. "The children will be asked to identify strategies for being assertive, and find ways of removing themselves from situations where their personal safety is being compromised. It's about letting someone know what is going on and knowing who to trust. "Take the girl on the bus scenario, for example. The teacher and pupils will watch the animated story together and after watching the clip, the children will be asked to discuss what is appropriate and what is inappropriate touching in that scenario; what would be wanted and what would be unwanted." Keeping Yourself Safe will replace the Feeling Yes, Feeling No child safety educational programme currently used in primary schools. Designed 20 years ago, Feeling Yes, Feeling No is considered out of date when the internet and mobile phones play such a large part in children's lives. Alan Wait, Learning Curve's managing director, said: "This deals with hard-hitting issues and offers strategies the children can use when their personal safety is at risk." He denied that education chiefs had prioritised sexual abuse as the main threat to children, though it occurs most frequently in the ten animated cautionary tales. "There are four stories which deal with sexual abuse because we had to cover two elements - one involving someone the child knows and trusts, and the other involving a stranger, such as someone on the bus or in an internet chatroom," Mr Wait said. "Others deal with peer pressure, keeping safe on the streets, and the risks involved in not telling your parents. "Half way through developing the programme it was decided that domestic violence should also be included. "This really breaks a lot of new ground in personal safety information given to young children. "Hopefully it will teach them how to say no to someone and who they can trust if they have a problem. We will also give them Childline numbers, details of where to get support and even how to make a disclosure of sexual abuse." |