Stay Safe Policy

This policy document was formulated by a whole school working committee representing all facets of the school community including the school principal, staff representatives, parents’ representatives and members of the Board of Management. The published policy meets the statutory obligations of the Board of Management in relation to provision of the Stay Safe programme, giving due regard to the diverse beliefs and expectations of our school community.

School Philosophy.

Scoil Íosa is a co-educational Catholic Primary School which welcomes and respects children of other religions, persuasions and cultures. The Principal and teaching staff, in co-operation with the parent body and the Board of Management work as a partnership to ensure the an atmosphere is created whereby each member of the school community is valued and where all children are encouraged to develop to their potential as confident, tolerant and caring individuals.
The ‘Stay Safe’ Programme is a personal safety skills programme for Primary Schools.

Aims of the Policy:

• The aims of the Stay Safe programme are:
• To reduce vulnerability of the children to child abuse and bullying.
• To develop the children’s ability to recognise, resist and report risk situations or abusive encounters without fear of judgement, repercussion or reprisal.
• To teach children prevention, while preserving their sense of the world around them as a basically safe and secure place.
• To allow and encourage children to exercise control and to be assertive.
• To enable the children to seek help for any problem they may encounter and to be confident that the problems are being listened to, heard and addressed in an effective, systematic manner.
• To teach simple strategies for dealing with various potentially dangerous situations to the children.
• To provide opportunities for the children to practice such strategies in the classroom and in so doing  to encourage the children to develop the skillset leading to self-protective behaviour.
• To nurture and promote self-esteem and confidence building.
• To help the children to identify and expression their feelings. This is achieved as part of both Stay Safe and SPHE.

Guidelines

• In delivering the Stay Safe programme in Scoil Íosa we will attempt to:
• Help children to identify and express safe and unsafe feelings.
• Teach children safety skills for dealing with common unsafe situations like getting lost.
• Encourage children to value friendship and to teach them skills for making and keeping friends.
• Teach children that it is not acceptable to bully others.
• Encourage children to value and enjoy normal affection.
• Teach children how to deal with an unsafe or an inappropriate touch.
• Teach the rule – never to keep secrets about touching.
• Help children to recognise the difference between a good secret and a bad secret.
• Help children identify the adults they could tell if they had a bad secret and to give them the opportunity to practice telling.
• Clarify for the children who strangers are.
• Give children safety strategies for dealing appropriately with strangers.

C: Procedures:

• Parents of all children enrolled in Scoil Íosa are provided with a copy of the parents’ handbook on joining the school.
• Parents of all children are requested to sign a consent form prior to commencing the Stay Safe or RSE programmes. This is being mindful of the varying cultural differences among our school population.
• Participation in this programme is optional and as with other sensitive areas of SPHE, parents have a right to withdraw their child.

D: Resources.

• The Stay Safe kit consists of:
• User’s handbook.
• Teachers manuals.
• Worksheet templates (for homework)
• DVD
• Parent’s booklet.

Lesson Provision

• Senior Infants   – 9 x 20 minute lessons.
• 1st and 2nd         – 9 x 30 minute lessons.
• 3rd and 4th         – 9 x 30 minute lessons.
• 5th and 6th         – 5 x 40 minute lessons.

E) Content:
Lesson plans are divided into the five ‘stay safe’ topics
The programme is developmentally tailored and compatible with the structure of the SPHE curriculum.  The above topics can be subdivided into the following themes:

INFANTS:

Myself.	Myself and others	Myself & the wider world
Identifying safe and unsafe feelings.	My Friends	My 5 Senses
If I am bullied it is not my fault.	I am a good friend when…	Good Secrets
Touches I like	What is Bullying?	Bad Secrets
Touches I don’t like	What to do if bullied?	Getting lost…What to do?
My Special Helpers	I must Not Bully, it hurts others.	Knowing my name address and telephone number

1^ST or  2^ND CLASS.

Myself	Myself & Others	Myself & the Wider World
Identifying Yes & No feelings	Friendship	Strangers-Who are they?
Touches I like/dislike	Bullying-Safety Rules	The Rules about Strangers
Unsafe Touches	The Rule is- Never Bully anyone	Other Safety Rules
Inappropriate Touches	Being Considerate	Answering the door & Telephone
Touches & Secrecy	What to do if others are being bullied.	How to Make a Telephone Call.
If Someone makes me feel unsafe, it’s not my fault.	My Helpers-Adults I can trust telling

3^rd or 4^th CLASS.

Myself.	Myself & others	Myself and the wider world
Feelings and Emotions with specific reference to safety	Treating Others with Respect – Their Right to Privacy	At Home Alone – Answering the door or Telephone.
My Right to Privacy – Personal Boundaries	What to do about Bullying.	How to contact Emergency Services.
Unsafe touches	Telling, Asking for Help – Where? When? How?	Rules for being out and about.
Inappropriate Touches	Safety Strategies to Deal with Unsafe or Inappropriate Touches.	Rules if in a Large Gathering.
My Right to be Safe.		Strangers – Safety Strategies.
If someone touches me in a way that makes me feel unsafe, it’s not my fault		Threats & Bribes: What to do?

 5^th or 6^th CLASS.

Myself	Myself & Others	Myself & the Wider World
My Feelings	Friends and Different Groups.	Safety Strategies: When I’m out and About; Alone; In Large Crowds; Travelling.
If I don’t feel safe, I can.	Making and Changing Friends: Friends confiding in one another	What to do about approaches or requests from strangers; Adults I know; Friends.
My right and that of others to personal boundaries and body space	Bullying- Understanding and Dealing with it as : The Injured Party… The Onlooker
My Safety Strategies
The Perpetrator
Difficult Secrets – It’s still okay to ask for help.
Choosing the appropriate time to talk – \the best person to help.
Dilemmas about telling – Feel culpable; Won’t be believed.
It’s disloyal; Adults not Listening; Telling and nothing happens

 F) Methods.

• The content will be delivered through a variety of approaches including:
• Role play.
• Artwork.
• Circle time.
• Classroom discussion.
• Stories/poems.
• Games and group work.

This policy will be reviewed and revisited as necessary.

Signed: ___________________________ ________________________________
Chairperson BOM. Principal/Secretary BOM.