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.

Discussion: Adults we can trust

1.  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

2.  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."

3. 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)

4.  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."

5. Invite students to share who their person was that they thought of as someone they love and trust.

6.  Ask:

❓ Did everyone have the same adult?

(It is likely that there will be a range of responses.)

7.  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

8. Ask students to hold up one hand (5 fingers) and see if they can list a trusted adult for each finger.

9. 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. 

10. Ask students to draw a face on the end of each finger to show a different trusted adult. 

11. 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. 

Reflection

12. 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."

13.  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)

14.  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)

15. 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.

16. Ask students to add '000' to the palm of their helping hand.

Take home activity

Have students take home their helping hands to talk about with their parents/carers. Encourage parents to help their children list down phone numbers for each of the trusted adults and have it displayed somewhere at home. 

 Teaching tip: If any students have not listed their primary carers as trusted adults on their helping hand, it may not be safe for them to take this activity home.