National Child Protection Week (4-10 September) is an annual event starting on the first Sunday of September. This year’s theme ‘Every child, in every community, needs a fair go’ aims to spread the message that to treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to grow up safe and supported.

To highlight National Child Protection Week, we draw your attention to this edition of SchoolTV - CYBERBULLYING.

With the advent of the internet, smart phones and tablets, there is now a whole new digital dimension added to traditional schoolyard bullying. There was once a time when bullying victims were given some respite outside of school hours, but sadly these days, online bullying can occur 24/7. In today’s world, teaching your child about online and cyber safety, is as important as learning to swim or cross the road!

In this edition of SchoolTV, parents are provided with useful guidelines and advice on how to minimise the risks. Children have the right to feel safe, regardless of whether it is in the schoolyard or online.

Here is the link to the Cyberbullying edition of SchoolTV - https://stmtraralgon.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/cyber-bullying 

Talking to your child about safety

Parents talking with children about safety is a critical role that you have as you guide your children through to adulthood. It can be challenging to know how to tackle this topic in a way that doesn't cause anxiety for your child, but empowers them to take control of their own boundaries when it comes to their bodies and their wellbeing. 

By now you may be aware of the child safe standards that are now mandatory for all schools and organisations across our community who work with children and young people. This doesn't automatically mean that children will be safe. They still need to be protected and to be made aware of their rights and boundaries when it comes to their own safety.

As a school we teach children about child safety through various programs such as the Victorian Curriculum Personal and Social capabilities, the Allanah and Madeleine Foundation,  and other wellbeing and self management programs such as School Wide Positive Behaviours.

There are various resources available for parents to access on how to talk with children about child safety. Story books are a great way to share messages with young children and have discussions in an empowering way, by giving children the tools to be able to say no if they are unsure of someone, to feel confident to raise any alarms with a trusted adult or protect themselves from harm.

The following is an activity that you may like to use with your child as a prompt for this topic: