ALTDAP LaunchPad · facilitator sheet · companion to Track 06
Body Safety & Protection
6 modules. In an emergency get to the nearest hospital or clinic (112 is the free backup).
Every module is about keeping children safe from harm. Be ready, in every one, for a learner to tell you something serious. Read the incident protocol before you start, and know who your safeguarding lead is.
Allow 30 to 45 minutes for each module, including the quiz.
Before the session
- Read the module yourself first, and do the quiz.
- Know who your school's safeguarding lead is, and how to reach them today.
- Have the emergency page ready (altdap.com/emergency). In an emergency the nearest hospital or clinic comes first; 112 is the only number we give, as the free backup.
- Decide where a learner can go if they need to step out. Never leave them alone if they are upset.
During the session
- Say at the start: nobody has to share anything personal, and anyone can pass on any question.
- Agree three rules: listen, no shaming or laughing at anyone, and what is said here about real people stays here, except where someone's safety is at risk.
- Use made-up examples. Do not ask learners for their own stories, or about anyone they know.
- The private tasks are the learner's own. Do not collect, mark or read them.
- Watch for a learner who goes quiet, withdraws or looks frightened. Check on them kindly, privately, after the session.
If a learner tells you something serious
- Stay calm and listen. Do not interrupt, and do not show shock.
- Do not promise to keep it secret. Say: "I am glad you told me. I need to get you the right help, so I will have to tell the person whose job is to keep children safe."
- Tell them it is not their fault, and that they were right to tell.
- Do not question them for details, do not ask leading questions, and do not confront anyone.
- Write down what they said, in their own words, as soon as you can, with the date and time. Do not add your opinion.
- Tell your safeguarding lead the same day. If a child is in danger now, keep them safe, take them to the nearest hospital or clinic if they need medical help (112 is the free backup), and stay with them.
- If the person who may be harming them is the safeguarding lead, or someone you would normally tell, go to the head or proprietor, or another trusted adult in authority, and keep going until someone acts.
- Do not discuss it with colleagues or learners who do not need to know.
After the session
- Note anything that worried you, and tell your safeguarding lead, even if it seems small.
- Look after yourself. Hearing something serious is hard. Talk to your lead or a trusted colleague, without naming the child.
Never
- Never promise secrecy.
- Never blame a learner, or suggest they did something to cause it.
- Never ask a learner to share personal experiences, in front of the group or alone.
- Never investigate, confront the person, or contact the family yourself before your lead decides.
- Never photograph, audio-record or post anything about a learner's disclosure. Writing down what they said, for your safeguarding lead only, is right.
The modules
Module 1My Body Belongs to Me
Sensitive topic: be ready for a learner to tell you something
Covers
- Your body is yours
- Private parts
- Use the right words
- Everyone has this right
The one thing to leave them with: Your body belongs to you. You have the right to feel safe, and to say no to touch you do not want.
Private task: Write down, for yourself, three people you feel completely safe with. (The learner keeps it. Do not collect or read it.)
Module 2Safe Touch, Unsafe Touch and Saying No
Sensitive topic: be ready for a learner to tell you something
Covers
- Safe touch
- Unsafe touch
- Listen to your body
- You can say no, even to someone you know
- It is never your fault
The one thing to leave them with: Trust the feeling in your body. Unsafe touch is never your fault, and you can tell a trusted adult.
Private task: Think of the words you could use to say no. Say them once, quietly, to yourself. (The learner keeps it. Do not collect or read it.)
Module 3Secrets and Surprises
Sensitive topic: be ready for a learner to tell you something
Covers
- A surprise is different from a secret
- An unsafe secret
- You never have to keep an unsafe secret
- Keep telling
The one thing to leave them with: An unsafe secret is never yours to keep. Telling a trusted adult is the right thing to do, and you will not be in trouble.
Private task: Write the difference between a surprise and an unsafe secret, in your own words. (The learner keeps it. Do not collect or read it.)
Module 4Your Trusted Adults, and What If the Adult Is the Problem
Sensitive topic: be ready for a learner to tell you something
Covers
- Who are trusted adults?
- Your safety network
- How to tell
- What if the adult is the problem?
- If you are in danger now
The one thing to leave them with: If the adult you would tell is the problem, tell another trusted adult, and keep telling until someone helps.
Private task: Write the names of three trusted adults and one back-up. Keep this private. (The learner keeps it. Do not collect or read it.)
Module 5Staying Safe Online: Pictures, Chats and Pressure
Sensitive topic: be ready for a learner to tell you something
Covers
- Private pictures stay private
- Warning signs
- If someone pressures you or blackmails you
- An adult or an older person asking a young person for pictures is wrong
The one thing to leave them with: Never send private pictures. If anyone pressures or threatens you, stop, keep the messages, block them and tell a trusted adult. It is not your fault.
Private task: Decide, now, what you will do if someone asks you for a picture. Write one sentence for yourself. (The learner keeps it. Do not collect or read it.)
Module 6If Something Has Happened, and Helping a Friend
Sensitive topic: be ready for a learner to tell you something
Covers
- It is never your fault
- Many feelings are normal
- You can tell, now or later
- If you are not believed, or the first adult does not help
- If a friend tells you
The one thing to leave them with: It is never your fault. You can tell a trusted adult, and keep telling until someone helps. You are not alone.
Private task: Write one sentence you would say to a friend who told you something hard. (The learner keeps it. Do not collect or read it.)