The Learning and Teaching of Safeguarding and Personal Safety

At Clockhouse Primary School we actively teach the children about safeguarding and personal safety. This takes many different forms, for example:

• Cycling proficiency
• Safe travel on public transport
• The development of healthy minds
• How to be safe on line
• Stanger Danger
• Fire and water safety

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception) we teach the children such this as personal hygiene, how to be safe in the sun and near water. We also work continually with the children to ensure that equipment they have access to is used carefully and safely.

Throughout Year 1 the children are taught such things as being safe when crossing roads, we develop their awareness of ‘stranger danger’, how to be safe when near and in the sea, safety in the community and safety in the home.

In Year 2 we work with the children to develop their understanding of such things as online safety, the safety requirements when going on school trips. They also develop children’s understanding of the ‘Underwear Rule’. The police also come into school to work with the children.

During Year 3 the children are taught about safeguarding and safety through such things as fire safety, basic first aid and when, why and how they would call 999. They are also taught about how to talk to different people, safety in the playground and about managing risks in the environment.

Year 4 spend time during the year learning about such things as friendships, peer pressure and online bullying. Along with this, they develop their understanding of road safety and how to be safe when taking the bus as well as learning about having healthy minds and mental health.

As part of their learning in Year 5 the children learn about personal safety and safeguarding through such things as making positive choices and the impact of not making the right choices as you get older. They also spend time thinking about the effects of peer pressure, online safety particularly linked to mobile safety and safe travel on public transport.

Throughout Year 6, the children learn such things as the impact of air pollution on themselves and the environment, how to be safe on a beach and more complex road safety. They learn about relationships and how to be safe, along with gangs and gang culture and how this can impact on their safety. Time is spent preparing the children for secondary school and how to be safe whilst there as well as safe travel.

The above descriptions for each year group and by no means exhaustive and the curriculum builds year on year. We use a range of teaching techniques form class teacher input, workshops and visitors into school and trips out. Alongside the curriculum all classes have worries boxes where children can place their worries and staff respond accordingly to these.

Our curriculum and particularly our PSHE (including RSE) curriculum ensures that the children are taught how to react to and deal with different situations and thus keep themselves safe. As well as  this we work to develop children’s self-esteem and self-worth.

As a school, we work continually to equip the children with the skills they need to be safe for life in modern Britain.