Protective Behaviours

Protective Behaviours provides a framework for personal safety, self-esteem, resilience and confidence building.

As a whole school we teach Protective Behaviours to our children during the autumn term and revisit the themes regularly throughout the school year. Protective Behaviours is based on two themes, which are used to teach and reinforce the basic concepts on which the process is based.

WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE ALL OF THE TIME

WE CAN TALK WITH SOMEONE ABOUT ANYTHING EVEN IF IT FEELS AWFUL OR SMALL

Theme 1: We all have the right to feel safe all of the time

This theme focuses on the connection between ‘Rights and Responsibilities’, ‘Safety’ and ‘Early Warning Signs’. It explores not only the rights of an individual but our responsibility to make sure other people feel safe with us.

With that right comes a responsibility not to do anything that would leave other people feeling unsafe. The PB process helps the children to identify what it is to feel safe and to recognise the difference between feeling safe, having fun, scary feelings, risking on purpose and feeling unsafe. When we stop feeling safe, our bodies prepare us for action with a rush of adrenaline and many other physical changes. These are called the bodies 'Early Warning Signs'.

Theme 2: We can talk with someone about anything even if it feels awful or small

This theme develops the concept of personal ‘Networks’ of support. PBs encourages us to think clearly about what our options are and work out what action we might need to take. The action might be to contact somebody on a ‘support network’. Children are encouraged to think about those people they could go to when they are not feeling safe and a process for how we might identify these people. We often revisit this idea at the end of every half term/ before school holidays as the children's networks often change during holidays.