Cath Bennett explains why it’s important to introduce young children to concepts such as boundaries, trust and respect, and how you can gain the skills you need to do so…
Safeguarding Every Day (SED) aims to build education providers’ skills and knowledge to teach through a trauma-informed approach, allowing children to develop and grow into happy, healthy adults.
With a preventative approach as well as essential, reactive responses, there is always a heavy focus on understanding behaviour as communication and recognising indicators in order to intervene early.
It’s important to recognise the significance that early years education has on key areas of development that link to safeguarding and behaviour in later childhood and adulthood.
It could easily be disregarded by some, but in reality, it plays a fundamental role in laying foundations for early relationship skills and behaviours.
“Let’s Teach Consent in the Early Years” was developed to provide an insight for educators on the importance of teaching the early stages of consent, what this looks like in an age-appropriate curriculum, and the potential impact of missed opportunities.
Much of what is developed in early years paves the way to future learning and future life choices. The skills learned in this training are transferable to various aspects of a young child’s development and help contribute to the child’s next stage of learning.
This means that gaps in education, even in nursery and pre-school aged children, hinder development in healthy relationships and can have a significant impact on future behaviour as well as a child’s ability to safeguard themselves.
The training, which is available to settings and childminders, helps to highlight the importance of early relationship development and the development of key vocabulary and communication as well as emotional literacy.
Consent in itself is not always considered as part of early years education, and on a surface level can be deemed inappropriate for the age group. However, when we look at the foundations of what consent stands for, it is clear that early education around boundaries, trust, and respect creates a starting platform to launch future learning during their educational journey.
Teaching the life skill of consent in early years is the first step to developing a generation of healthier and more trusting relationships in adulthood.
As the saying goes, “Knowledge is power.” The more knowledge we gain as professionals, the more impact we will have on the lives of those we work with.
The training resource comes with a copy of the booklet and poster to support direct teaching of the early stages of consent. It clearly sets out why consent as a life skill in early years is so essential.
With evidence-based discussions on knowledge of children around consent and domestic abuse, attendees will learn about what we are trying to prevent through early years education as well as how to go about teaching it.
As well as training offers, another approach to embedding consistent and effective safeguarding processes is through a safeguarding review of a provision.
This two-day process provides an opportunity to highlight existing good practice as well as access advice and guidance on developing further.
To learn more, reach out to Cath through email, the SED website or social media:
Alternatively, you can schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation to discuss training or safeguarding reviews.
Cath Bennett, founder and director of Safeguarding Every Day Ltd, comes from an education and social care background with expertise in the areas of adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and specifically the impact of domestic abuse on children.
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