What are Protective Behaviours?

Protective Behaviours refers to behaviours which enable children to recognise situations in which their personal space and sense of safety may be compromised.

At Ravenshead C of E, we aim to equip our children with the life skills that will help them to stay safe and to thrive.  Our curriculum allows the children to build confidence and resilience by exploring our right to feel safe. It starts from the belief that we cannot be scared into feeling safe, and therefore it avoids a focus on scary scenarios and rigid sets of rules for how to deal with unsafe situations. Instead it teaches an ability to recognise when we are not feeling safe, and provide skills and tools to enable individuals to take action and get help when they need it.  This focus on protective behaviours will help to promote good citizenship in our children but will also be an abuse prevention strategy.  The children will learn to recognise that life is also about challenging ourselves and taking safe risks in order that we try new things, and that this is both part of their development and an important life skill.

Protected Characteristics

In addition, children learn about protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation) through our 1Decision curriculum and RHE programme.

Specific lessons are delivered annually during our Keeping Safe Week in February with a focus on the following behaviours: