18th January 2023
Dear Parents/Guardians,
The class teachers will teach a personal safety education programme called Stay Safe over the coming weeks, starting the week of January 30th.
The aim of the Stay Safe programme is to teach children personal safety skills so they can look after themselves in situations which could be upsetting or dangerous. It deals initially with common situations which most children will experience at some stage or other, e.g. getting lost or being bullied.
The programme also teaches children the safety skills necessary to protect themselves from physical or sexual abuse and emphasises the importance of telling a trusted adult about any problems they have.
The Stay Safe programme is part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum which all primary schools are required to implement. Co-operation between parents and teachers is essential to the success of this programme. It is important that parents are aware of the content of the Stay Safe lessons and are able to discuss the lessons with their children. Your child may bring home worksheets which will inform you on the topics being covered in class and how you can reinforce the messages at home. The vocabulary taught in the Stay Safe lessons from Junior Infants to Sixth Class is progressive, with content aimed at the class level a child is at.
We are all responsible for the safety of our children, so we ask you to use the opportunity that the lessons provide, to talk to your own child about the content and message of the lessons.
You can familiarise yourself with the content of the Stay Safe lessons at www.staysafe.ie
Thank you for your co-operation,
Jennifer Plunkett
