A new programme helping primary school children develop an understanding of consent, boundaries, empathy, and respectful relationships has been successfully piloted in several local schools.
Developed collaboratively by the GRCC Education and Clinical teams, the programme is aimed at fifth and sixth class pupils and is aligned with the Stay Safe and Children First programmes.
The two interactive workshops explore important concepts in a non-sexual, age-appropriate, and engaging way. Children are encouraged to consider what consent means in their everyday lives, how to set and respect boundaries, and how to express expectations clearly.
The programme also looks at how children can respond to rejection, understand the importance of meaningful apologies, and take responsibility for their actions by making amends when a boundary has been crossed.
As there is no focus on sexual relationships, the workshops use familiar, everyday situations to help children develop empathy, communication skills and respect for themselves and others in a fun and engaging way.
The aim of these workshops is to encourage empathy, understanding and respect, laying the groundwork for a deeper awareness of consent education as students transition to secondary school.
The programme has been successfully piloted in a number of local schools including Scoil Iognáid, Merlin Woods Primary School and Knocknacarra National School where the feedback from both the students and teaching staff has been extremely positive.
The GRCC Education Department hopes to build on the success of the pilot and make the programme available to more primary schools.
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