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The past few months have been overwhelmingly positive for Children’s Safety Australia Inc. We received our first government grant to produce 1500 Children’s Safety Kits for Primary Schools, a resource we believe will significantly benefit the safety of Queensland children. We partnered with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation to celebrate Child Protection Week in North Queensland and completed the week with an interview on 'Sunrise' to promote children’s safety. Our children’s safety resources are growing with stickers, posters, postcards, lesson plans and worksheets now available for Primary School children, teachers and parents/carers. This edition of Safe Start will tell you all about it…
Kim Jackson, CSA Director and Founder
We are thrilled to announce that after receiving our first funding grant, Children’s Safety Australia Inc. (CSA) will be distributing 1500 free Children’s Safety Kits to Queensland Primary Schools to raise the awareness of key children’s safety messages.
The Children’s Safety Kit Project, funded solely by the Queensland Government’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund, was undertaken in response to the lack of effective children’s safety information available to parents, teachers and ultimately, children, to deal with the significant “people safety” threats facing them. Note: “People safety” threats include physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, bullying and self harm.
Research suggests that many protective adults (including parents and teachers) are unaware of effective children’s safety information. Many protective adults teach children ‘stranger danger’, even though known people pose a far more likely threat. As responsible adults we have a duty to protect children and to teach them practical strategies and skills to effectively respond to safety threats. Failing to provide children with these essential safety skills significantly increases their vulnerability to abuse.
Four Key Messages:
The Children’s Safety Kit Project aims to raise the awareness of the four key children’s safety messages of the Safe Start: Protective Behaviours for Children and Young People (Safe Start) program. Safe Start has been independently reviewed and has been found to reflect current best practice guidelines in child protection. The four key children’s safety messages are:
- I am special, so are you!: to build a healthy self esteem and encourage respect and empathy for others.
- Safety is my right: to identify and effectively respond to potentially unsafe situations, including bullying.
- My body belongs to me: to identify, prevent and stop all forms of abuse.
- I can get help: to access help from trusted adults and relevant organisations.
The kit contains a range of resources for teachers, parents and students including: lesson plans, over 45 worksheets and teacher guidelines for teachers; posters for classroom display; stickers for students; and magnetised postcards for parents and carers.
Sunrise Interview:
CSA Director, Kim Jackson, recently promoted the kits during a Child Protection Week appearance on ‘Sunrise’ with Mel and Kochie.
CSA Director, Kim Jackson, joins Mel and Kochie on ‘Sunrise’
Launch:
The kits will be launched on Wednesday, 7 October 2009 at the Queensland Police Academy, Oxley. Special guests include: Denise and Bruce Morcombe, Daniel Morcombe Foundation; Meshel Laurie, Nova 106.9 (Patron and MC); and Chrislyn Hamilton, 2008 Australian Idol Finalist.
CSA has invited representatives of Queensland Primary Schools and parents/carers to attend. Interested school representatives or parents/carers should contact CSA via email: admin@childsafety.org.au.
Accessing Kits:
Children's Safty Kits are available free to all Queensland Primary Schools. Interested principals, teachers or other school representatives are invited to contact CSA via email: admin@childsafety.org.au with the school's name, contact person and postal address.
Interstate schools, children’s organisations and individuals are able to purchase a kit or any of the kit components by completing the Resource Order Form.
Children’s Safety Australia Inc. is delighted to announce that Meshel Laurie has become our first official patron. Meshel has been a professional comedian, writer and actor since 1994, and she is currently the co-host of Brisbane’s top rating Nova 106.9 breakfast show. You may have also seen Meshel on her regular television appearances on programs including Spicks and Specks and Stand Up on ABC 1, and Rove and Good News Week on Network 10.
Meshel will be lending her support as Master of Ceremonies for our Children’s Safety Kit Launch at the Queensland Police Academy, Oxley on 7 October 2009.
CSA Patron, Meshel Laurie
A range of additional children’s safety resources for primary school students, teachers and parents/carers have recently been made available to complement our ‘Safe Start for Teens’ stickers, which were released in July 2009. The resources together comprise the previously mentioned Children’s Safety Kits, but can also be purchased separately including: posters, stickers, postcards, Teacher Instruction Guide (including 4 lesson plans), CD (containing teacher notes and over 45 worksheets) and postcards for parents/carers.
Resources can be ordered via the CSA Resource Order Form. Note: Children’s Safety Kits are available free to all Queensland Primary Schools through funding from the Queensland Government's Gambling Community Benefit Fund.
Stickers
Posters
Postcard (for parents and carers)
Teacher Instruction Guide and CD
Children’s Safety Australia Inc. (CSA) enjoyed a very busy Child Protection Week after accepting an invitation to join Denise and Bruce Morcombe of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation to undertake a child protection road trip in North Queensland.
With the assistance of Queensland Police Officers, Michelle Vico and Bernadette Strow, CSA Director, Kim Jackson, joined Bruce and Denise Morcombe to take part in the following activities:
- A Children’s Safety Expo at the Bowen PCYC Activity Centre for 600 Primary School students from Bowen and Merinda Primary Schools. The Expo featured presentations, static and interactive displays.
- A visit to Bowen State High School to promote safety messages to Year 8 students;
- A well-attended community information session at the Bowen PCYC Activity Centre for parents and community members; and
- A presentation for police officers, teacher and student school representatives, community members and the local media at the Townsville Police Academy.
The events involved a broad range of government and community organisations working together after months of planning. A number of local business people also supported the events by sponsoring flights and accommodation for the guest speakers.
A hearty congratulations to the organisers for a very successful week. Other communities are encouraged to consider the tremendous examples set by Bowen and Townsville when considering their 2010 Child Protection Week celebrations.
Denise and Bruce Morcombe, Senior Constable Michelle Vico and
Kim Jackson celebrate Child Protection Week in Bowen.
The annual children’s safety awareness Day for Daniel will be held on Friday, 30 October 2009. All schools and local communities are encouraged to participate in this year’s festivities by holding an event to promote children’s safety. Suggestions include:
- Inviting local police to talk to students about how to keep safe, particularly on the internet;
- Organising a student or community walk;
- Playing the Daniel Morcombe Foundation ‘Foundation Red’ DVD;
- Delivering one of the four lessons contained in the CSA Children's Safety Kits;
- Being red for the day by: wearing red, eating something red or flying a red balloon.
Over 250,000 students participated in last year’s event and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation is hoping this year’s event will be even bigger and better! For further information visit: www.dayfordaniel.com.au. Schools registered to participate will go into the draw to win $1200 of electronic goods, sporting equipment or educational books.
Children's Safety Australia Inc. (CSA) Advisory Committee Member, Kym Dann, is about to take on one of the most exciting and challenging roles of her life. Kym is set to commence in November as the Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs Coordinator working with indigenous communities and outstations (Homelands) in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
Her role will include developing a mental health plan and protocols in conjunction with the community’s needs and a focus which will incorporate the community's cultural needs and aspirations as the foundation.
Kym, who is an Aboriginal woman herself, brings with her a wealth of experience in management, psychotherapy and training and is looking forward to working in with the Board of Directors and community.
Kym is keen to work with the Greats Youth Service, Child Safety Service and Night Patrol Service and introduce CSA’s Children's Safety Kits within the community with the view of incorporating the surrounding outstations where possible. Kym also foresees in the near future involving CSA to train staff and tailor materials to reflect the cultural needs of the community.
We wish Kym the very best in her role and we look forward to visiting her and some of the local communities to gain an insight into how best to develop children's safety resources and programs for Indigenous communities.
CSA Advisory Committee Member, Kym Dann
Help your child move through their daily activities with activity charts from Brisbane-based new business, Magnetic Moves. The charts come in two styles:
My Busy Day: a fun and interactive way to include 3 to 5 year olds in planning their day; and
My Busy School Week: helping school aged children to move through morning and evening routines, keep track of weekly events and be rewarded for good behaviour.
Each chart costs $29.50 plus postage and handling, and includes a durable A4 full-colour magnetic chart and 50 magnetic tiles, which are colour-coded to keep your day organised.
As a special fundraising offer, Magnetic Moves has kindly offered to donate 15% of charts purchased by Safe Start subscribers to Children’s Safety Australia Inc. (CSA) To purchase your activity chart and support CSA, visit: www.magneticmoves.com.au and enter ‘CSA’ after your suburb in the delivery section. For further information contact Magnetic Moves via email: admin@magneticmoves.com.au.
 
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