Working with Schools

Educating young people about domestic abuse and promoting healthy relationships is the best way to prevent domestic abuse for future generations.

We believe knowledge is power and that the more young people know about what relationship abuse looks like, the healthier choices they will make.

Preventing domestic abuse and breaking the cycle of abuse is a vital part of our work. That’s why we work with schools to promote healthy relationships and educate young people about what domestic abuse looks like.

We believe it’s impossible to overestimate the value of teaching young people about this subject, and last year our workers addressed over 1,400 children at school assemblies and classes across Chesterfield.

The SelfAware Project

Group work and workshops

We offer group work programmes for primary and secondary school aged children. These are run according to demand and are also subject to availability, staffing and resources.

Most groups are run in schools /education settings but can also be delivered to young people in other community settings if assessed as being suitable.

We can also offer one off workshops for children and young people on healthy relationships and domestic abuse. They can be adapted to meet the needs of the school and the students.

Group work for primary school aged children

Our group work programme for primary school aged children runs over 6 to 8 weeks. It is based on a preventative education programme for children called ‘Helping Hands’. It addresses the challenging issues of personal space, awareness of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours and safety planning.
Three themes, called the Protective Behaviours are reinforced throughout the programme:
  1. We all have the right to feel safe all the time.
  2. Others have the right to feel safe with us.
  3. There is nothing so small or so awful we can’t talk about with someone.
The Programme seeks to increase children’s understanding of feeling safe and to explore and promote behaviours which will contribute to a safe environment. It is particularly helpful for children who have experienced / witnessed domestic abuse but it also a suitable course for children to learn about protective behaviours.
The aims of the programme are to:
  • Develop children’s self-esteem and confidence.
  • Enable children to explore and express feelings.
  • Inform children of the right to feel safe at all times.
  • Increase children’s ability in safety planning.
  • Encourage children to seek support when needed.
  • Empower children to identify their own personal support network.
  • Explore how choice of behaviour can affect the feelings of others and identify healthy ways to manage conflict.

Groupwork for secondary school aged children

Our group work programme for secondary school aged children runs over 6 to 8 weeks. It is informed by the teenage relationship abuse programme called ‘Escape the Trap’ and includes a focus on keeping safe online.

The programme is designed to inform young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and what these both look and feel like. It has been developed in acknowledgement of the rising numbers of young people identified as being vulnerable to intimate relationship abuse. It supports them to consider their expectations of relationships and what kind of partner they would like, as well as the kind of partner they would like to be.

The aims of the programme are to address:
  • Young people’s expectations of their intimate relationships.
  • Relationships that make them feel bad.
  • The behaviour and beliefs of those who treat them badly.
  • How to identify coercive and controlling behaviour.
  • How these behaviours impact’s the way young people might feel about themselves, their mental health and well-being.
  • How to identify such behaviours early on in a new relationship.
  • Understanding consent.
  • Online safety.
  • Safety planning.

If you would like to arrange a talk on preventing domestic abuse, please email us on [email protected] or call 08000 198 668.