Ballygowan school works with NSPCC on safety campaign
By Annie Stewart
ALEXANDER Dickson Primary School has teamed up with the NSPCC to celebrate the first annual NI Talk PANTS fortnight.
The Talk PANTS campaign, which ran from May 6 – 17, aims to empower parents, carers and professionals to have simple age-appropriate conversations with children aged three to 11 years old, to help them recognise their rights to their own bodies and to say no to unwanted touch and to encourage them to tell someone if they feel uncomfortable.
The key Talk PANTS messages for children are:
P – Privates are privates.
A – Always remember your body belongs to you.
N – No means no.
T – Talk about secrets that upset you.
S – Speak up, someone can help.
Richard Lawther, principal of Alexander Dickson Primary School said the school was delighted to take part in the event.
“We believe that all children have the right to feel safe and protected and we hope that, by delivering the various activities we have given our pupils the confidence to understand their bodies as well as providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to, speak out, and stay safe when they are upset, worried or when they feel something is just not right,” he said.
Mr Lawther explained that this is an initiative that has been running for 10 years which encourages children to have a bit of respect for their bodies and to listen to their bodies.
“We’ve been focusing on PANTS in the classroom for the past fortnight and it’s the first time the NSPCC have done the fortnight,” he said.
“We’ve been doing some activities around that. We’ve also done another campaign with NSPCC which is Speak Out Stay Safe which is encouraging children to recognise signs of abuse.
“Although we maybe wouldn’t use that word with the younger years but it’s recognising when things don’t feel right and who you can talk to. We’ve also had the police in as well around safety and who to talk to if they need help.”
Mr Lawther said that the school uses the PANTS initiative throughout the year.
“If we’re dealing with anything in the classroom PANTS is a good way to encourage particularly younger people age appropriate ways to look after their bodies,” he said.
“And encouraging children when they are playing not to hit anyone in their ’swimsuit’ areas, we give people privacy when changing for PE.
“The fortnight gives us the opportunity to really focus on it and do activities around it. In the classroom, there’s webinars that the children have been watching, playing games just about right or wrong scenarios and designing colourful pants.”
The NSPCC campaign began in the UK in 2013, and in 2018 Talk PANTS and its colourful character, Pantosaurus, arrived in Northern Ireland.
Local campaigns in Northern Ireland were delivered with support from the Public Health Agency (PHA) and community partners, and since 2018, Talk PANTS has been rolled out across all five Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trusts – the first time a nation in the UK has had full delivery of the campaign.
As part of this fortnight the school has, along with NSPCC, delivered the Speak Out Stay Safe programme across all classes.
Speak out Stay safe is a safeguarding programme for children aged 5- to 11-years-old, helping them to understand that they always have a right to feel safe, abuse is never their fault, and that they can speak to a safe adult or Childline if they ever need help or support.
