The resource has been created by charity Barnardo’s and comes after figures from the Internet Watch Foundation revealed that last year was the highest year on record for online child sexual abuse.
Real Love Rocks was first launched in 2014 but has now been updated to reflect and raise awareness of different types of abuse and exploitation that children and young people may experience.
These include child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, radicalisation and extremism.
This edition, which offers support for both primary and secondary lessons, emphasises the importance of emotional regulation and creating a support network of safe and trusted people. There are also sections about developing kindness, understanding and empathy for both themselves and others.
The age-appropriate resources have been produced to meet the requirements of the statutory relationships education curriculum in primary schools and the RSE curriculum in secondary schools.
Both the primary and secondary education packs and the website aims to engage learners in a fun and empowering way through animations, activities, and games.
The primary edition of the resources has been designed for use with 10 and 11-year-olds with topics including feelings, brains and bodies, relationship, grooming, exploitation and abuse, and online safety.
Topics covered in the secondary school edition are feelings, brains and bodies, relationships and consent, grooming and exploitation, and technology and relationships.
All the issues are tackled in a trauma-informed and age-appropriate way, for example activities around consent for secondary school children start with a discussion about someone’s phone being taken without their consent.
Other activities include understanding what sexual harassment is, where children explore dilemmas, identify and challenge behaviours and learn about who can help if it is happening.
Activities for primary school children include talking through different scenarios like not being invited to play with friends or being dared to do challenges that are not okay and discussing how these things would make them feel.
And the online safety section encourages children to explore what they watch online and how this makes them feel.
It also includes activities around misinformation, scams and inappropriate content to help children navigate the multiple harms they face in our ever-changing modern world.
- For more information and to download the teacher resources, visit https://barnardosrealloverocks.org.uk/