Child Protection Education Professional Development Training for Childcare Educators

Early childhood education has an immense impact on life outcomes. Childcare educators play such an essential role in the development of children. When children are young, they are very receptive to learning new things. Every unique experience, every word they learn, every behaviour they adopt will in some way contribute to shaping their future.

We believe it is very important children aged from three years start to learn protective behaviours to give them a good foundation in body safety education to help them both now and in the future. In fact, we feel so passionate about this, we have written an entire program for early years educators called the Safe4Kids Protective Education Program. We developed this program, so educators with little or no experience in delivering child protection and body safety education can teach this vital information to children. The professional development training we provide for childcare educators is based on this program.

In the beginning, it can be quite daunting for educators to teach this subject. Holly-ann Martin has over 30 years experience in teaching child abuse prevention education and delivers all the training for Safe4Kids. Holly will walk you through the program and explain the concepts, activities and teaching resources designed for early years education. The program is culturally sensitive, and children are taught age-appropriate abuse prevention education. The Safe4Kids program is not just an abuse prevention program. It is also a good life skills program. It teaches children to be persistent and assertive and helps build resilience in children, which is so important.

The training is designed to empower educators, so they feel confident to teach child abuse prevention education, increase their knowledge and skill set, and increase their awareness of the dangers that even young children face.

Once you and the children in your care have internalised the language and concepts of the program, you will find incidental teaching moments will arise throughout the year. This incidental teaching of the program is the most meaningful and powerful way children learn and reinforces the critical concepts of protective education. The stories, songs, dances and sign language in the program also help strengthen these ideas, and the children enjoy the activities.

The mandatory reporting laws for childcare educators differ throughout Australia, so it is essential you are aware of what your responsibilities are. But do you know what you would say to a child if they disclose to you that they have been sexually abused? It can be very confronting when a child confides in you and reveals abuse.

In this training, Holly will give you a straightforward script to learn, so you will have the right words that will not only help provide reassurance for the child but will also help you through this challenging situation.

The professional development training for childcare educators is two hours. At the end of the two hours, educators will feel more confident and walk away with the tools and strategies they need to enable them to start teaching protective behaviours and body safety to the children in their care. There is also an option for Holly to conduct in-class modelling of the lessons, so educators can see how this vital information is taught to the children.

For more detailed information and to discuss your specific training requirements, please don’t hesitate to contact us. – We are here to help you!