Summary

A comprehensive manual designed to reduce the incidence of missing and exploited children and to educate the public on child personal safety and sexual exploitation.

Type of intervention

Classroom setting, book

Target groups, level of prevention and subgroups

• Situations/Places | Schools and other organisations working with children and young people | Classroom setting, book | English, French
• Additional Resource | Classroom setting, book | English, French

Target population

Pre-school aged children, through to young people at high school.

Delivery organisation

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Mode and context of delivery

Delivered in schools and with the involvement of parents, Kids in the Know is a sequential programme of instruction that allows teachers and parents to adapt lesson plans and activities to meet the individual needs of every child.

Level/nature of staff expertise required

For use in schools and facilitated by teaching staff. It can also be used by parents and carers. In addition, there may be some community agency involvement.

Intensity/extent of engagement with target group(s)

The programme is sequential, designed to begin with children of nursery/kindergarten age and to be successively built on year by year.

Description of intervention

The Kids in the Know manual runs to almost 1,000 pages and is divided into sections beginning with ‘Kindergarten’, progressing through Grades 1-8 and concluding with materials for use with adolescents of High School Age. Appendices include a Video Resource Guide, Brochures and Safety Sheets and a Glossary of Terms. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a non-profit charity dedicated to the personal safety of children. Its aims include:

• Reducing the incidence of missing and sexually exploited children
• Educating the public on child personal safety and sexual exploitation
• Assisting in the location of missing children
• Increasing awareness of issues relating to missing and sexually exploited children

Kids in the Know is a comprehensive and interactive safety programme, the purpose of which is to reduce child and young person victimisation by teaching effective personal safety strategies. The foundation of the programme is based on Seven Root Safety Strategies and Four Root Safety Environments. These root safety principles are reinforced and practiced throughout every grade level, with the aim of integrating them into every part of a child’s life. The schoolsbased programme is backed up by website activities to supplement classroom learning and is available for parents and guardians to download.

The Seven Root Safety Strategies are:

• SHOUT NO! RUN –TELL someone
• KEEP and SPEAK Secrets
• Buddy System
• Trust Your INSTINCTS
• DIGNITY and RESPECT
• If asked to go and your parents don’t know SHOUT NO!
• If asked to share and your parents aren’t aware, SAY NO!

The Four Root Safety Environments are:

• Internet Safety
• Public Place Safety
• Street Safety
• Home Alone Safety

The manual includes guidance on how to use the Kids in the Know programme, together with information including a Lesson Plan Schematic, Personal Safety and Child Development and guidance about how to deal with disclosures of abuse. It is also available in French, called ‘Enfants Avertis’.

Evaluations

There are no reviews available currently.

References

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Contact details

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, a non-profit charity dedicated to the personal safety of children (2004)
Website: www.kidsintheknow.ca.

INFORMATION CORRECT AT JULY 2021

RATING: Pioneering