The Stay Safe programme is part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (S.P.H.E.) Curriculum. All primary schools are required to implement this programme as instructed by the Department of Education and Skills.

The aim of the Stay Safe Programme is to teach children personal safety skills so they can look after themselves in situations which most children will experience at some stage or other, e.g. getting lost or being bullied. The programme also teaches children the safety skills necessary to protect themselves from physical or sexual abuse and emphasizes the importance of telling a trusted adult about any problems they have.

This year, the Stay Safe Programme has been updated and developed to include cyber bullying. There is a lot of new material, including short videos in the programme.
It is vital that parents familarise themselves with the content of this new programme (including videos) for their child/children. It is available on www.staysafe.ie/teachers/resources.htm
This year, all classes, excluding Junior Infants, will be taught this programme due to the new material we are required to include. All classes will start the programme in January 2018.
Co-operation between parents and teachers is essential to the success of this programme. It is important that parents are aware of the content of the Stay Safe lessons and are able to discuss the lessons with their children. In addition to online information, your child may bring home worksheets which will inform you on the topics being covered in class and how you can reinforce the messages at home.

We have been advised that if a parent does not want their child/children included in these lessons, they will have to sign a written undertaking that they will teach them at home.
This written undertaking will be put on your child’s record/file and retained for any Department of Education and Skills audit.
Please contact Mr. Jameson or Ms. Power if you wish to discuss the programme further.