Respectful Relationships Education is taught at Karoo as part of the Victorian Curriculum. Victoria’s Respectful Relationships initiative supports school leaders, educators and our school communities to promote and model respect and equality – and to teach our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.

This approach recognises that schools are a workplace, a community hub and a place of learning. Everyone involved in our school communities deserve to be respected, valued and treated equally.

We know that changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, behaviours and gender equality are lived across the school community, and when classroom learning is reinforced by what is modelled in our school community.

Taking a whole-school approach is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across Karoo’s entire school community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, sporting fields and social events. This approach leads to positive impacts on students’ academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviour, and relationships between teachers and students.

Together, we can lead the way in saying yes to respect and equality, and creating genuine and lasting change so that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Karoo Primary School is committed to developing students’ personal and social capabilities by implementing the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program. In the classroom students learn to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and establish and build a framework for positive relationships. Students also develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to strengthen their sense of self, and build and manage safe and respectful relationships.

Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships program focus for each year level in

Term 2:

Foundation – Personal Strengths & Positive Coping

Personal Strengths

Activities will assist students to:

• Identify and describe personal strengths

• Explain how these strengths help them to contribute to family and school life

• Identify ways to care for others, including ways of making and keeping friends.

Positive Coping

Activities will assist students to:

• Reflect on their emotional responses

• Discuss ways in which they can take responsibility for their actions

• Describe ways to express emotions to show awareness of the feelings and needs of others

• Practise techniques to deal with feelings of fear and anger.

Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5 - Personal Strengths & Help Seeking

Personal Strengths, Activities will assist students to:

Year 1

• Identify and describe personal strengths

• Explain how these strengths contribute to family and school life

• Identify ways to care for others, including ways of making and keeping friends.

Year 3

• Reflect on their emotional responses

• Discuss ways in which they can take responsibility for their actions

• Describe ways to express emotions to show awareness of the feelings and needs of others

• Practise techniques to deal with feelings of fear and anger.

Year 5

• Describe the range and influence of personal qualities and strengths

• Monitor their progress in consolidating their strengths

• Assess the value of working independently.

Help Seeking Strategies, Activities will assist students to:

Year 1

• Practise solving simple interpersonal problems

• Identify ways to care for others, including ways of making and keeping friends

• Discuss the importance of seeking help when dealing with problems that are too big to solve alone

• Practise seeking help from adults and peers.

Year 3

• Identify communication skills that enhance peer support and help-seeking

• Identify a range of conflict resolution and help-seeking strategies to negotiate positive outcomes to problems

• Discuss the concept of leadership and identify situations where it is appropriate to adopt this role

• Describe and apply strategies that can be used in situations that make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Year 5

• Identify situations in which they should seek help in working through problems

• Identify a list of trusted people to seek out when needing help

• Normalise and de-stigmatise help-seeking behaviour

• Contribute to groups and teams.

Year 2, Year 4 and Year 6 – Problem Solving

Problem Solving, Activities will assist students to:

Year 2

• Recognise there are many ways to solve conflict

• Describe similarities and differences in points of view between themselves and people in their communities

• Identify cooperative behaviours in a range of group activities

• Practise individual and group decision-making

• Practise solving simple interpersonal problems.

Year 4

• Identify communication skills that enhance relationships for particular groups and purposes

• Describe characteristics of cooperative behaviour and identify evidence of these in group activities

• Contribute to and predict the consequences of group decisions in a range of situations

• Identify a range of conflict resolution strategies to negotiate positive outcomes to problems

• Discuss the concept of leadership and identify situations where it is appropriate to adopt this role

• Describe and apply strategies that can be used in situations that make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

Year 6

• Identify a range of coping strategies to help them deal with intense emotions

• Identify the influence of self-talk on their actions and emotions

• Identify and explain factors that influence effective communication in a variety of situations.

Stress Management, Activities will assist students to:

Year 2

• Identify and describe personal coping skills and explain how these contribute to family and school life

• Discuss the ways in which students can use self-calming strategies to manage themselves in stressful situations.

Year 4

• Describe the influence that people, situations and events have on their emotions

• Explore strategies to manage physical, social and emotional change

• Describe and apply strategies that can be used in situations that make them feel uncomfortable

or unsafe

• Explain the value of self-discipline and goal-setting in helping them to learn and to cope with change

and challenge

• Describe personal strengths and identify coping strategies that they can apply to help them cope with change and challenge.

Year 6

• Identify some causes of stress and strategies that can be used to reduce stress

• Identify and explain factors that influence effective communication in a variety of situations.

For more information visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/respectful-relationships

From the Classroom

Young Leaders Program