Wellbeing

Building Respectful Relationships Together

We recognise that helping children develop the knowledge and skills to build safe, respectful and positive relationships is an important part of their education. 

Respectful Relationships (RR) is embedded within our whole-school approach to wellbeing and supports students to develop social and emotional skills from the early years of primary school. 

Through age-appropriate learning, students explore concepts such as respect, empathy, fairness, inclusion, personal boundaries, positive communication, help-seeking and respectful ways to manage disagreements.

Importantly, this work is supported by ongoing professional learning for our staff. Recently, our teaching staff participated in a whole-school Respectful Relationships briefing and professional learning, strengthening our shared understanding of the program and how it is taught across the school. Tim and Miss Brindley also attended the Respectful Relationships Forum, with a particular focus on Student Voice.

We also value the evidence-informed Respectful Relationships education materials provided by the Victorian Department of Education, which give teachers a clear, age-appropriate framework for this important learning.

Our approach is deliberately proactive. Just as we explicitly teach children literacy and numeracy skills, respectful relationship skills need to be taught, modelled, practised and reinforced. These understandings develop over time and become increasingly sophisticated as students grow.

Recent events in the wider community have again highlighted the importance of this work. While complex adult issues are not appropriate for primary-aged children to carry, they remind us why building strong foundations around respect, equality, personal boundaries, speaking up and seeking help matters. The learning taking place in primary school today contributes to the attitudes, skills and behaviours our students will carry with them into adolescence and adulthood.

Our goal is not to expect young children to navigate adult issues. It is to equip them, at each stage of their development, with the language and skills to understand that everyone deserves to feel safe and respected, boundaries matter, their voice matters, and trusted adults are there to help.

We are proud of the commitment our staff bring to this work and will continue to use Respectful Relationships education to help our students grow into kind, respectful and socially responsible members of their community.

Respectful relationships are not simply something we talk about, they are something we teach, model and practise every day.

Have a great week!

Wellbeing Team