Respectful Relationships

RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS 

Respectful Relationships is a core component of the Victorian Curriculum and promotes respect and equality across the school community. The Respectful Relationships curriculum covers eight topics of Social and Emotional Learning across all levels. This term at Brookside, we are teaching topics 5 and 6 across the school, as we make our way through all 8 topics throughout the course of the year. 

We are passionate about the implementation of the Respectful Relationships curriculum at our school. By embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, sporting fields, and other school events, we can have a positive impact on our students’ academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviours and the important relationships between each other and our staff. Below we’ve outlined the 8 topics, as well as included more information about the two we are focusing on this term. 

Topic 5 

Children and young people experience a range of personal, social and work-related stressors in their everyday lives. Activities within this topic have an explicit focus on teaching positive approaches to stress management. Assisting students to recognise their personal signs and symptoms of stress, and to develop strategies that will help then to deal with stress effectively , will help students cope with future challenges. The activities focus on the ways in which self-calming strategies can be used to manage stressful situations. 

Topic 6

Learning activities in this topic area are designed to help students discuss the importance of help seeking and providing peer support when dealing with problems that are too big to solve alone. This helps to normalise and de-stigmatise help seeking behaviour. Scenario-based activities help students help students identify situations in which help should be sought, identify trusted sources of help, and practice seeking help from peers and adults.

Year 9

Within year 9 specifically students have been learning about communication, listening, as well as gender-based violence as part of the Respectful Relationships curriculum.Students have been involved in a range of activities, including class discussions about the following topics:

1. Effective Communication: Understanding how to express themselves clearly and respectfully.
2. Active Listening: Developing skills to listen attentively, acknowledge others’ perspectives, and respond empathetically.
3. Gender-Based Violence Awareness: Learning about the forms, impacts, and unacceptability of gender-based violence, along with the importance of consent and respect in all interactions.
4. Building Healthy Relationships: Recognising the qualities of respectful and non-violent relationships and understanding how to apply these principles in daily life.

By focusing on these areas of the curriculum, we aim to empower students with the knowledge and skills needed to continue to foster respectful, safe, and supportive environments.