Respectful Relationships

The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) is a Department of Education and Training program, taught from Prep to Year 10. It was a recommendation from the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence. At Vermont Primary, the majority of this curriculum is taught through The Resilience Project program.

The learning curriculum has been designed to develop students' social, emotional and positive relationship skills. Efforts to promote social and emotional skills and positive gender norms in children and young people has been shown to improve health related outcomes and subjective wellbeing. It also reduces antisocial behaviours including engagement in gender-related violence. The VPS staff are working hard to ensure these sensitive topics are covered in an age appropriate manner.

Research shows that children become aware of gender at an early age, being well aware of gender norms, and making efforts to fit within gendered expectations. This means that it is important to commence work in primary school on building positive gender relationships. Classroom activities can be used to help children to challenge stereotypes, to value and show respect for diversity and difference, and learn how to apply these attitudes within positive gender relationships.

Gender norms can also influence what children presume to be permissible within their play. Classroom activities that question and challenge the use of aggression in problem solving can help to create new possibilities for more positive peer relationships.

This year we have been selected to participate in a pilot program called Spaces and Play. It was created to promote respectful relationships and gender equity within the school environment. The project will be in the form of a student-led project which will involve students using the modified spaces and play tool to assess how gender-equitable our school is, and then design, implement and evaluate an action plan for change. ​Stay tuned for more details!