Learning how to Keep Safe – Deanside Bravehearts Incursion

Aspire Deanside takes the safety and care of its children seriously, which is why they recently had an incursion from Bravehearts. “Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure” show educated and entertained the kinder children at the centre. Learning how to understand our emotions and body signals is key to staying safe.

Bravehearts – Educate, Empower, Protect

Founded in 1996, Bravehearts is an organisation with a mission to provide a coordinated and holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse. With a vision for “a world where people, communities, and systems all work together to protect children from sexual abuse”, Bravehearts conducts many programs and provides resources to help raise awareness about this issue.  

Bravehearts’ “Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure” is an interactive show for children aged 3-4 that is tailored to meet the needs of the age group. It offers trusted and effective personal safety education and also runs programs for children aged 5-8. The program, aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum, teaches essential personal safety skills.

With Bravehearts’ lion cub, Ditto, and a trained presenter, this interactive show is available as a live incursion or digitally for schools outside Bravehearts’ delivery regions.

Meeting Ditto at Aspire Deanside

The children in the kindergarten rooms participated in the Bravehearts’ show earlier in the month. Ditto and its presenter greeted the children with a song and dance session.

The children learnt about feelings, safe and unsafe touch, and how to recognise warning signs in their bodies. This included feelings like tummy aches or wobbly legs when worried and feeling warm and jumpy when happy. They also learned about what to do if they feel unsafe, reinforcing that there is no secret that children cannot tell someone, and distinguishing between safe and unsafe feelings.

These personal safety principles are distilled into three easy-to-remember ‘rules’ that are reinforced throughout the show. The three rules are:

• We all have the right to feel safe with people.
• It’s ok to say NO if you feel unsafe or unsure.
• Nothing is so yucky that you can’t tell someone about it.

Through interactive discussions, songs, and movement, they built confidence in expressing their feelings and knowing when to seek help. All in all, it was a fantastic and important session empowering our little learners!

Vacancies are currently available at Aspire Early Education and Kindergarten Deanside. Book a tour, learn more about the centre or contact the Aspire team below!

• Book a tour at Deanside
• Centre information
• Contact the Aspire team