Safeguarding Across the Curriculum

The following themes and topics are explored in depth progressively across the curriculum.  They have been chosen as focus areas as by deepening their knowledge and understanding of each of these areas, children will be able to keep themselves safe. 

We often have workshops run by expert agencies to reinforce knowledge.  These include: staying safe around water, staying safe online, water safety, fire safety and road safety.
Common to all year groups:  handling tools and equipment safely, how to safely move PE equipment, water safety, movement around the school, safe movement around the school grounds and secrets – when things need to be shared.

Reception
Stranger danger, road safety, emergency services, being kind to others (anti-bullying), site safety, unknown objects, medicines, trust, scissor safety and personal hygiene.

Year 1
Stranger danger, road safety, science- high-visibility clothing, care and respect for each other ( anti-bullying), keeping our hands to ourselves, taking care of our bodies and personal hygiene and exercise.

Year 2
Stranger danger, road safety, safety on school trips, safety in school e.g. shutting doors/gates, fire safety, track safety, electricity safety and around the home, science- medicines. What is bullying? getting lost in public spaces and what to do in these circumstances. Healthy/unhealthy food and daily exercise, food hygiene.

Year 3
Stranger danger, road safety, safety in school and on school trips, bullying and clarifying this as a behaviour,  e-safety  through e-mailing, who is safe to talk to on line, medicines, consequences and choices,  safe risk taking, building trust in relationships.

Year 4
Cyber-bullying, e-safety, cycle proficiency, after school safety, food safety, water safety – swimming pools, large bodies of water.

Year 5 & 6
Drugs, peer pressure, sex-ed, personal hygiene, e-safety, cyber-bullying, bullying, fire safety including escape routes, healthy diet and benefits of exercise, bike-ability and road safety, water safety, self-esteem and assertiveness.

Overview of how Safeguarding, Personal Safety, and Digital Security are taught across our School

At St Francis Catholic Primary School, we deliver these vital life skills by combining our TenTen "Life to the Full" Relationship and Health Education (RHE) curriculum with our iLearn computing and E-safety.

By intertwining the safety units of TenTen with the practical digital competencies of iLearn, we ensure children build a "spiral" foundation of safety. This helps them protect their physical boundaries, understand emotional safety, and navigate the digital world securely.

The core safeguarding and iLearn safety topics covered from Early Years up to Year 6 include:

•     Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS: Preschool & Reception)

          • TenTen Safety: Learning everyday rules for staying safe inside/outside the home, hazard awareness around medicines, and identifying "people who help us.".

          • iLearn Digital Safety: Rules for technology use, understanding simple online boundaries, and realising that devices belong to a wider network.

• Key Stage 1 (Years 1 & 2)
  • TenTen Safety: Learning about physical privacy using the NSPCC PANTS rule, distinguishing between happy surprises and "bad secrets", and early online safety lessons via tools like Smartie the Penguin.
  • iLearn Digital Safety: Self-image and digital identity, recognising how online choices affect feelings, and establishing rules for responsible technology use in school and at home.
• Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 & 4)
  • TenTen Safety: Managing body boundaries as they grow, identifying negative behaviours/bullying, and establishing safe physical boundaries.
  • iLearn Digital Safety: Managing digital footprints and privacy, understanding the impacts of cyber safety, evaluating online communication (chatting safely), and learning how to protect personal information.

• Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 & 6)
  • TenTen Safety: Explicitly identifying different forms of abuse (neglect, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse), developing strategies to counter coercion/manipulation, and understanding how to contact Childline.
  • iLearn Digital Safety: Deepening understanding of digital harms (such as cyberbullying, data privacy, and the concept that "sharing isn't always caring"), managing online relationships, and understanding legal or behavioural restrictions regarding safe content sharing.

All lessons are carefully balanced to be age-appropriate, sensitive, and completely aligned with the statutory Department for Education (DfE) guidelines.

As a school, we recognise that some of these topics are sensitive. Please be assured that parents/carers will always be informed in advance when sensitive elements of the curriculum are about to be taught. These topics are always managed with the utmost care, sensitivity, and respect, deeply rooted in and linked to our Catholic ethos, which views every child as unique, valued, and made in the image and likeness of God.