Keeping Ourselves Safe
- a child abuse prevention
programme
The NZ Police Youth
Education Service
Aim of Keeping
Ourselves Safe (KOS)
• Teach children and young people a range of safe practices
that they can use when interacting with other people
• Encourage children and young people who have been, or are
being abused, to seek help
• Contribute to an overall community prevention programme by
making parents and teachers more aware of their
responsibilities to help children and young people avoid
abuse
Concepts on which KOS
is based
• Abuse is unacceptable and is a crime
• Abuse takes many forms and all can be
damaging
• Abuse is never the victim’s fault
• Everyone has a responsibility to help prevent
abuse of children and young people
• Children and young people can be taught to
recognise, avoid and report abuse.
• They need KOS right through schooling
• Centres and schools must have effective
policies and procedures
Five Teaching
Modules
All about Me
Early Childhood
Age 2-5
Knowing What to Do
Junior Primary
Age 5-7
Getting Help
Middle Primary
Age 8-10
Standing Up for Myself
Senior Primary
Age 11-12
Building Resiliency
Secondary
Age13 -17
A Whole School
Approach
• The whole school community is committed to keeping
students and staff free from harm and abuse
• Parents and caregivers are informed and consulted
• A child protection policy and procedures have been
developed and shared
• Teaching of KOS has been carefully planned
• Teaching takes place right across the school
• Evaluation takes place regularly
• Most schools teach KOS on a two year cycle
• KOS is embedded in early childhood learning
programmes
Parents and Caregivers
• Attend a consultation meeting before
teaching
• Give consistent safety messages
• Practise personal safety skills
• Set family safety guidelines
• Recognise signs and symptoms of abuse
• Know how to respond to disclosures
• Take part in evaluation
Education Links with
Schools
• KOS fits within the NZ Curriculum for
primary and secondary schools
• It is taught within the Health and Physical
Education learning area
• It helps schools create a safe physical and
emotional environment (National Administration
Guideline 5)
Education Links with the
Early Childhood Sector
• KOS fits within Te Whäriki, the early
childhood curriculum
• It helps centres provide a safe, nurturing
environment for babies and young children
(Regulation 28[7])
The Role of the Police
Education Officer (PEO)
The PEO
• Introduces KOS to the school
• Assists the school to implement the whole school
approach
• Assists with parent/caregiver meetings
• Provides all the KOS resources
• Works with teachers to tailor KOS to meet class needs
• Can teach up to 3 lessons in partnership
• Assists with evaluation
• Keeps school record cards
A Spiraling Curriculum
• Children and young people get child
protection education throughout their
schooling
• KOS is appropriate to the age, abilities
and social contexts of students
• Learning is reinforced and builds on what
has gone before
Contexts
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Being confident and grounded
Feelings
Body awareness
Types of touch
Saying ‘no’
Secrets, tricks and bribes
Trust
Asking for help
Safety rules
Further Contexts
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Reducing risk
Helping others stay safe
The nature of abuse
Family violence
Anger and violence
The Law
Societal Violence
Contents of a KOS Kit
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An implementation book
A teaching guide
All the resources that teachers need
Training DVD for teachers
Materials for parents/caregivers
KOS Resources
Include:
• Song Cds
• DVD clips
• Photopacks
• Games
• Stories
• Cards – Help, Telling Sequence, What
ifs...
Does KOS Work?
• Emeritus Professor Freda Briggs has
evaluated school based KOS extensively
since the early 1990s
• Early childhood KOS has been evaluated
by the Education Review Office (20062008)
• These evaluations have produced strong
evidence that KOS works
“First I was raped by my grandfather.
Then by other members of my family
and then friends of my brothers but
my brothers didn’t join in. I reported it
to a social worker after KOS.”
18 parents confirmed that their
children reported sexual abuse
immediately after KOS lessons.
“ My friend has a drunk dad. She was
crying because her dad bashes her. I told
her to tell me about it. Then I comforted
her and told her what to do.”
“I stepped in to stop a young kid near
the shop getting in a car with a male
stranger and I reported it.”
After KOS a girl in the South Island
reported abuse and as a result the Police
made an arrest of a man involved in
Internet child pornography.
KOS empowering
teachers and parents to
keep children safe