We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The NSPCC promotes ‘The Underwear Rule’ Campaign which aims to raise awareness of the importance of talking to children about keeping safe from sexual abuse. Barrow Hedges Primary School are supporting the NSPCC in their campaign and feel it is important to teach our children how to keep safe.

‘The Underwear Rule’ teaches them that:                                

• their body belongs to them
• they have a right to say no, and
• they should always tell an adult if they’re upset or worried.

Here is the link to the booklet from the NSPCC called ‘‘Simple Conversations To Keep Your Child Safe From Abuse’. This guide for Parents and Carers is to help you feel confident when talking to your children about staying safe. It also explains ‘The Underwear Rule’ in detail. We know talking to your child about their body and staying safe can seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be scary. ‘Talk PANTS’ is a simple way that parents can help keep children safe from abuse.

As part of our PSHE curriculum each teacher will spend some time with their class teaching ‘The Underwear Rule’ and going through what PANTS stands for. In classrooms there will be the child friendly version, which is in your leaflet. In preparation for this we would like you to read the guide and start having age appropriate conversations with your child/children so that they become aware of ‘The Underwear Rule’. If your child says anything that worries you there is advice in the booklet. You can also talk to a teacher at school or you can call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 for further advice and support. For more information on ‘The Underwear Rule’ please visit: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/underwear-rule/