Glow has educated over 1,500 pupils about healthy relationships in Derby
Teachers across Derby are giving their pupils the tools they need to recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships by rolling out our relationship education programme in schools.
Our specialist Education & Prevention Team started delivering relationship education in Derby in 2021.
According to Women’s Aid, 1 in 7 children and young people under the age of 18 will have lived with domestic violence at some point in their childhood.
Our flagship programme, Relationships without Fear (RWF), addresses this. Sessions educate children and young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships, feelings, emotions and where to access support if they need it
RWF is suitable for all children and young people from year 4 pupils to college students. It consists of six weekly one-hour sessions with one of our trained Programme Facilitators. They’re adapted for each age group and cover topics including safe and unsafe secrets, good and bad friendships, red flags and consent.
Since it launched two years ago, RWF has been delivered in 13 schools across Derby and Derbyshire. This means approximately 1,600 pupils have taken part in sessions.
We’ve been working with Portway Junior School, in Derby, since we launched RWF in the city. Headteacher Emma Wilkinson says that signing up for the programme was ‘a no-brainer.’
She explained: “When we first heard about RWF, we just thought ‘wow – that would be amazing for our school.
“At Portway we believe that our job is not just to teach the children about maths and English, but also to help them develop and function well in life. We want them to know about positive, safe relationships and develop those skills to protect themselves.”
Schools taking part in Relationships without Fear are fully supported by Glow throughout the programme. Our specialist team gives feedback to school staff after each session, highlighting any potential concerns that need to be addressed by the school’s DSL (designated safeguard lead). This makes sure that any potential concerns can be monitored and addressed quickly.
We also provide impact reports to every school. These detail the impact that the programme has had on pupils since the first session.
Emma continued: “The children always feel at ease with Glow coming into school. The charity are experts in their sector, which has really helped to support the children with any underlying issues that they might not have even realised.
“Whenever Glow have discovered any previous incidents that children have been through, these have been picked up quickly and addressed by our DSL.”
Portway Junior School say they will continue to book our RWF programme to make sure that every pupil in their school has the chance to learn about healthy and unhealthy relationships.
Emma added: “The impact of the sessions on our children has been amazing. We now see them transferring their skills into other areas of their school life and they’re more prepared to talk about any problems or relationship issues.
“We would wholeheartedly recommend RWF to any school. It’s had such a tremendous impact on the children and provided them with that extra layer of support.”
Programme Facilitator Gemma delivers our relationship education programmes in Derby.
She said: “We have had such a positive response to RWF since launching in Derby two years ago. Schools that have had the programme have given us fantastic feedback about how it’s had such a positive impact in their school.
“Pupils really enjoy the programme and appreciate having the opportunity to speak to somebody who isn’t a member of staff at school. They can be really honest and open with us if there’s anything they need to talk about.
“It’s vital that we’re delivering these sessions in schools, particularly in Derby, as there’s nothing else like it here. I feel like we’re leading the way in providing support.”
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