'It’s Not OK and how to Talk PANTS' - NSPCC safety campaign visits Scarborough, Whitby, Filey and Pickering
Thousands of children in schools across North Yorkshire are taking part in a new campaign run by the NSPCC with local partners to help young people understand appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in relationships.
The campaign started with a tour of a live performance called It’s Not OK which visited secondary schools in Scarborough, Whitby, Filey and Pickering. The age-appropriate play explores issues such as grooming, exploitation, coercion, and abuse in relationships, and includes workshops in which students can rewrite scenes to create positive outcomes for the characters.
Martin Heeley is the PSHE and Careers Lead at Lady Lumley's School in Pickering, where the performance was very well received by students and staff.
Mr Heeley said: “The students really enjoyed the production and were still talking about it last week, so it's made a real impact.
“Given our rural context, this production was a really important and useful tool in allowing our students to see the many ways that exploitation and grooming can take place.”
This week sees the start of the second part of the campaign, a Talk PANTS fortnight aimed at primary schoolchildren in and around Scarborough. Talk PANTS is the NSPCC’s programme which helps younger children to understand body privacy, boundaries and their right to say ‘no’, with the help of age-appropriate language and a catchy song by friendly dinosaur campaign mascot Pantosaurus.
The campaign will visit 16 primary schools across the region to help children recognise inappropriate behaviour and how to speak to safe, trusted adults about anything that worries them. It will also see copies of the NSPCC’s Power of PANTS and Techosaurus books donated to local libraries.
Gail Sayles, NSPCC’s Local Campaign Manager for the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “I’m so pleased to have been involved in this campaign, and the feedback from children and teachers across the region has been incredible.
“It’s vital that children everywhere can recognise when something might not be right – whether that’s in a relationship or any other scenario – and campaigns like this are a great way to share important information in age-appropriate and engaging ways.”
Information about the Talk PANTS campaign is available on the NSPCC website, as well as online safety advice, how to encourage children to talk about anything that’s worrying them, and who to speak to if you’re worried.
To find out more, go to www.nspcc.org.uk
Children can contact Childline free and in confidence at any time on 0800 1111 or through the website, www.childline.org.uk
Adults concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 8005000 or email [email protected]