Teaching consent in primary school

Promoting positive mental health and wellbeing at school is paramount and our teachers and school staff play a very important role in pupil safety and child protection.

During our Wellbeing sessions we are learning how to be safe, explaining what consent is about.

What is consent? At a really basic level, consent is seeking and giving permission.
Consent means asking for and waiting to hear a ‘yes’.

School-age children are never too young to learn this, in ways that make sense to them.
If one friend wants to borrow something from another friend, they must get permission. If one friend wants to hug their friend, they should check if their friend is ok with that first. Linking permission-seeking to physical contact is an important part of safeguarding children.

They need to be taught about boundaries, saying no to unwanted touch and seeking help when they are worried or upset by anything they have been asked to do or by how they have been touched. This is a very important life skill to understand to respect their own body and each other’s boundaries.

Read more about our pastoral care and safeguarding policies.