Children Matter

Vulnerable Children PD

Last week we had a very informative professional development session on vulnerable children and child abuse.

The first thing that really shocked me was the high statistics New Zealand has around child abuse. New Zealand has the fifth worst child abuse record out of 31 OECD countries (According to the most recent study). I also found out that nearly 9,000 children per year are born “at risk” (1 in every 30).

There are four main types of abuse that we learnt about; Sexual abuse, Physical Abuse, Neglect and Emotional Abuse. As teachers we have a lot of interaction with children and so we need to be aware of the possible signs of child abuse so that we can keep an eye out for children at risk. During the session, Lou taught me that when it comes to abuse we need to be logical and aware of any changes to our students’ behaviour, attitude or dress.

I also learnt a lot about student disclosure, what to look out for and how to react to it. It’s very important to be on the lookout for any signs of an abuse disclosure because they can be very subtle! It’s also important not to promise that you can ‘keep the secret’. Knowing the appropriate way to talk to children about a disclosure and who to go to when it happens is essential.

I learnt that if you do need to ask more clarifying questions (not investigation questions) to get more information, you can use questions like, ‘how come?’, ‘tell me about it’, ‘explain what you mean’ or ‘describe that’. Rather than yes or no questions or leading questions.

I enjoyed learning more about vulnerable children in our community and the signs to look out for. Luckily for me I haven’t had any children suffering from abuse in my classroom so far, but I definitely feel more prepared to deal with any vulnerable children that I come across in the future. I think that Vulnerable Children’s PD is very worthwhile and hope that all teachers get the chance to be involved in a session.

Hannah