How to Make Secondary School Safety Programs More Enticing

All young people have the right to be safe and secure regardless of circumstances. While parents do their best to discuss pertinent safety issues and concerns with their children, educators also have a responsibility to provide effective formats of safety education.

Secondary school students are at a unique age, approaching adulthood but with plenty left to learn about common issues facing their generation like bullying, mental illness, abuse, unsafe relationships, sexuality, racism, and more.

While many proactive social programs for youths are available today in Australia, committed to creating safe environments for children, one of the main challenges is enticing students to participate fully. Read on to learn more. 

Making safety programs for youths more enticing

Anyone who has teenage kids can relate to getting a less-than-enthusiastic response to, well, just about anything! School in particular can be seen as uncool, and many self-conscious young adults will resist appearing interested.

Building involvement and respect in school programs require a more hands-on and interactive approach. Figuring out how to make school safety programs enticing means getting the students involved – from planning through to implementation. 

Having a sense of control over their safety education will boost their interest, while understanding is improved by including key elements of awareness and learning. 

Increasing involvement and respect in school programs

A common thread among young people is not feeling heard. Taking on board the opinions, insights, and ideas of the younger generation when planning programs for youths is essential to creating relevant educational opportunities that hit home. These decisions impact their lives so it makes practical sense for them to be involved. 

By involving and listening to our children and students we can increase their full involvement in school safety programs while actively informing them of their rights – simply by taking them seriously and acting on their ideas and suggestions. Just like adults, teenagers struggle to respect those who don’t appear to respect them. 

The power of theatre in social programs for youths

School safety programs for youths are there to help students learn about a wide range of issues they may face. Theatre presents a unique means to talk about a diverse range of issues, helping greatly with delivery and understanding while actively involving students in each step.

Youth theatre transforms onlookers into active participants, encouraging them to directly address the issues and act out solutions in a safe space. This creative approach is effective with students of any background, building teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, and resilience while developing solutions for a range of complex problems. 

Using theatre to explore complex issues

Our fast-changing world presents new challenges for children daily, but the adaptable nature of theatre allows for any subject to be safely navigated and dealt with. Prevalent issues that can be acted out through theatre include:

• Mental health
• Cyberbullying
• Social media
• Unhealthy relationships
• Social pressure
• Substance abuse
• Sexuality
• Body image
• Racism and cultural diversity
• How to drive positive social change

Leading safety education from Constable Care 

Building respect in school programs may seem like an uphill battle, but Constable Care has put 30 years of experience as WA’s leading safety education provider to use in creating fun, interactive programs for secondary school students. 

Youth Choices uses the secure medium of theatre for social programs for youths, giving them a voice while exploring skills, strategies and safe solutions to dealing with many topical issues.

Contact Constable Care today to book a secondary school safety program, or with any queries.