SAFE Curriculum

Teaching children about boundaries and safe touches is not sex education. There are many safety issues we teach children: bike safety, water safety, fire prevention, driver's training, etc. Personal safety programs should ahve age appropriate lessons that give children the skills they need to protect themselves without frightening them. Keeping children unaware of the dangers around them does not keep them safe. Predators count on children not knowing what to do.

Parents are the primary educators of their children, and those who do not want their children to participate in the SAFE Curriculum portion of the education may opt out. Materials are available to assist parents with teaching their children to be safe.

Article 12 of the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children & Young People calls for a Safe Environment program for each diocese in the United States. St. Denis Church provides age-appropriate personal safety education for our students and families, utilizing materials provided to us by the Diocese of Worcester.

You can read more about Article 12 here: http://www.usccb.org/about/child-and-youth-protection/

The Office of Religious Education in the Diocese of Worcester supports the implementation of the SAFE Curriculum portion of Article 12. You can learn more about this office by clicking here: https://worcesterdiocese.org/safe-environment-ed

As a parish, St. Denis has a responsibility to:

• Educate parents about the problem of child abuse in society at large and help them understand their role in protecting their own children
• Give parents an opportunity to review the materials that will be used in the classroom with their children/youth

During our already scheduled First Grade Parent Meeting in the fall, parents should:

• View the DVD prepared by the Diocese (video can be viewed here)
• Receive a copy of the pamphlet About Preventing Child Abuse

If parents indicate that they have already viewed the DVD and seen the resources, or if they do not want their child(ren) to participate they must sign an Opt Out form checking what they are opting out of.