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Originally published in Semann and Slattery’s Pick a Lane Newsletter. Keeping children safe This week there has been widespread media coverage about children from an early childhood centre in NSW who were allegedly sexually abused by a former worker. It is alleged that the offender abused 30 children; 16 either at or from the centre ranging in age from 16 months to 15 years. We also know that in addition the abuse of those children was shared online. Pick a Lane interviewed Deanne Carson, the CEO of Body Safety Australia, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing...

Gaming addiction in children is a hotly debated topic in education and parenting circles right now. Parents approach me quietly, often fearful of judgement from other parents who aren’t locked into battle with children who want ‘just one more game’ and who become resentful, angry and even violent when their devices are removed.  It’s not only gaming that is an issue. Social media use is also concerning parents, with many children becoming secretive and withdrawn as a result of online interactions.  Navigating appropriate device use was difficult enough prior to remote learning,...

Recently there has been a huge upsurge online of people raising awareness about paedophilia and child abductions. As the CEO of an organisation dedicated to preventing sexual harm towards children and young people, I was gladdened by this interest. But then I became disturbed… In Australia, as many as one in five children are subjected to sexual abuse. When the light was first shone on childhood sexual abuse in the 80s, the focus was predominately on ‘stranger danger’. Children were warned about men in white vans ready to lure them away with the promise of lollies. In response, Safety House...

Think back to your first experience of sex ed. How would you rate it on a scale of best-lesson-ever to excruciating-I-want-to-die? How relevant was it for your personal experiences? Was it delivered too early or all just a little bit too late? Relationships and Sexuality Education is a compulsory part of the curriculum but it’s a topic many people look back on negatively. So, what makes a good sex ed session? UP TO DATE KNOWLEDGE You would think not much has changed since we adults went through puberty or learned to put condoms on bananas. But students now want to know about ethically...

In February 2020, Semann and Slattery hosted the INSPIRE 2020 conference for early childhood education professionals. Body Safety Australia CEO, Deanne Carson joined Sarah Louise Gandolfo, Dr Rachel Chapman and Alistair Gibbs to discuss sexuality in early childhood. Below is an excerpt from Semann and Slattery magazine ‘Pedagogy’. Click here to purchase a physical or digital copy of ‘Pedagogy’, or click here to see Semann and Slattery’s upcoming seminars. All panelists spoke from their personal experiences of being LGBTIQ and working in the early childhood education space. They also drew on...

In an Australia-wide first, the Victorian government is providing $160 million in extra support to funded kindergartens over the next four years. According to the 2015 Australian Early Development Census, one in five Victorian children start school ‘developmentally vulnerable’, the impact of which can be felt across a lifetime. The funding can be used to support early learning services and improve developmental outcomes for children, particularly children those from disadvantaged or remote communities. It is a new and permanent part of kindergarten funding in Victoria and is allocated to...

Excerpt from Redress Vol 28 No. 1, June 2019: Educators Riding the Wave of #MeToo By Body Safety Australia CEO Deanne Carson. Click here to download the pdf publication. “What do you notice when you walk into a primary school for the first time? Is it the buildings, the facilities or whether the children are happy? This is what I see. • How much ground space is dedicated to sports ovals and basketball courts compared to monkey bars, cubby houses and other play that encourages children of all genders to play together. • Whether the ovals are the central focus of the playground, and children...

Body Safety Australia Superstar and lead educator Lauren French sat down with the team at 3KND Kool N Deadly, Melbourne’s only indigenous radio station, to speak about consent and how we help children to understand their own sense of bodily autonomy. Have a listen below.

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