About Kids in the Know
Kids in the Know is the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s interactive safety education program designed for students from Kindergarten to High School. The purpose of the program is to help educators teach children and youth effective personal safety strategies in an engaging, age-appropriate and interactive way that builds resiliency skills and reduces their likelihood of victimization in the online and offline world. It is research and evidence-based, balances empowerment with protection, communicates without value statements, builds from past experiences, involves activity-based learning, and facilitates important discussions about personal safety without the use of fear.
The program is used in thousands of schools across Canada and has received the nationally-recognized Curriculum Services of Canada seal of approval. Lessons are matched to outcomes mandated by Departments of Education in all jurisdictions across Canada. Topics include healthy relationships, safe and responsible use of technology, addressing high-risk behavior, the public nature of the internet and loss of control of shared content, as well as building capacity to handle difficult situations and knowing when to seek help.
The core foundation of Kids in the Know is based on the Seven Root Safety Strategies and the Four Root Safety Environments. These root safety principles are protective factors for kids to incorporate into their daily lives to increase their safety. In developing the root safety strategies, a brain-based approach was used to increase children’s rate of retention and to facilitate recall. Rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and multi-modal methods (i.e. visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) are incorporated throughout the program.
The Kids in the Know program includes:
- Lessons from Kindergarten to Grade 9
- Program training for teachers, school counsellors, and parents
- Downloadable home activities for families
- Supplemental material for communities
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Learn about the goals of the Kids in the Know program:
- To reduce child/youth victimization by teaching children effective personal safety strategies.
- To build resiliency skills (i.e. assertiveness, self-awareness, social-emotional competence, problem-solving, critical thinking, and low-risk choice making skills).
- To encourage children to report concerning experiences and behaviours.
- To provide messaging to those who have experienced abuse that they are not to blame.
- To enhance communication between parents and children about personal safety.
“This is an amazing program! It’s easy to use and works well with other units such as language arts or computer studies. Kids in the Know is a must for kids of all ages. If children experience something inappropriate, they learn it is not their fault and that there is another adult who can be trusted. It gives them the confidence to speak out if something happens.”
- Wanda Hill, Vice-Principal of Chippewa Secondary School in Ontario