Following the roll-out of the Victorian Respectful Relationships curriculum in 2017, teachers are called on to deliver respectful relationships and violence prevention education. We offer professional development for teachers and school staff. The program focuses on understanding family and intimate partner violence and challenging violence-enabling myths and attitudes. We address the attitudes and beliefs of participants themselves, as well as how teachers can support young people to develop skills to create respectful relationships in their lives. 

We also deliver workshops focused on creative facilitation techniques and strategies useful for violence prevention and respectful relationship education. We aim to assist teachers to build their knowledge, skills and confidence in exploring with young people issues of gender, sexuality, sex, relationships, violence and support. Workshops explore ways to incorporate violence prevention into classrooms and the curriculum.

With specialised training, teachers are more able to model respectful relationships and open communication across the school. The school is then well placed to create partnerships with families and the wider community to address violence at a broader social level.

Our workshops are tailored to the requirements and interests of each institution. They can be single or multiple sessions, depending on your specific requirements and available time. We will design workshops to build on training that teachers have previously undertaken. At minimum, our workshops run for 90 minutes. 

Some of the topics we can cover include:

  • Frameworks and strategies for respectful relationships education and sex education 

  • What are the causes of violence? Frameworks for understanding violence, addressing the prevalence and drivers of violence

  • Creative facilitation strategies and techniques for engaging young people in conversation around relationships, violence and sexual assault

  • Enacting whole school and whole community approaches to violence prevention

  • Challenging violence enabling myths and attitudes

  • Gender roles and expectations: deconstructing gender in an education setting

  • Frameworks and strategies for approaching violence prevention 

  • Supporting people experiencing or who have experienced violence, safety planning and where to seek help, and resources and services for people who have experienced or enacted harm

  • Resources and support 

  • Teacher self-reflexivity

Also see our Training and Facilitation Program and Capacity Building LGBTIQ+ Program. 

Feedback we have received from teachers:

  • "Absolutely, enlightening, informative"

  • "Yes, I think this is a great info source for working with young people"

  • "The information spoken about will help me educate if needed and help during my work"

  • “Because I thought violence was only physical & verbal but today I know more about violence”

  • "Support services contact details. Situational discussions were brilliant! Great to sit in a circle as one group, really strong facilitation – well done!"

  • "I think gaining a broader understanding of things by listening to different opinions"

  • “Learning from my peers in small group discussions about anti-oppressive facilitation”

Cost:

Our professional development workshops are charged on a sliding scale, depending on the available resources of your school. Contact us for information on our current rates. If your educational institution does not have access to funding, please contact us as we may be able to accommodate your request.