Respectful Relationships Program expanded to schools in Geraldton and Mid West

The WA Government has announced an expansion of its Respectful Relationships school program to Mid West schools for the first time.

The Respectful Relationships Teaching Support Program is designed to improve understanding of domestic and family violence for teachers and school staff.

The program provides professional learning, resources and support for teachers to improve their ability to teach the subject and is set to be complemented by a Statewide consent education program in 2024.

The program will be implemented in schools including Rangeway Primary School, Coorow Primary School, Mullewa District High School and Morawa District High School, bringing the program to Geraldton and the Mid West.

Women’s Interests and Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Simone McGurk said the program’s expansion was part of the Government’s push to eradicate domestic abuse.

“We are teaching WA students about healthy and positive relationships and creating generational change to break the cycle of violence by stopping violence before it occurs,” she said.

Education Minister Sue Ellery said education about healthy, positive relationships was not only something students should learn about, it was something they wanted to learn about.

“We have been told by students that they want to be taught about consent at school in a clear and direct way, to help them respond to lived scenarios, and including it in the curriculum across all education sectors will achieve this,” she said.

Geraldton MLA Lara Dalton and Agricultural region MLC Sandra Carr praised the program’s introduction to the Mid West

“I am proud that local students in Geraldton get the opportunity to take part in this program,” Ms Dalton said.

Ms Carr added: “We know that teaching young people about healthy, positive relationships helps to prevent violence before it starts.”

Last week, Ms Ellery announced the consent lessons would be included in the curriculum for pre-primary to Year 10 students.

She stressed the changes would be “developmentally appropriate” from helping younger students understand personal space and how to say no, to rehearsing strategies, understanding personal boundaries, how to say and hear no, and how to make informed choices in older students.