The Ten Principles

RoSPA and the PSHE Association have collaborated on a review of the literature on effective safety education, and the findings have been summarised as 10 principles. These provide a framework against which safety education resources and provision can be assessed, and will help teachers and other practitioners to choose the best resources and methods for their circumstances. They can also be used to help those who develop resources to adopt an evidence-based approach to their work.

The 10 principles of effective safety education
  1. Encourage the adoption of, or reinforce, a whole school approach, within the wider community
  2. Use active approaches to teaching and learning (including interactive and experiential learning)
  3. Involve young people in real decisions to help them stay safe
  4. Assess children and young people’s learning needs
  5. Teach safety as part of a comprehensive personal social and health curriculum
  6. Use realistic and relevant settings and resources
  7. Work in partnership
  8. Address known risk and protective factors
  9. Address psychosocial aspects of safety e.g. confidence, resilience, self esteem, and self efficacy
  10. Adopt positive approaches which model and reward safe behaviour, within a safe, supportive environment

For more information, the following documents can be downloaded:

Briefing paper (PDF PDF 58kb)
Literature review (PDF PDF 213kb)
Resource review checklist (PDF PDF 89kb)
Resource review checklist (PDF Word 114kb)