MORE than 800 Port Macquarie children will be taught important personal safety skills with leading child protection advocate Bravehearts on Tuesday.
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The program will visit nine local schools to educate, empower and protect kids against child sexual assault. A number of schools and kindergartens have already registered for the program this year.
Bravehearts Mid North Coast committee chairperson Malcolm Neale said the program focussed on keeping children safe and informing them of what was right and wrong.
"If they find themselves in a position where they've been told to keep a secret, it is okay for them to tell someone they can trust," he said.
Two hundred and fifty students at Tacking Point Public School, 200 at Laurieton Public School and 156 at St Joseph's Primary School will engage in the program on the day.
Through Ditto, Bravehearts lion cub mascot, the 40-minute live production tailored for children aged from three to eight effectively teaches strategies and skills to stay safe in a range of situations from bullying to sexual assault. Having reached 440,000 children nationally since 2008, the Ditto show is gaining momentum with an increasing number of schools and child care centres playing a key role in prevention.
"Ditto always gets mobbed by the kids; it's a fun show and the songs they learn one year they're still singing 12 months later," Mr Neale said.
Bravehearts Founder and CEO Hetty Johnson will be in Port Macquarie on Tuesday and said it is essential that every Australian child is equipped with important personal safety knowledge and skills.
"We know that child sexual assault is for the most part preventable and educating and empowering children is paramount to prevention and so important for us to do as parents, educators, carers and members of the community," she said.
"Since the program's introduction in New South Wales it has really been endorsed by schools which has given us a significant boost towards our commitment to reaching every child across the state with our safety message."