April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

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checkmark IN THIS ISSUE:

  • April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
  • IN THE CLASSROOM: Volunteers
  • Practical Mum Recommends Internet Safety
  • Keeping Kids Safe in Your School and Home
Spring showers clean away the winter blues and herald the impending rainbow of colors as nature awakens from its winter slumber and trees and flowers blossom anew. Yes, I’m feeling flowery and a tad poetic…what an appropriate time of year to be reminded of the responsibility we all share in protecting the most precious flowers in our lives, our children and students.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month in the United States. This topic has special meaning for the Professional Learning Board team as we help educators, faith communities and non-profits teach adults working with children how to recognize and report child abuse. It is no longer sufficient to rely on only state mandatory reporting laws, everyone who works or volunteers with children needs to know how to keep them safe. Part of our mission is creating the “thousand eyes” of awareness. 


IN THE CLASSROOM: Volunteers

Can you imagine school without volunteers? No, me either. And yet, how do we protect the children within our school while utilizing the time and talents of volunteers in our community? Here are some best practices we’ve seen work throughout the country:

  1. Background check ALL volunteers
  2. Train ALL staff and volunteers in recognizing and reporting child abuse
  3. Have school/district policies that are ALWAYS and UNIFORMLY enforced
  4. Implement a professional code of behavior for staff and volunteers

We know these are simple in concept and can be a challenge to implement. The impact on a child who is abused, of course, is incalculable. Plus, the cost to implement and maintain these best practices is often less than the cost of litigating one law suit, let alone the cost of a settlement.

All around, creating safe and secure learning environments for children is a win-win-win for everyone. If your school or district would like to learn more about doing so, contact us at info@compasschildprotectiontraining.com. 


The Practical Mum Reviews Internet Safety Course
by Shelagh Cummins

I’m feeling smarter tonight.  Not because I had my fish oils, nor because I finished my weekly indulgence of Hello magazine.  It’s because I took a course tonight.  An online learning course and I have the Certificate to prove it.

I was asked to review their course entitled: Internet Safety in a Connected World. Being a nervous nelly, particularly about the internet, I was happy to oblige. I watch the tweens and teens around me with their noses stuck in their cellphones, PDAs and laptops, fingers moving faster than lightening and I get a pit in my stomach.  How can we protect these savvy young minds online?  How long can I shield my own children from predators and bullies lurking and waiting on the web??

The Internet Safety course was user friendly, based on the effective teaching process of the 3 R’s of Learning™: Review the material, Reflect upon what has been learned and Remember that which most meets your needs. The course itself was broken down into 3 modules; The Technology, Vulnerabilities and Threats, and Protecting Children. I liked that I had the freedom to hop around the content at my discretion. I could fast forward through materials which I already knew, then spend the time on what interested me most.  There was also a printable copy of the What If… Guidebook as well as an Internet Use Agreement template and several must-know resources.  I don’t want to brag, but I did receive 100% on my final assessment.  Wish I had pulled in those marks during high school!


Keeping Kids Safe in Your School and Home

The following courses are related to training adults and children on topics related to child abuse prevention:

  1. Recognizing & Preventing Child Abuse (3 clock hours)
  2. Internet Safety: Protecting Children in an Online World (5 clock hours)
  3. Technology for Education Leaders (10 clock hours)

In recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month, you can get the online class: Recognizing & Preventing Child Abuse course free with the purchase of the Internet Safety course all month long. Sign up for the Teachers’ Child Abuse Prevention Package (that’s BOTH online classes) for only $39!

Also, the school leaders’ package includes both courses above AND our new Technology for Education Leaders for only $95 (that’s THREE online classes!). Sign up for the Administrators’ Child Abuse Prevention Package today or forward to your school administrators to help them help you create a safe and secure learning environment for students in your school.

Thank you for all you do to teach and keep children safe.

Ellen Paxton

P.s. Thanks for telling your friends about Professional Learning Board!

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