Helping Children to Learn About Safer Sexual Behaviour: Taking Steps to Safety, a Guidebook, including Billy and The Tingles picturebook

This unique resource comprises a therapeutic workbook and storybook, designed to be used as an early intervention with children within the school setting who display concerning sexual behaviour. The workbook contains a series of activities with accompanying user-friendly advice including how to broach difficult subjects, how to engage with children who have additional needs and how to create conditions of safety to enable the necessary conversations and activities to happen.

The programme of work culminates in the creation of a unique and dynamic Safety Plan which is developed collaboratively with the child (as the expert) together with key adults in their lives. The Safety Plan is designed to meet the needs of the child and gives attention to their cultural context and specific likes/interests; this ultimately keeps them and other children safe from further incidents or allegations of sexually concerning behavior.

The accompanying storybook, ‘Billy and the Tingles’ employs narrative therapy, telling the story of a child with sexually concerning behaviour and addressing contemporary issues of exposure to pornography.