Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships (RRRR)

Respectful Relationships is an initiative to support schools promote and model respect and equality. It also supports educators to teach our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence. Developing positive and respectful relationships is an important part of a student's emotional and social development. The relationships in a student's life, including those with friends, family and peers, can influence their physical health, promote self-esteem and assist them in developing a sense of belonging.

At Lalor North Primary School, we are proud to be part of the Respectful Relationships initiative, a program that supports schools to promote and model respect, equality, and healthy relationships. This initiative also helps educators teach students how to build positive relationships, develop resilience, and grow in confidence.

We believe that developing respectful relationships is a vital part of every student’s emotional and social development. The quality of relationships can have a significant impact a child’s physical health, self-esteem, and sense of belonging.  As part of this program, students engage with the Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR), which cover eight key topics of Social and Emotional Learning across all year levels:

The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR) learning materials cover eight topics of Social and Emotional Learning across all levels of primary and secondary education.

Topic 1: Emotional Literacy
Students learn to recognise, understand, and express their emotions in appropriate ways, helping them to communicate effectively and build empathy.  In class, students might use emotion cards or feelings charts to describe how they’re feeling during circle time, or they might practise role-playing different emotional scenarios (e.g. feeling left out or excited) to build empathy and understanding.

Topic 2: Personal Strengths
This topic helps students identify their individual strengths and use them to face challenges and achieve personal goals.  This topic helps students identify their unique strengths, such as kindness, perseverance, creativity, or curiosity, and understand how these strengths help them succeed. Students may create drawings or write words that reflect what they’re good at and how those strengths can help them solve problems or support friends.

Topic 3: Positive Coping
Students explore a range of healthy strategies to manage difficult emotions and bounce back from setbacks.  Students explore healthy strategies for managing tough emotions and situations, helping them to build resilience and confidence.  Students learn about copying strategies and may practise using deep breathing, counting to ten, drawing, or talking to a trusted adult instead of reacting in anger.

Topic 4: Problem Solving
Children are taught how to approach problems thoughtfully and develop practical solutions in both social and learning situations. Students learn how to think through problems calmly and logically, whether in social situations or learning tasks.  Students learn how to resolve disagreements, or practise choosing from several solutions in real-life classroom dilemmas.

Topic 5: Stress Management
This unit introduces techniques such as mindfulness and relaxation to help students recognise and manage stress in positive ways.  This unit teaches students how to recognise signs of stress in their bodies and minds, and how to respond with calming techniques. Students might practise mindfulness through guided meditation, quiet breathing exercises after recess, or using sensory tools and calming techniques to relax after a busy day.

Topic 6: Help-Seeking
Students learn when and how to seek help from trusted adults and peers, reinforcing that asking for help is a sign of strength.  Students are taught that it's okay to ask for help and learn how and when to seek support from trusted adults and peers.  Students might role-play different situations (e.g. feeling bullied, confused in class, or worried at home) and practise asking for help from a teacher, friend, or family.

Topic 7: Gender and Identity
This topic encourages students to explore identity and challenge gender stereotypes, promoting respect and inclusion for all, for example, the idea that "only boys play football" or "only girls wear pink." Through discussions, books, and classroom activities, students are encouraged to express themselves respectfully. They also learn about the importance of treating everyone equally, regardless of gender, and how to include and support others who may be different from themselves. Students may read picture books that show boys and girls doing a wide range of activities or discuss why everyone should feel free to wear what they like or pursue any hobby or job regardless of gender.

Topic 8: Positive Gender Relations
Students learn about respectful behaviours, establishing personal boundaries, and how to maintain safe and supportive relationships with others. Through class discussions and stories, students explore what makes a friendship respectful, practice assertively saying "no," and develop skills to recognise and honour when others set boundaries. For example, a student might role-play a situation where they clearly and kindly refuse to share a personal item, while also listening carefully when a friend asks for space.