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Pantosaurus - (RSHE curriculum)

In Reception we use the NSPCC’s Underwear Rule as part of our 'Relationships, Sex and Health Education' curriculum.

This is designed to teach pupils how to stay safe from sexual abuse, without giving explicit information or telling scary stories or even using the term “sexual abuse.”

In these sessions, the children will learn about the ‘PANTS’ acrostic, which stands for: 

The sessions are delivered in a way that is fully age-appropriate.

We begin by talking about our bodies and labelling key parts, including talking about parts our underwear covers (vagina and penis). We discuss that these are called private parts and they belong just to us.

We watch the Pantosaurus song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lL07JOGU5o) and discuss the key messages before learning about the 5 PANTS rules listed above.

We explain that the pants region shouldn’t be touched but there are special circumstances when touching is ok, e.g. if we have a problem, if something doesn’t feel right, if we feel sore or itchy or if our wee or poo looks different to usual, we need to talk to someone. Usually, we can talk to the grown-ups who look after us and then they can decide if we need to see a doctor for some advice or help to get better. We explain that sometimes a nurse or a doctor might need to look at and maybe touch a child’s private parts if there is a problem with how they are feeling or working. This is an ok kind of touch. 

We discuss, if we were worried about something and needed someone to talk to, who can we go to for help? We identify the people who can help us both in school and out of school and who our trusted adults are. 

We also discuss that sometimes, things happen that give us a funny feeling in our tummies, maybe like butterflies or a bit sick when something just doesn’t seem right. We call these ‘uh oh’ feelings. They are our body’s way of saying that something isn’t right. If something happened and we had ‘uh oh’ feelings in our tummies, then it’s very important that we speak to an adult whom we trust. 

Please find below a booklet that we are promoting to parents as part of the NSPCC’s Talk PANTS campaign. The guide helps parents have simple conversations with their children that can help keep them safe from abuse. It’s specially created for parents of early years and primary school children, with engaging and age-appropriate messages. 

Although some parents may feel this is a sensitive area to discuss with their child, we feel that sharing messages such as these with children at an early age can be very beneficial in helping to protect your child. Research from the NSPCC also suggests that the messages are most valuable when taught at a young age. We hope you find this booklet useful – for more information about the campaign please go to nspcc.org.uk/pants