Program: Let's Talk About Touching
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The updated third edition of the ECEBC program Let’s Talk About Touching (LTAT), designed for ECE and K-Gr.3, reflects current educational practice and has been adapted “to be more responsive to the needs of a diverse population of children”.
Let’s Talk About Touching (LTAT) is an inclusive child sexual abuse prevention developed entirely in BC for young children aged three to eight years of age. Delivered in early care and learning programs and primary classrooms by trained educators, the program supports young children to learn basic safety concepts and skills that can help protect them from sexual abuse.
The program teaches children that their bodies are their own and that they have some choice about who touches them and how they are touched. It helps them to differentiate between affectionate touches and sexually abusive touches and gives them some beginning skills to protect themselves: say “no” or “stop”, getting away, and telling someone.
The website notes, “The third edition of LTAT was updated to reflect current educational practice and to be more responsive to the needs of a diverse population of children and their families…. The revisions were influenced by current research on sexual abuse prevention education for young children and an extensive program evaluation of the second edition. The third edition of LTAT was also developed in consultation with early childhood educators, primary teachers, sexual health experts, and other professionals who provided insight and guidance.”
ECEBC’s policy is that those participating the LTAT Teacher Training are licensed Early Childhood Educators working in early childhood settings or teachers working in a primary classroom, “to ensure that LTAT is used sensitively and responsibly and to ensure that training is delivered by teachers with regular and ongoing responsibility for the children receiving the program”. Other applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis (e. g. administrators, community agencies and professionals) and a kit will not be provided for non-implementing attendees.
The training takes 14.5 hours, with participants submitting an implementation package to ECEBC upon completion of the training. Professional development certificates are issued upon successful completion of the implementation package. Once LTAT certification is complete, a free virtual community of practice is available for trained classroom teachers of 3-8-year-olds. A discounted refresher rate is available for teachers who have previously completed training and who have a kit.
The Let’s Talk teacher’s kit includes:
A program manual, including 9 lesson plans and resource materials, in multiple languages, that can be shared with families.
8 teaching photographs depicting positive touch.
10 felt board figures and 4 cards of felt board words.
45 sorting cards of positive touch.
2 puppets with 16 interchangeable faces
A cd of children’s songs recommended in the lessons.
2 teaching dolls (one boy doll and one girl doll).