Keynote Speaker Katrina Marson
Katrina Marson has been researching the protective power of sex-ed to prevent sexual violence and safeguard sexual wellbeing for a decade. She has been a criminal lawyer since 2013, primarily in the area of family violence and sexual offences. On secondment for two years, Katrina led the implementation of the Child Sexual Abuse Royal Commission’s criminal justice recommendations in the ACT before returning to the ACT DPP as a senior prosecutor in the Sexual Offences Unit.
She undertook a Churchill Fellowship in 2019 researching the implementation of relationships and sexuality education overseas; her findings were published in the report Ignorance is not Innocence. Katrina is the lead researcher of primary prevention at Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy, and is the President of the Relationships and Sexuality Education Alliance ACT.
Katrina is currently taking a break from criminal practice while she completes her PhD in sex-education. She is a columnist for The Age, and her first book, Legitimate Sexpectations: the power of sex-ed, was published in 2022.
To read more about Katrina's work, visit her website.
RSE Awards
Congratulations to our very first RSE Award finalists! To see the names of each finalist, please click each award below.
The Rising Star RSE Educator Award recognises the contribution and commitment of a Western Australian school educator (i.e. Classroom Teacher, School Nurse, Wellbeing Coordinator, Principal, Deputy Principal, Education Assistant, etc) in providing new and highly innovative comprehensive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) to their school community. Unlike the other awards, the Rising Star does not need to show evidence of a whole-school program. Rather, the Rising Star recognises someone who had created and/or delivered a new, innovative strategy used within their classroom setting. The educator will show evidence of highly effective RSE delivery and outcomes, uniquely tailored to suit their school community's needs.
- The nominee has created a new and innovative strategy to enhance knowledge, language, and engagement in the area of RSE across their school community.
- They have demonstrated highly creative, innovative and/or specifically targeted education for their school community.
- Their work has resulted in a broadening of both student cohort and/or school community culture and participation in positive and inclusive RSE.
Finalists in this category are:
- Sophie Carroll: Wesley College
- Annita Wenban: Bramfield Park Primary School
- Nicola Burnley: Maida Vale Primary School
The Regional RSE Educator Award recognises the outstanding contribution and commitment of a regional school educator (i.e. Classroom Teacher, School Nurse, Wellbeing Coordinator, Principal, Deputy Principal, Education Assistant, etc) in providing targeted, comprehensive, positive, and creative relationships and sexuality education (RSE) across their whole school community. The winner of this award will have championed RSE through a whole-school approach, incorporating RSE into their curriculum and learning, ethos and environment, and partnerships and community, whilst tackling the unique challenges which are faced by educators in a regional context. The educator demonstrates evidence of highly effective RSE delivery and outcomes that are tailored to suit their unique regional context and community needs, with the limited support typically provided in RSE in the regions.
- The nominee has made a significant and demonstrable contribution to the knowledge, language and engagement in the area of RSE across their whole school community.
- They have demonstrated high-level education skills and RSE content delivery to a regional school demographic.
- Their work has resulted in a broadening of their regional student cohort and/or school community culture, and participation in positive and inclusive RSE.
Finalists in this category are:
- Lara Watson: Geraldton Grammar School
- Merredith McKenzie-Thornton: Bruce Rock District High School
- Lachlin Brooks-Crew: Broome Senior High School
- Katrina Padgurskis: Roebourne District High School
The Primary School RSE Educator Award recognises the outstanding contribution and commitment of a Western Australian primary school educator (i.e. Classroom Teacher, School Nurse, Wellbeing Coordinator, Principal, Deputy Principal, Education Assistant, etc), in providing targeted, comprehensive, and positive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) across their whole school community. The winner of this award will have championed RSE through a whole-school approach, incorporating RSE into their curriculum and learning, ethos and environment, and partnerships and community. The educator demonstrates evidence of highly effective RSE delivery and outcomes, tailored to suit their unique primary school context and community needs.
- The nominee has made a significant and demonstrable contribution to knowledge, language and engagement in the area of RSE across their primary school community.
- They have demonstrated high-level education skills and RSE content delivery to a primary school demographic.
- Their work has resulted in a broadening of both student cohort and/or school community culture and participation in positive and inclusive RSE.
Finalists in this category are:
- Craig Stein: Maida Vale Primary School
- Amanda Davies: John Butler Primary School
- South Thornlie Primary School Respectful Relationships Team (Jacqueline Bell (Deputy), Michelle Murray (Teacher) and Jeanette Petersen (Teacher)
The Secondary School RSE Educator Award recognises the outstanding contribution and commitment of a Western Australian secondary school educator (i.e. Classroom Teacher, School Nurse, Wellbeing Coordinator, Principal, Deputy Principal, Education Assistant, etc), in providing targeted, comprehensive, and positive relationships and sexuality education (RSE) across their whole school community. The winner of this award will have championed RSE through a whole-school approach, incorporating RSE into their curriculum and learning, ethos and environment, and partnerships and community. The educator demonstrates evidence of highly effective RSE delivery and outcomes, tailored to suit their unique secondary school context and community needs.
- The nominee has made a significant and demonstrable contribution to knowledge, language and engagement in the area of RSE across their secondary school community.
- They have demonstrated high-level education skills and RSE content delivery to a secondary school demographic.
- Their work has resulted in a broadening of both student cohort and/or school community culture and participation in positive and inclusive RSE.
Finalists in this category are:
- Angela Davies: Newton Moore Education Support Centre
- Puvaneswari Sivasubramaniam: Armadale Education Support Centre
- Blake Polmear: Kensington Secondary School
- Andrew Storer: Swan Valley Anglican Community School
Session 1 Workshops
SECCA works in the space of all things sexuality and disability across the lifespan. This workshop is a practical, solutions focused workshop that gives insight for teachers to know how to adapt their sexuality education to include people of all abilities.
What you will learn in this workshop:
- Understand the breadth of disabilities
- Understand small tweaks that can make information/lessons accessible
- The range of inclusive activity ideas
- That all people need sexuality education and people with disabilities are no exception
- That you can teach sex ed to people of mixed abilities in one group
Appropriate for: Primary and Secondary School, School Nurses, Education Support
Sexual Health Victoria (formerly Family Planning Victoria) is a state-wide independent, for purpose, all-choice organisation education and advocacy. This workshop will detail some of the activities that have been the basis of a recent grant project with eSafety. SHV have worked to bring RSE and online safety education together as a protective factor for students in Primary School.
What you will learn in this workshop:
- How to link RSE and online safety education
- Understand more about SHV eSafety Project
- Be guided through activities which can be used in primary school to discuss online sexual content
Appropriate for: Primary School
RSE programs often fail to consider Aboriginal culture and ways of working and learning. This workshop will explore the Mooditj program, which is a comprehensive resilience, relationships and sexual health program designed for young Aboriginal people aged 10-15 years. The purpose of the program is to help build strong young Aboriginal people, who can have strong healthy relationships and make positive and informed choices about their sexual health wellbeing. This workshop will show how Mooditj can be used in a both a primary and secondary schools
What you will learn in this workshop:
- Participants will have an increased understanding of the cultural needs of Aboriginal young people in regards to RSE.
- Increased understanding of culturally-centred RSE.
- An awareness of various resources.
Appropriate for: Primary and Secondary School
The Youth Educating Peers Project aims to support and educate young people on relationships, sexual health and blood-borne virus issues. In this workshop, participants will be guided through the YEP consent card resources, and how to support young people to have more informed and healthy relationships and experiences.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- Practical activities you can utilise in your classroom to teach consent
- The resources which are available for you
- Where you can access further support in the area of healthy relationships and consent education
Appropriate for: Secondary school (or anyone working with young people over 12 years of age)
Relationships are the heart of wellbeing and learning, yet many schools do not have a whole-school friendship strategy. In this presentation, Tyson Greenwood will introduce educators to the science of friendship and how URSTRONG Schools around the world are creating cultures of kindness & belonging by teaching students a unique language of friendship and friendship skills curriculum. Tyson hopes to empower educators with practical strategies to improve the social climate in their classrooms.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- What the 4 ‘Friendship Facts’ are
- Understand how to use visual tools like the Friend-o-Meter & Friend-o-Cycle
- Learn unique language to support students in conflict (e.g. Friendship Fires versus Mean-on-Purpose)
- Recognise the importance of a whole-school friendship strategy in helping students foster healthy relationships
Appropriate for: Primary and Secondary School
Women's Health Strategy and Programs (WHSP) is a team of health professionals who are responsible for various non-clinical roles in projects and policy, training and education to support WA services state-wide working towards improving the health of women and their families. This 75-minute workshop will focus on Family & Domestic Violence (FDV) in youth populations and how we can be assisting them to understand and build healthy relationships. Included will be a discussion on the contribution of pornography to gender-based violence and the complex ways in which young people are affected by an FDV home environment. A practical component in this workshop will assist those working with youth to make an assessment of risk and with having difficult conversations in this highly complex area.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- How youth are affected by Family & Domestic Violence
- How pornography plays a role of education that perpetuates gender-based violence
- How young people who may use violence are often victims/survivors themselves
- How children can be used within family dynamics of Family & Domestic Violence
- Ways we can intervene that play a part in prevention
Appropriate for: Primary and Secondary School, School Nurses, Education Support
Session 2 Workshops
eSafeKids strives to reduce and prevent harm through proactive prevention education, supporting and inspiring parents, carers, educators and other professionals to talk with children, young people and vulnerable adults about protective behaviours, body safety, cyber safety, digital wellness and pornography. This workshop will provide a brief overview of the nature and accessibility of pornography to primary school aged children. Then, Kayelene will discuss the framework to address this emerging issue, and proposed foundational, integrated and specific learning approaches. The workshop will also provide delegates with conversation starters, practical strategies and resource recommendations to support them.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- What pornography in the digital age is and how children and young people access pornography
- How pornography influences developing attitudes, expectations, behaviours and beliefs
- Pornography's link to gender-based violence, sexual violence and children displaying harmful sexual behaviours
- How to include pornography in existing protective behaviours, online safety and relationship and sexuality education
- An understanding of conversation starters practical strategies and resource recommendations
Appropriate for: Primary School
The first part of the workshop run by We Are Womxn will provide participants with practical strategies to teach consent curriculum to young women in diverse settings. We Are Womxn's innovative harm-minimisation approach will be discussed to enable participants to learn how to create safe spaces to empower these practical strategies. The second part of the workshop will be run by MAN UP and aims to equip teachers with strategies on talking to boys about building good language and attitude around their mates especially in regards to addressing the ‘mob mentality’, as well as addressing stereotypes of traditional masculinity and their place in today's world. The final part of the workshop will be an open discussion on how community groups can better work together to deliver lasting change for young people.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- Gain practical strategies to teach consent to young women in diverse settings
- How to create safe spaces within your classrooms
- Gain strategies for talking to boys about building good language and attitude around their mates, especially in regards to addressing the ‘mob mentality
- Understand and be aware of stereotypes of traditional masculinity, and their place in today's world
- Develop an understanding about how community groups can better work together to deliver lasting change for young people
Appropriate for:Primary School,Secondary School, Education Support, School Nurses
This workshop will provide you with innovative and effective ideas and tools for teaching Abuse Prevention Education to all children, including those with special needs. Areas that will be covered are; teaching Public and Private as a whole concept, talking about Pornography, Cyber Safety, Online Grooming, Sextortion, Consent, Feelings, Early Warning Signs, Safety Teams, Saying No and Secrets. The resources being presented have been designed to make teaching Child Protection Education realistic, topical and engaging without trying to scare children. They have been developed out of a need for having functional, customised tools for delivering the essential concepts to children of all developmental abilities.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- Be able to apply a framework of protective education strategies to assist them in their communities to conduct child abuse prevention education
- Understand the importance of teaching Protective Education from a very young age
- How to deliver education on child abuse prevention, protective behaviours and body safety awareness and build strategies to stop the increasing rate of child abuse material and cyber-crime against children
Appropriate for: Primary and Secondary School, School Nurses, Education Support
The SHQ Education team provide best-practice, evidence-informed Relationships and Sexuality Education for young people. This workshop will help participants to develop an understanding of the difference between sex, gender and sexual orientation, increase participants’ knowledge of common terminology around LGBTI+ diversity, and offer practical strategies they can use in the classroom to help students foster an appreciation of diversity and inclusion.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- Understand the difference between sex, gender and sexual orientation
- Key terminology related to LGBTI+ diversity
- The activities that will help students foster an appreciation of diversity and inclusion
Appropriate for: Upper Primary and Lower Secondary
WAAC works with communities to make a difference around HIV, sexually transmissible infections and sexual health in Western Australia. This workshop will help build your capacity in delivering relationships and sexuality education to young people. Through interactive activities, thought-provoking discussions, and expert guidance, WAAC will delve into the facts, myths, and prevention strategies related to sexually transmissible infections (STIs). You'll gain a comprehensive understanding of symptoms, transmission methods, the importance of regular testing, and how to communicate this with young people. Workshop activities are designed specifically for teaching youth and aim to break down the barriers surrounding sexual health to equip young individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions.
Appropriate for: Secondary School
It starts out with small things, like checking her text messages and suggesting she change the clothes she’s wearing before they go out. However she soon finds herself with more than just an overly loving, passionate boyfriend, she finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship. This four-actor theatre workshop for Years 9 to 12 uses playbacks and student on-stage participation to revisit actions and their consequences in order to identify and address issues of controlling behaviour and domestic violence. Through the forum theatre interactive approach and intensive programs, young people are empowered to work together, support each other and practice responses to current, everyday issues. The program is devised and evaluated with experts in education, youth safety and harm prevention and more recently, has been extended to incorporate interactive online crime prevention content for teenagers and at-risk youth.
What you will learn from this workshop:
- The different ways to approach the subject of controlling behaviours and relationship violence
- Information about Youth Choices Forum Theatre Program to take back to your school
- Practice best practice behaviours to call out potentially controlling behaviours
Appropriate for: Secondary School