The S.T.A.R (Safety Trust and Respect) Programme

The S.T.A.R Programme is a 10-week programme for children and mothers to explore their feelings around domestic abuse.

Run by local Calan DVS teams, the programme was developed by our Umbrella organisation Welsh Women’s Aid. The aim is to help rebuild family relationships and to support children understand they are not alone and that domestic abuse is not their fault.

The S.T.A.R Programme run by Calan DVS aims to reduce the potential for children to develop aggressive behaviour by facilitating better communication between children aged 7-11 and their non-abusive parent/carer, after the domestic abuse has ceased.

S.T.A.R supports the child to:

  • feel safe
  • express their feelings in a healthy way
  • understand that the abuse was not their fault
  • learn how to communicate more positively with their non-abusive parent/carer
  • supports parents/carers to understand how the abuse has impacted on their child, how to support their child to feel safe and to communicate with them better

S.T.A.R takes into consideration the needs for each group of children and is broken down into age groups.

4-6 Years old

  • An early intervention group programme for children and parents who have experienced domestic abuse
  • A 10 week programme which explores feelings using age appropriate activities
  • Enables children to understand what has happened in their family and that it is not their fault

7-11 years old

  • Children learn they are not alone and that domestic abuse is not their fault
  • A 10 week programme for children and mothers to explore their feelings around domestic abuse
  • Helps rebuild family relationships

Star club 6-12 years old

  • Children learn they are not alone and that domestic abuse is not their fault
  • Children learn how to explore their feelings about what has happened in their family

11-13 years old

  • Young people do not need to have experienced domestic abuse
  • Topics covered include respectful relationships, domestic abuse, gender stereotyping, non violent communication, sex, iPhone & the internet, caught in traffik and resilience

S.T.A.R Young People (14+)

  • Young people do not need to have experienced domestic abuse
  • Topics covered include respectful relationships, domestic abuse, gender stereotyping, sexual consent, sexting, pornography, sexual exploitation and perception.

In 2019 Calan supported over 150 children and young people to access our S.T.A.R programmes across our delivery areas.

Sources

1. SafeLives (2015), Getting it right first time: policy report. Bristol: SafeLives.

2. Welsh Women’s Aid