Introduction
Today we are going to learn about the differences between good and bad secrets, and that we should never keep a bad secret.
There are times when someone asks us to keep quiet about something, usually because they don’t want someone else to know about it, for example, if Mum brought you shopping to buy a present for Granny for her birthday, she might ask you not to tell Granny about it because she wants it be a nice surprise for her. Sometimes other people don’t tell you about something because they might want to surprise you. So a surprise is something that you may not know now, but that you will be told
about sooner or later, for example, a present, a surprise party or Mum is expecting a new baby.
Secrets and Telling
What is a secret?
A secret is when someone asks us to promise not to tell anyone else. With secrets we are often told that we can NEVER tell
anyone else. We have already spoken about how no one should ever ask us to keep a touch a secret. Keeping a secret about a touch would be a bad secret.
Remember, if you are worried or frightened about something, never keep it a secret. Always tell a trusted adult.
Can you think of examples of other things that we should not keep
secrets about.
Feeling unsafe and bullying?
Do you remember why? Because the problem will not go away until we tell an adult.
As we read this story think about the feelings James has as we go through the story.
Points for Discussion:
- Name some of the feelings James experienced. Why did he feel like this?
- Why does Carol not want James to tell?
- If James asked you what he should do, what would you say?
- Who could James tell and what should he tell?
- Why would someone ask us to keep a secret about any of these
things?
The importance of telling is so important. We should never keep secrets about anything that worries or upsets us.
Also we should never secrets about games we play or that someone else asks us to play, and we should never keep secrets about presents that someone gives us.
Working in pairs or groups of three, decide whether the situations outlined in the worksheet are good or bad secrets.
Conclusion
We should never keep a secret about something that worries or frightens or upsets us. We should always tell a trusted adult.
Remind the pupils of their Tell 5 adults – the adults they can approach if they have a problem and need to talk to someone about it.
