Kit and Arlo Find a Way: Teaching consent to 8–12 year olds

Ingrid Laguna, Vanessa Hamilton

Kit goes to school with her friends Harley and Vanya, and always tries her best at everything she does. Arlo is too loud, too close, just too… much. But when a moving van pulls up next to Kit’s house one weekend, Kit and Arlo find out they have a lot more in common than they thought.
Join Kit, Arlo and their friends as they navigate school, home life and friendships, and learn more than a few things about how to get along.

Kit and Arlo Find a Way: Teaching consent to 8–12 year olds is a much needed consent teaching resource for Grades 3 to 6. An action-packed and relatable fictional chapter book, Kit and Arlo is a page-turning journey of upper primary school kids – Kit, Arlo, Harley and Vanya – developing and exploring friendships with plenty of ups and downs. Entertaining and compelling as a standalone narrative, Kit and Arlo’s secret weapon is that it contains all of the complex components of consent and respectful relationships education in an age-appropriate format.

Teachers and parents can read the story, chapter by chapter, and then use the discussion points and ‘read and respond’ notes to facilitate conversations around consent in child-friendly ways. For schools and families needing a more in-depth consent and respectful relationships curriculum, a dedicated Kit and Arlo [resources platform](https://www.talkingthetalksexed.com.au/kit-and-arlo) houses evidence-based teaching activities, videos, webinars, podcasts, resource links and lesson plans that align with the story.

Kit and Arlo Find a Way is a vital resource for teachers and parents to empower kids with essential decision-making skills they can use in their interactions and relationships now and later on in life.

Judge’s Comment

Kit and Arlo Find a Way is a much needed teaching and learning resource. This chapter book is a comprehensive educational tool supported by a dedicated resources platform that houses evidence-based teaching activities, videos, webinars, podcasts, resource links and lesson plans. These resources were developed by Vanessa Hamilton, a sexual health nurse and consent education practitioner, who has decades of experience in teaching this content to students and schools. This resource advocates for the partnership between students/teachers/parents as an integral component and offers schools an opportunity to have transparent conversations regarding a subject matter that may be challenging to implement in the curriculum. Entertaining and compelling as a standalone narrative, Kit and Arlo’s secret weapon is that it contains all of the complex components of consent and respectful relationships education in an age-appropriate format. There are many avenues that educators can plan for to work through the resource at varying entry points as the resources are differentiated for older and younger readers, so that topics can be discussed at different levels of complexity. Praise for this educational resource was unanimous on the judging panel. An outstanding resource, a worthy winner.