Wellbeing and personal development
Trusted adults and support cards
Help a child identify adults they can talk to at home, school or elsewhere, then prepare simple reminder cards with a familiar grown-up. The display idea asks staff to make local support routes visible. A safeguarding lead should review it first.
Choose trusted adults with a grown-up. Add locally checked names in the complete worksheet.
Read the complete materialRead the material
Help a child identify adults they can talk to at home, school or elsewhere, then prepare simple reminder cards with a familiar grown-up. The display idea asks staff to make local support routes visible. A safeguarding lead should review it first.
Shared activity record. Use the preview for diagrams and layout.
Page 1
NAME CLASS LEARNING GOAL I can name grown-ups I trust and ask them for help. SUCCESS CRITERIA I can name trusted adults at school and at home. I can say what I would do if I felt worried. 1 My trusted adults hand Draw one trusted adult for each finger and write their name. me 1 2 3 4 5 Or draw around your own hand. 1 Thumb At home NAME 2 Pointer finger At home NAME 3 Middle finger At school NAME 4 Ring finger At school NAME 5 Little finger Someone else NAME 2 My pocket cards Fill in your cards with a grown-up. Cut along the dashed lines and keep them in your bag or tray. Trusted adults and support visual cards · Fill in with a grown-up PSHE AND WELLBEING AGES 5 TO 11 FEELING SAFE My trusted adults A trusted adult is a grown-up who is kind, listens to you and helps you feel safe. If I feel worried I can... 1 tell a trusted adult 2 keep telling until someone listens 3 draw it, write it or show it A trusted adult will listen and help me stay safe. At school I can talk to Outside school Helpline in our country: A grown-up at home: Feelings words happy calm safe excited worried sad scared cross lonely confused I feel Safeguarding lead Page 1 of 2
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Feeling worried? Tell a trusted adult. Keep telling until someone listens. At school you can talk to Our safeguarding lead Name Find me Trusted adult Name Find me Trusted adult Name Find me Trusted adult Name Find me Trusted adult Name Find me Trusted adult Name Find me A trusted adult will listen, and if they need to, they will get help to keep you safe. Outside school Helpline in our country: A grown-up at home can help you too. Trusted adults and support visual cards · Classroom display CLASSROOM DISPLAY AGES 5 TO 11 FEELING SAFE Our trusted adults You can talk to us about anything, big or small. PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO PHOTO Page 2 of 2
A teaching sequence
Support a child to name trusted adults and understand a clear, setting-specific route for seeking help when something worries them.
Choose trusted adults with a grown-up. Add locally checked names in the complete worksheet.
Read the complete materialDiscuss chosen trusted adults with permission
Talk together about adults the child knows in home, school or other settings; do not insist on a particular answer. Write a trusted adult’s name or another agreed identifier on a card, with the child’s permission and adult support.
Which adult or agreed identifier would the child like on a private card?
Verify local support details before sharing
Add verified local support details to the blank contact area before giving the card to a child.
Has an authorised adult checked the actual contact route and availability?
Review any display's privacy and safeguarding
If considering a display, obtain the setting’s safeguarding and privacy approval and avoid publishing children’s personal information.
Does the setting's approved display avoid children's personal information?
Revisit changing adults and routes
Revisit the cards when trusted adults or contact routes change, and follow established procedures if a child shares a concern.
Which detail needs updating, and which concern needs the established school response?
Before you teach
Look for the thinking behind an answer, choose the support your class needs and leave room for an independent response.
What to look for
Ask the child, in an age-appropriate way, whether they can identify an adult they could approach and how to find that adult. An adult must check that local contacts are current, accessible and actually available; the card alone is not proof of a safe support route.
Give a little support
Use pictures, symbols or a communication aid, and let the child point, draw or speak rather than write. Offer more than one safe adult option and allow time for the child to respond without pressure.
Take the idea further
Invite staff to map the approved support routes for different settings and check how a child can access them privately, including when a first contact is unavailable. Review the route with the safeguarding lead and update it when contacts change.
Things to keep in mind
The blank contact field is not a live support service. Verify local contacts and safeguarding wording before use; do not promise confidentiality or a guaranteed response. A display may expose sensitive information and requires explicit setting-level privacy approval.
Keep the idea. Make it yours.
Bring your topic, learning goal and class context to PLAI™, then review what you create.
Ideas for using this resource
Sample teaching perspectives on what to try, what to adapt and what to watch for.
Meet The Creators
Meet a creator whose teaching interests connect with this template.
Kind Check-In
This two-page support set asks a child to draw or name trusted adults across home, school and another setting, then complete pocket cards with an adult. The learning goal includes saying what to do when worried.
Tea Break Notes
The hand outline helps a child identify more than one possible helper, while the pocket cards can make a help-seeking route easier to remember. The adult participates in completing the cards.
Helpful Highlighter
Fill in current names and routes together, check that the adults are available and accessible to the child, and practise how to ask for help. Let the child revise the list when circumstances change.
Steady Marker
The card is not a promise that a named adult will always be available or keep information secret. Keep contacts current and follow the school's safeguarding process for any concern.