The students of Emu Creek State School last week attended a presentation by Bruce and Denise Morcombe of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.

The Foundation held the presentation at Back Plains State School last Thursday, when students of Back Plains, Clifton and Leyburn state schools also attended.

Bruce and Denise Morcombe, the parents of Daniel Morcombe, have travelled around Australia for many years educating children on how to be safe in real life and online.

Amidst heavy rainfall, the Morcombes and their colleague Michelle Cole delivered a presentation to around 100 people focusing on the key message of Recognise – listen to your body cues, React – run to a safe place and Report – tell an adult why you felt unsafe.

The students were provided advice on how to ensure their personal safety.

This included establishing a safety network, where you can count five people, one for each finger on your hand, that you can rely upon when feeling unsafe.

This should include a variety of trusted adults, such as parents, other family, teachers and sports coaches.

The kids also went home happy with red ‘Day for Daniel’ gear.

Bruce and Denise said it was a pleasure to come out to Back Plains and speak to the local schools.

They said the Foundation is always looking for new ways to effectively engage with children, especially when it comes to new technology.

Denise said the Daniel Morcombe Foundation has recently released ‘The Boomer Challenge’, an online game for kids aged 8 to 12 that on the surface is about kids helping their grandparents with the online world but more importantly has the effect of teaching kids about what is safe and not safe on the internet.

Bruce said the Foundation updates its presentations and releases new content every year to keep up to date with the danger arising from social media and online games.

The staff of Back Plains State School arranged the visit, which was provided by the Morcombe Foundation free of charge.

The school was inspired to arrange the visit following fundraising efforts last year for the Day for Daniel, held in late October.

It was a busy day for the Morcombes, who had travelled that morning from the Sunshine Coast to be there and then travelled on to stay at Laidley overnight, presenting at a school in Kuraby in Brisbane the next day.

The Morcombes previously visited Clifton in 2015 as part of the Australia Day celebrations.

They also have a local connection to the area, as Bruce’s sister lives at Bony Mountain between Allora and Warwick.

For more information about the Daniel Morcombe Foundation including resources for children and for adults, visit danielmorcombe.com.au

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 6 April 2023.