PRIMARY schoolchildren are to be educated about domestic abuse and healthy relationships.

The Good Relationships are Equal and Trusting (GREAT) project will be piloted in Stanley Road and Gorse Hill schools, Worcester, along with others in Redditch and Kidderminster, in the new year.

The Worcestershire Forum Against Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence is backing the scheme, under which year six pupils will attend four two-hour sessions.

The forum’s strategic co-ordinator Martin Lakeman said he was happy to support the programme, which will focus on teaching youngsters how to spot signs of abuse and to respect each other.

“Making sure children are aware of these issues from an early age is vital to encouraging healthy relationships in adulthood,” he said.

The project was developed by West Mercia Women’s Aid and domestic abuse group Equation, from Nottinghamshire, where it has proved a great success.

The announcement comes as part of the Worcester News-supported White Ribbon Campaign.

More than 700 people in Worcestershire have already pledged “never to commit, condone or remain silent about domestic abuse and sexual violence in all its forms” towards a target of 10,000 as part of the 16-day initiative, which runs until Tuesday, December 10.

The initiative was founded in 1991 in Canada in remembrance of the École Polytechnique massacre in December 1989, in which 14 women were killed by an anti-feminist.

Today it has spread to more than 57 countries and sees people across the world wearing white ribbons in a personal pledge not to commit or condone domestic violence.

To add your pledge, visit worcesternews.co.uk/whiteribbon, or whiteribboncampaign.co.uk/worcestershire.

Anyone suffering from domestic abuse can call Worcestershire Forum Against Domestic Abuse in confidence on 0800 980 3331.