Training and Resources: Sexual abuse in schools and colleges

 

Primary RSHE session one (14/9/21)

'Caring friendships' and 'Families and people who care for me'

 

Primary RSHE session two (12/10/21)

 

Primary RSHE session three (02/11/21)

 

 

Primary RSHE Session Four (23/11/21)

 

 

Primary RSHE Session Six (11/01/22)

 

Primary RSHE Session 7 (26/01/22)  

 

Primary RSHE Session 8 (08/02/22)

 

Primary RSHE Session 9 (01/03/22)

 

Primary RSHE Session 10 (15/03/22)

Secondary RSHE Session 2 (14/10/21)

 

Secondary RSHE Session 3 (04/11/21)

 

 

Secondary RSHE Session 4 (25/11/21)

 

 

Secondary RSHE Session 5 (09/12/21)

 

 

Secondary RSHE Session 6 (06/01/22)

 

 

Secondary RSHE Session 7 (27/01/22)

 

 

Secondary RSHE Session 8 (10/02/22)

 

Secondary RSHE Session 10 (17/03/22)

 

In the OFSTED review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges, published on 10^th June 2021, children and young people told inspectors that sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are such a routine part of their daily lives they don’t see any point in challenging or reporting it.

Girls suffer disproportionately, complaining of sexist name-calling, online abuse, upskirting, unwanted touching in school corridors and rape jokes on the school bus. Boys share nude pictures on WhatsApp and Snapchat “like a collection game”, inspectors were told.

The review concluded that sexual harassment has become “normalised” for young people, in school, online and in other unsupervised spaces including parks and house parties. It found that teachers “consistently underestimate” the scale of the problem and that sex education in schools was so out of touch with the reality of children’s lives that pupils turned to social media or their peers for information.

One girl told inspectors: “It shouldn’t be our responsibility to educate boys.”

Presenting the report, the Chief inspector of Schools in England, Amanda Spielman, said she was shocked by its findings. “It’s alarming that many children and young people, particularly girls, feel they have to accept sexual harassment as part of growing up. Whether it’s happening at school or in their social life, they simply don’t feel it’s worth reporting”

The report is clear that it’s not the responsibility of schools alone to fix this widespread issue, but we support Ofsted’s recommendation to offer greater support and training to teachers and school leaders to deal with this persistent problem in their schools.

The key recommendation for schools in the report is:

School and college leaders should create a culture where sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are not tolerated, and where they identify issues and intervene early to better protect children and young people.

In doing this Ofsted recommends that schools should put in place:

• A relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum that includes time for “open discussion of topics that children and young people tell us they find particularly difficult, such as consent and the sending of ‘nudes’”.
• High-quality training for teachers delivering RSHE.
• Routine record-keeping and analysis of sexual harassment and sexual violence, including online, so schools can “identify patterns and intervene early to prevent abuse”.
• A “behavioural approach”, including sanctions when appropriate, to reinforce a culture where sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are not tolerated.
• Support for designated safeguarding leads (DSLs) such as protected time in timetables to engage with local safeguarding partners.
• Training for staff and governors so that they can “better understand” the definitions of sexual abuse, are able to spot early signs of such cases and can “consistently uphold standards in their responses” to incidents.