Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Schools

The school must gain an understanding of the extent of the issues that exist within our community.

We need to change the culture so that children will report incidents, whether these happen at school, travelling home, at parties or online. This means making sure our students know what is acceptable and what is not, and that we want to know when things are not right.

This depends very much on what the incident is. The response to a sexual insult will be different to an incident of reported sexual assault. Some matters are so serious that police and social services must be involved. Others may be approached through explanation, education and a warning of what will happen if any further incidents occur.

No. Some will.

All incidents will be investigated fully by the most appropriate staff. Those that are most serious, or where there are ongoing issues despite advice, guidance and warning, will lead to serious sanctions including exclusion.

The school will consider the following.

• The nature of the incident and the level of concern that it implies. Serious incidents such as assaults would never fall into this category.
• The impact on the individual or group as a result of the harassment, including their views on the incident.
• Whether this is the first reported incident for the perpetrator and whether there is reason to believe that a discussion and warning should mean there is no repeat.
• Whether the individual has had earlier input and explanation through the curriculum or another source.

Children make mistakes or do not always realise the implications of their behaviour. Talking this through and explaining in the context of the incident is important if we want children to learn. Where this achieves the desired outcome, a sanction would only be given when judged necessary to reinforce the seriousness of the incident.

We have to assume that this is so widespread across the country that we must have children with similar experiences and concerns within our school. We operate on the view that it does and can happen here. This means continuing to drive a positive and open safeguarding culture so that children know they can report these concerns and get the support they need.

Yes. It is very likely that many of our students are subject to common experiences that could include sexist name-calling, comments on another person's body, unwanted touching while travelling or at parties, and online abuse including the publishing of videos or pictures.

Schools and colleges cannot tackle sexual harassment and sexual violence, including online, on their own. The school will continue to work with parents, carers, students and partner agencies to keep young people safe.