Domestic Abuse, Sexual Exploitation and Consent - Key Stage 3&4
Sexual harrassment and abuse in education settings
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a new helpline to support potential victims of sexual harassment and abuse in education settings.
The helpline, run by the NSPCC, provides children and adults who are victims of sexual abuse in schools with support and advice including how to contact the police and report crimes. The helpline will also provide support to parents and professionals. The dedicated NSPCC helpline number is 0800 136 663. The government has also asked Ofsted to undertake an immediate review of safeguarding policies in state and independent schools in England looking at the extent and the severity of the issue and ensuring schools have appropriate processes in place to allow pupils to report concerns freely, knowing these will be taken seriously. The review will conclude by the end of May 2021. Read the news story: Government launches review into sexual abuse in schools Helpline for people who have experienced sexual abuse in education settings launched
Ofsted have published the terms of reference for a review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. The focus is on safeguarding policies and processes, the effectiveness of inspection, implementation and impact of the RSHE curriculum, interagency communication where there are concerns, how the voice of young people who have been harmed is recognised and taken seriously, and support arrangements that are put in place when things go wrong.
What you need to do now:-
Check that your safeguarding policy explicitly includes how pupils can report sexual abuse concerns freely, knowing these will be taken seriously and dealt with swiftly and appropriately.
Are you aware of the differences between healthy sexual behaviours and those which are of concern? Do you know what to do if a child or young person has experienced sexual harassment and abuse or is displaying sexualised behaviour?
There are a number of on-line providers that offer training for staff to assist with recognising the signs of sexual harassment and sexual violence. Please note that the GSCP is unable to recommend or endorse third party training providers.
Read the Gloucestershire Sexual Violence Strategy 2023-2026 here
Young people report that schools are locations where students can encounter sexual harm. This can involve a range of harmful sexual behaviours (HSB) from name-calling and sexual bullying to sexual assault. Schools are also places that can provide safety to young people and promote positive ideas about gender and relationships.
The Contextual Safeguarding team, supported by a Research Advisory Group, have created a range of resources for schools, multi-agency partnerships and inspectorates for tackling harmful sexual behaviour in schools. Under the heading ‘Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Schools’, this page provides all the resources for schools to assess their own response to harmful sexual behaviour. This includes guidance to the traffic-light tool for self-assessment; an example completed self-assessment; a range of resources to help schools complete their self-assessment; and finally, an online scorecard where you can enter your scores and print tailored reports.
The Beyond Referrals self-assessment toolkits are free to access and should be used to identify what you are doing well to mitigate against the harm risks in your school or college, and, importantly, to identify areas for development and improvement. The harms young people may face outside of their homes are constantly evolving, and no school will get everything right all the time.
There are five categories of self-assessment: Systems and Structures; Prevention; Identification; Response and Intervention; School Culture
Each category represents a ‘lever’ for preventing and addressing HSB more specifically, in school settings. Each lever has various components against which a school can assess itself and develop a plan of action as a result.
Domestic Abuse
This is Abuse - A Government Campaign that ran from 2010-2014 targeted at 13 to 18 year olds. Part of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). Published December 2013. One of the most difficult things that victims and survivors of abuse tell us is that the non-physical abuse they suffer is indescribable. Bruises and cuts are visible. But when someone insists they love you but bully, undermine and manipulate you, the effects are hidden. Questions survivors often ask are, how could I have let someone treat me like that?! And how did I let it carry on for so long?! - still blaming themselves. It is the small "low-level" abusive, everyday behaviour that results in people staying away, isolating themselves from friends, family and support networks. The impact of which affects children especially. Click on the title for more details about looking for the signs and the seeking help. 05/04/16 BBC Radio "It's literally taken The Archers storyline to make me realise that I was in an abusive relationship" Listener "Annie" tells Jeremy Vine that the Archers storyline mirrored her own past in this sixty second clip.
A toolkit for addressing teenage relationship abuse. It is one strand of a campaign launched by the Home Office to challenge the attitudes of teenagers to violence and abuse in relationships. Despite 750,000 children witnessing domestic violence each year, 1 in 4 teenage girls have been hit by a boyfriend and 18% of boys reporting physical partner violence. Contents include:
- Teacher's Notes
- Lessons Plans
- Supporting Resources
CLICK ON THE LOGO TO DOWNLOAD
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
- Includes "the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons"
- Practised in 30 countries in Africa and some countries in Asia and the Middle East
- An estimated three million girls and women worldwide are at risk each year
- About 125 million victims estimated to be living with the consequences
- It is commonly carried out on young girls, often between infancy and the age of 15
- Often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behaviour, to prepare a girl or woman for adulthood and marriage and to ensure "pure femininity"
- Dangers include severe bleeding, problems urinating, infections, infertility and increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths
Source: World Health Organization
This update from GOV.UK raises awareness of female genital mutilation (FGM) and provides advice on preventative measures. Click here to visit the website. Updated 23/01/2020
The Femicide Census
Since the first Femicide Census report Redefining an Isolated Incident was published in December 2016,2 the Femicide Census project has continued collecting and analysing cases of femicide in England, Wales and, more recently, in Northern Ireland. This report summarises findings on cases of the 113 femicides committed in 2016.
Click here to view the full report.
How to help a friend experiencing Domestic Abuse
Safety advice for young people on how to help a friend who may be experiencing domestic abuse or teenage relationship abuse created by street.
Helping a Friend
Appropriate language: Child sexual and/or criminal exploitation guidance for professionals
CLICK HERE to download a guidance document by The Children’s Society, Victim Support, NSPCC for professionals around appropriate language as part of the discussion around the exploitation of children and young people.
Click on the title above for PowerPoints, lesson plans and other resources covering:
To download all the files in one zip file, click on the title above.
NHS England Advice for Healthcare Staff. Includes signs and possible indicators of CSE as well as what to do if you suspect a child or young person is at risk of CSE.
Resources to support teaching younger children how to keep themselves safe. Talking PANTS teaches children important messages, like their body belongs to them and they should tell an adult if they're upset or worried.
BAIT is the third film produced from a collaboration between Recre8, Pretty Hate Productions and Daniel Alexander Films, following on from the success of both HURT and HOLD.
The film tells the story of a young schoolgirl, Grace, and her spiral down into the chilling and very real world of Child Sexual Exploitation.
The film has been developed with a unique and insightful resource, designed to be used alongside the film in an educational setting.
BAIT was funded and supported by Birmingham City Council and other credited supporters and has received nationwide attention as an important, relevant and needed piece of work that will only help our understanding of the issue of C.S.E and help the way that we tackle it.
Consent
Tea Consent - an excellent video on the concept of consent
Give and Get Consent - A resource for schools written by GHLL in partnership with the Education and Learning Sub group of the Gloucester Safeguarding Children Board. It follows on from the Teenage Relationship Abuse teaching pack and is designed to answer additional questions regarding consent. You can book on to the training here.
For Staff
How can professionals identify behaviour indicating young people are at risk of sexual exploitation? Click for resources
Multi-agency protocol for safeguarding children who are at risk of abuse through child sexual exploitation
CSE training PowerPoint
DFE Child Sexual Exploitation Step by Step Guide for Practitioners
New helpline for employers - Guidance for developing a DASV policy
Click here on guidance for organisations on producing a domestic abuse and sexual violence policy
Brook - award winning consent course
Brook is thrilled to announce that they have an award-winning consent course. Onclick, our partners in developing the Brook Learn Consent course, have won two awards from the Learning Excellence Awards 2023 for the Innovations Award for Design, Content Creation and Video and the GOLD Award for Outstanding Course.
Spotting the signs tool- CSE and CCE screening tool
Brook have also developed a Spotting the signs tool to support professionals to identify and respond to Child Sexual Exploitation and Child Criminal Exploitation.
Click here to view the Spotting the signs tool
Click here to view Guidance for frontline professionals using the Spotting the signs tool
Useful Websites
Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service - Intervene at the earliest opportunity to prevent a situation escalating. Provide 'places of safety' in a crisis where necessary; support families back into communities following a crisis as soon as possible, linking them into other local services, contribute to safeguarding children by supporting stability in families and offering specialist advice to other professionals.
For more information about GDASS and the service it provides, please visit www.gdass.org.uk or call 0845 602 9035.
THINKUKNOW - Protecting your children from abuse online. Learn how to keep your child safe online, get advice, and learn what signs may point to child abuse or sexual exploitation. Videos available for all age ranges.
Click here for THINKUKNOW Teachers Click here for THINKUKNOW Parents
Beyond Referrals: Levers for addressing harmful sexual behaviour in schools
