Sexual abuse toolkit

Resources, information and support for primary, secondary and special schools on respectful relationships, and preventing and responding to sexual abuse.

Introduction

This toolkit has been produced by the Everyone’s Invited Working Group which was set up in May 2021, at the request of HCC, HASSH (Hertfordshire Secondary Heads) and PHF (Primary Heads’ Forum).

It was formed in response to the murder of Sarah Everard, the subsequent Everyone’s Invited movement and the report published in May 2021 by Ofsted into Sexual Abuse in Schools.

Everyone’s Invited describes itself as a movement committed to exposing rape culture. Their website (www.everyonesinvited.uk/) was set up following the tragic abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by an individual who was a figure of authority, The site invites and shares testimonies of survivors of rape, sexual abuse, sexual violence, and sexual harassment in educational settings. Many survivor testimonies name the school/college/university attended by the survivor and/or the perpetrator.

In her introduction to the review, Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, said:

“Like so many others, I have been deeply troubled by the allegations of sexual abuse posted on the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website. Many of the testimonies reveal that girls have not felt able to report incidents of sexual abuse to their schools. We hope that by listening to young people’s experiences first-hand, this review will provide much needed insight into what these barriers are and how they can be overcome.

Schools play a vital part in promoting a culture of respect among young people – including between boys and girls.* We will consider how schools can support and encourage appropriate behaviour, from the lessons in the classroom to the culture in the corridors. And when children do speak up about their experiences, it’s vital that schools have the support and structures in place to take them seriously and respond appropriately.”

*It is important to remember that abuse can be between girls, between boys, by boys to girls and by girls to boys.

All schools, including primary schools, should assume that some pupils will be accessing 18+ sexualised online games and some will be accessing pornography.

All secondary schools should assume that sexual harassment and abuse is being experienced by some students.

The Sex Ed  Forum resource ‘Heads or Tails ? - what young people are telling us about SRE’ 2016 presents findings from a survey of over 2,000 11-25 year-olds.

The Sex Ed Forum:  Heads or tails ? - what young people are telling us about SRE

• half (50%) of those surveyed had not learnt from their primary school about how to get help if you experience unwanted touching or sexual abuse
• young people were more likely to have learnt about the difference between safe and unwanted touch from discussions at home than at school, but even so, less than half of young people (45%) said they had learnt about this with a parent or carer.

When asked about their school SRE as a whole:

• over half of young people (53%) said they had not been taught to spot the signs of when someone is being groomed for sexual exploitation.
• more than 4 in ten said they had not learnt about how to tell when a relationship is healthy (46%) or abusive (44%).
• a third (34%) said they had been taught nothing at all about sexual consent.

The aims of the Everyone's Invited Working Group were:

• to assist schools in gathering data and facilitating discussion about healthy and abusive relationships, creating a safe and respectful culture for all, educating young people to prevent harassment and abuse and supporting victims of sexual abuse.
• to support Hertfordshire schools which feature on the EI website.
• to provide age appropriate guidance and support for school leaders and staff around preventing harassment, violence and abuse in young people’s relationships.
• to support with the design of an impactful RSE curriculum.
• to create (and curate) a resources and materials repository (published on the Grid) addressing this agenda, with links to organisations, agencies and training providers.
• to support school leaders to be prepared to demonstrate to a range of audiences (including Ofsted) the impact of their polices, practice and curriculum in relation to relationships, harassment, violence and abuse.

The working group comprised:

Sally Ambrose (Tring School), Ben Freeman (Herts Police), Alan Gray (Sandringham School), Paula Hayden (CPSLO at HCC), Karin Hutchinson (HFL Education Wellbeing Lead), Hazel Leslie (St. Catherine’s Primary, Ware), Jeremy Loukes (HFL Education), Rachel Macfarlane (HFL Education), Frances Manning (Hitchin Girls’ School), Martina Mansfield (Roundwood Park School), Kate Stockdale (HFL Education) and Sarah Shields (Heathlands School).