Peer-on-peer sexual abuse and harassment is an increasing challenge for schools, both secondary and primary, and last year the Department for Education (DfE) released advice for schools to support the consistent management of such allegations.
While the advice is helpful, it skirts difficult issues. In this article, I would like to talk through the guidance and suggest a way forward for the more difficult areas.
It is a depressing fact that this DfE advice and statutory guidance is required at all, but the reality is that many schools are having to manage allegations of pupil-on-pupil abuse, assault and harassment.
This can take place out of school, on the way to and from school, as well as in school. None of us were pretending it didn’t exist and so the advice from the DfE was timely.
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