Over the last year, quite rightly, the issue of consent and peer-on-peer sexual abuse and violence has come to the forefront as a vital issue for all schools to address.
If anything, it could be argued that this new focus has come rather late in the day. While media attention was drawn to the Everyone’s Invited website the issue was a well-known problem when a House of Commons reported on “Sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools” was published in 2016.
Even now though, when schools and (crucially) school inspectors are firmly focused on this issue, the concern is that addressing this becomes just another one of the boxes to be ticked by schools to fulfil their statutory obligations.
“The guidance for school inspectors shows that expectations are being set much higher.”
Helpfully, the guidance for school inspectors shows that expectations are being set much higher than the provision of a one-off workshop and that a much broader change in approach is required. For instance, ISI inspectors have been told that “If a school is found to have a pervasive culture of misogyny or of acceptance or unawareness of ongoing sexual or racial abuse, for example, the inspection team may conclude…the provision of relationships education is not sufficiently well executed for a school to be compliant.”
The guidance also quotes the Ofsted Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges that “School and college leaders should create a culture where sexual harassment and online abuse are not tolerated and where they identify issues and intervene early to better protect children and young people.”
It is with this in mind that the Schools Consent Project is expanding what it offers to schools in supporting a broad cultural shift in schools.
“The approach also has the great advantage of treating the students like responsible adults.”
The organisation is unique in offering workshops to schools led by legally trained volunteers to help students understand both law and practice around consent and sex. The benefit of this perspective is to allow a very factual and objective approach to these interactive workshops which is helpful given that these subjects can also stir up strong emotions.
This approach also has the great advantage of treating the students like responsible adults, emphasising the importance for them of fully understanding the law around sex and consent for themselves to that they can make informed and sensible decisions.
This year we are beginning to develop what we can offer to schools so that rather than a single one-off workshop there will now be a series of workshops tailored to each different year group so that they can be part of the conversation around consent on an annual basis.
This way, schools can avoid the “tick box” approach to consent as a one-off thing as well as ensuring that the lessons are really relevant to their audience. So, for instance, with Year 13 students the focus will be on life beyond school.
One part of the workshop looks at the particular challenges of university, for instance looking at the laws with regards to relationships between students and staff. Initiation/hazing rituals that are still sadly a feature of many university societies, will also be considered.
Another part looks even further into the future by discussing the laws with regards to domestic violence, an unfortunately vital topic particularly for young women given an estimated 1.6 million who experienced domestic abuse in the UK during 2020.
“Sexting is certainly a topic that needs addressing much earlier than most parents would like to imagine.”
Our workshop for students in Year 8 will have a particular focus on the laws around sharing images (“sexting”) and wider online behaviour and communication given that many at that age will still perhaps not have had a smartphone for that long. It is no coincidence that the most common age for those involved in sexting is 13 or 14 and it is certainly a topic that needs addressing much earlier than most parents would like to imagine.
It has been heartening to see the rapidly growing numbers of schools contacting the Schools Consent Project about our workshops. Looking ahead we hope to use these new lessons to offer schools a full through-school consent curriculum which can be embedded in their wider RSE programme.
We want to support that wider cultural change that we are all looking to achieve not just in our schools but in society as a whole.