Teachers warned not to dismiss sexual harassment as ‘banter’

Combating sexual harassment and violence among pupils requires teachers to be vigilant on and offline, according to the government’s long-awaited guidelines for schools and colleges.

The advice covers responses to sexual misconduct between students, including those of the same sex, and warns school leaders they must be aware that sexual harassment is likely to be amplified by social media.

The report says schools should make clear that “sexual violence and sexual harassment is not acceptable, will never be tolerated and is not an inevitable part of growing up”.

It warns that schools risk normalising sexual harassment such as groping if it is tolerated or dismissed as “banter”, “part of growing up” or “boys being boys”.

Teachers and politicians welcomed the guidelines, billed by the Department for Education as advice on “how to prevent and respond to reports of sexual violence and harassment between children”.

Maria Miller, the chair of parliament’s women and equalities committee, said: “We are very pleased to see this advice for schools and colleges but the department needs to promote this widely so that it doesn’t just sit on their website.

“It is well over a year since the committee called for the government and schools to make girls’ safety an immediate priority and this is a belated, but critical, step in the right direction.”

A recent report found that more than one in three girls in mixed secondary schools said they have been sexually harassed while at school, and 24% have been subjected to unwanted physical touching of a sexual nature.

The use of sexist or misogynistic language was also found to be widespread, with 66% of sixth-form students complaining they had heard sexist language in schools.

“We have continued to hear distressing stories of girls being abused and harassed in schools around the country. We hope this advice will be a significant step on the road to schools being better equipped to respond,” Miller said, calling for data to be collected on incidents.

The DfE’s advice says schools should recognise that sexual violence and harassment that continues online can spread across multiple social media platforms, and for the impact to extend far beyond a school’s immediate community.

“Social media is very likely to play a central role in the fallout from any incident or alleged incident. There is the potential for contact between victim and alleged perpetrator and a very high likelihood that friends from either side could well harass the victim or alleged perpetrator online,” the report states.

Teaching unions welcomed the report. Kevin Courtney, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said schools needed to be allowed time to train teachers and engage students on issues related to sexual harassment and violence.

“Teachers need to be empowered to identify the right strategies,” Courtney said. “Sexism is learned behaviour and school is a brilliant place to unlearn it, given the right conditions.”

The new advice was published alongside a consultation on updated guidance for safeguarding in schools to include sexual harassment and violence.

Robert Goodwill, the minister for children and families, said: “Schools and colleges should be safe places, and where there are incidents of abuse or harm it is vital that the young people involved are supported.”