Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Schools and Colleges

We are seeking your views of the Bristol Education Workforce around some of the issues of highlighted in the Ofsted Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. 

In the schools and colleges visited, some teachers and leaders underestimated the scale of the problem.

Settings either did not identify sexual harassment and sexualised language as problematic or they were unaware they were happening.

Settings were dealing with incidents of sexual violence when they were made aware of them, and following statutory guidance.

Professionals consistently underestimated the prevalence of online sexual abuse, even when there was a proactive whole-school approach to tackling sexual harassment and violence.

There were a wide variety of behaviours that children and young people told us happen online.

 These include:
•receiving unsolicited explicit photographs or videos, for example ‘dick pics’
•sending, or being pressured to send, nude and semi-nude photographs or videos (‘nudes’)
•being sent or shown solicited or unsolicited online explicit material, such as pornographic videos
•typical platforms for sharing material between peers tended to be WhatsApp or Snapchat.