Following a public consultation launched back in December 2020 and last month’s Ofsted review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges, the Department for Education yesterday published a new “strengthened” version of its guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Headteachers have welcomed the guidance, which includes further advice on how to support young victims of sexual violence and harassment and peer-on-peer abuse (including online).

The guidance now makes it clear that it is essential that all victims are reassured that they are being taken seriously when they make a report and that they will be supported and kept safe.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he particularly welcomed “the emphasis on preventing and addressing peer-on-peer abuse in light of the horrific testimonies on the Everyone’s Invited website and Ofsted’s findings in its investigation”.

Exclusive: Half of teachers need more help on pupil sexual conduct

Read: Teachers ‘should assume peer-on-peer abuse happens’

Revealed: Rape and revenge porn among secondary students

Background: Government launches review into school sexual abuse

He said: “Schools and colleges already have in place robust safeguarding policies and processes and take any allegations of abuse extremely seriously. But the new guidance further sharpens the focus around the issue of peer-on-peer abuse.

“Of particular importance is the recognition that such abuse may be happening outside the school or college, can sometimes be hidden abuse, and just because there aren’t reports of it, that does not mean it is not happening.”

Safeguarding: Updated guidance for schools on tackling sexual abuse and harassment

So what are some of the key updates?

‘Sharing nudes’

The word “sexting” has been replaced by “sharing nudes” in the new guidance to reflect “language recognised by young people”. This change was recommended in Ofsted’s review last month.

The DfE guidance says that, because of smartphone technology, students will be sharing indecent images both consensually and non-consensually (often via large chat groups), and they will view and share pornography and other harmful content on the school premises.

It states: “Schools and colleges should carefully consider how this is managed on their premises and reflect this in their mobile and smart technology policy and their child protection policy.”

It also states that teachers need to make students aware that sharing indecent images, even if consensual, is illegal, and that consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nude images and/or videos can be signs that children are at risk.

Online safety

There is also a new section on online safety content, breaking down the risks into four areas:

• Content (being exposed to illegal or harmful content - for example, pornography, fake news, racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicide, anti-Semitism, radicalisation and extremism).
• Contact (being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users, including commercial advertising and adults posing as children).
• Conduct (personal online harm harm - for example, making, sending and receiving explicit images).
• Commerce (including online gambling and gaming).

Child criminal and sexual exploitation

The DfE has added information on child criminal and sexual exploitation, setting out how children can be exploited, and making it clear that the experiences of girls being criminally exploited can be very different to those of boys, as well as the indicators to look for in victims.

It says child sexual exploitation can include non-contact activities, such as involving children in the production of sexual images, forcing children to look at sexual images or watch sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming a child in preparation for abuse, including via the internet.

This exploitation can occur over time or be a one-off occurrence, and may happen without the child’s immediate knowledge - for example, through others sharing videos or images of them on social media.

A new section on child criminal exploitation says children may be coerced into county lines gangs or carrying knives, and states: “As children involved in criminal exploitation often commit crimes themselves, their vulnerability as victims is not always recognised by adults and professionals, (particularly older children), and they are not treated as victims despite the harm they have experienced.”

‘Don’t downplay peer-on-peer abuse’

The updated guidance states: “It is essential that all staff understand the importance of challenging inappropriate behaviours between peers...that are actually abusive in nature.

“Downplaying certain behaviours - for example, dismissing sexual harassment as ‘just banter’, ‘just having a laugh’, ‘part of growing up’ or “boys being boys’ - can lead to a culture of unacceptable behaviours, an unsafe environment for children and, in worst-case scenarios, a culture that normalises abuse, leading to children accepting it as normal and not coming forward to report it.”

Examples of peer-on-peer abuse include (from a longer list including physical and sexual abuse),

• Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi-nude images and or videos (also known as sexting or youth-produced sexual imagery).
• Upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress or alarm . 
• Initiation/hazing-type violence and rituals (this could include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group and may also include an online element). The guidance states that schools must have procedures to minimise the risk of peer-on-peer abuse and that the systems in place should be well promoted, easily understood and easily accessible.

Allegations against teachers

There’s a new section on dealing with unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious reports against school staff, which differentiates between allegations that meet the reporting threshold and those under the threshold considered “low-level concerns”.

It states: “If a report is determined to be unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious, the designated safeguarding lead should consider whether the child and/or the person who has made the allegation is in need of help or may have been abused by someone else and this is a cry for help.

“In such circumstances, a referral to children’s social care may be appropriate. If a report is shown to be deliberately invented or malicious, the school or college should consider whether any disciplinary action is appropriate against the individual who made it as per their own behaviour policy.”

Mental health

There is also new information about support for schools to help tackle mental health issues. For example, from September 2021, up to 7,800 schools and colleges will be able to access senior mental health leads training.

The guidance states: “Settings will have the opportunity to opt in for a fixed value grant and will be supported to identify the most appropriate learning from a list of quality-assured courses. Settings ready to develop or introduce their whole-school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing, with capacity to undertake training  before March 2022, will be encouraged to apply.”

Further information on how schools and colleges can do this - and how they can identify and book the most appropriate training for them - will be provided nearer the time.