One in three primary school staff has come across at least one instance of sexual harassment or misconduct involving pupils at their school in the past year, a Tes survey suggests.
A third (33 per cent) of the 547 primary school employees - largely teachers - polled by Tes were aware of incidents such as verbal sexual harassment and the sharing of pornography.
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Overall, 16 per cent of respondents from primaries said they were aware of verbal sexual harassment, including cat-calling and wolf-whistling.
Sexual harassment among primary school pupils
The same proportion knew of pupils watching and sharing pornography.
A small but concerning 4 per cent of primary staff also reported instances of “revenge porn”, while 6 per cent had come across sharing of private sexual images without consent and requests for naked pictures.
Instances of sexual assault and rape were reported by 4 and 2 per cent respectively.
A recurring theme in the survey was the sexualised language being used by some young children.
One primary teacher said: “We have had children threatening to ‘rape’ peers because ‘it will make me horny’ and holding girls up against the fence whilst saying this.
“The child was able to clearly articulate what rape and horny meant, and showed little to no remorse.”
Social media and increasing use of smartphones among younger children was blamed by some teachers. One observed “huge amounts of sexualised language used by children...Can only have been repeated from being heard elsewhere - likely culprits being internet and apps such as TikTok.”
Another, from an independent primary school, said: “There’s the tapping of each other’s bums, boys hounding girls to be their girlfriends (online and in person), and primary children being on the bus with secondary children who show them things on their phone that aren’t appropriate. They then bring that to the classroom and playground in the future.”
Another reported on girls feeling “constrained” by boys’ judgements. They revealed how, during the first lockdown, Year 6 pupils were in school but girls and boys would attend on separate days, which “uncovered an important part of the girls’ experiences at school”.
They said: “It was remarkable how differently the girls behaved without the boys there, and they spoke really openly about how judged and intimidated they feel on a daily basis.
“This was really shocking to us and I don’t think the girls would have ever spoken about how they felt constrained by the judgements of the boys without that opportunity.”
There was “generally misogynistic behaviour” among some of the children - particularly in Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 - commented one state school primary teacher.
This stemmed from “watching on demand online videos which occasionally includes content which refers to the behaviours or types of issued by this survey”, they said, adding: “Some of the children as young as Y4 speak to each other as well as my female colleagues as though it was acceptable to speak in a condescending or degrading manner.”
School leaders said the reports of sexual harassment in primary schools were particularly “disturbing”.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are extremely concerned about the findings of this survey and also about the horrific testimonies posted on the Everyone’s Invited website that clearly show there is more work to be done in tackling sexual harassment and sexual violence.
“It is particularly disturbing to hear of incidents involving primary school children because of the age and vulnerability of these young people, and this inevitably raises questions over how they have been impacted by lockdowns and the ability of their parents to support and supervise them while juggling family and work responsibilities.”
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teachers’ union, said: “The figures in this survey on primary schools are alarming. It is further evidence that schools must be supported to disrupt sexist patterns and behaviours that are experienced by children and young people from a young age. There is lots of good practice out there. We need to build communities of practice so that teachers can learn from each other and ensure that every school can play its part.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, said: “Schools play a vital role in reducing and preventing harmful and concerning sexual behaviours amongst children and young people, as well as dealing with any incidents which do occur.
“The key element of good practice which underpins prevention is the development of an ethos which encourages positive relationships, where it is very clear that any form of sexual harassment is completely unacceptable and where pupils are supported to speak out and be heard.
“Of particular importance is the need to raise awareness and understanding of issues around healthy relationships and the introduction of RSHE [relationships, sex and health education] for all pupils in all schools will enable a place in the curriculum for pupils to understand and explore these issues.”
The Tes survey, created to gauge the profession’s views and experiences of sexual harassment in schools after the allegations uncovered by the website Everyone’s Invited, gathered 547 responses from primary school staff.
Respondents were asked: Are you aware of any of the following peer-on-peer incidents over the past year involving pupils at your school?
Are you aware of any of the following peer-on-peer incidents over the past year involving pupils at your school (please tick any that apply)?
Verbal sexual harassment - eg, cat-calling, wolf-whistling16%
Upskirting6%
Revenge porn/sharing of private sexual images without consent4%
Other sexual harassment9%
Sexual assault4%
Rape2%
Requests for naked pictures6%
Reports of children watching or circulating pornography16%
A DfE spokesperson said: “It is vital that any allegations are dealt with properly, and we are determined to make sure the right resources and processes are in place across the education system to support victims of any form of abuse.
“The important work Ofsted is doing will look carefully at the safeguarding measures schools and colleges have in place, as well as assessing whether extra support is needed for teaching about sex and relationships.
“Crucially, Ofsted will work with representatives from social care, police, victim support groups, education leaders and the Independent Schools Council to ensure a wide range of expertise inform their work.”
