Safeguarding your child

Everyone's Invited: a statement from the Trust

Like everyone, we've been appalled by the stories that are emerging across the country. It is completely unacceptable that girls are being treated in this way and we have a collective responsibility as education leaders to take a stand. We pride ourselves on being a highly inclusive family of schools, and whilst we have strong systems and controls in place as part of our work on equality, diversity and inclusion focusing on gender, racism, sexuality and disability, we want to make sure we are leaving no stone unturned in eradicating these insidious behaviours. 

 In addition to our existing practices, we are taking steps to ensure that each of our schools has the means to capture testimony from students - either anonymously or in person through safe spaces - so that there is every opportunity to uncover any issues, past or present. We all need to go further and shine a light on these issues so that they are brought out in the open and dealt with swiftly, including involving the police. To do otherwise, makes us part of the problem.

Definitions:

Peer-on-peer abuse is abuse of any type between children. It can include:

•   Bullying, including cyber-bullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying

•  Physical abuse (e.g. hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair-pulling, or any way of causing physical harm)

•  Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images or videos (also known as ‘sexting’)

•  Sexual harassment, sexual violence

•  Upskirting (taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission)

• Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent, (e.g. forcing them to strip, touch themselves   sexually, or engage in sexual activity with a third party)

•  Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers

•  Initiation/hazing violence and rituals

Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature. It can happen online and offline. It can include:

•  Sexual comments (e.g. telling sexual stories, making sexual remarks about clothes or appearance)

• Sexual jokes (e.g. sexualised so-called “banter”), or sexual taunting

• Physical behaviour (e.g. deliberately brushing against someone, lifting up someone’s skirt, pulling someone’s bra strap)

• Online sexual harassment (e.g. sharing of nude and semi-nude images or videos, sharing of unwanted explicit content, sexualised online bullying, unwanted sexual comments and messages on social media, sexual exploitation, sexual coercion and threats)

Sexual violence is any of the following (as defined in the Sexual Offences Act 2003):

• Rape (sexual intercourse without consent)

• Assault by penetration (sexual penetration with a part of the body or anything else without consent)

• Sexual assault (intentional sexual touching of another person without their consent, e.g. grabbing someone’s breasts or bottom)

Consent is about having the freedom and the capacity to choose.

• Consent to sexual activity may be given to one sort of sexual activity but not to another, or may be given with conditions

•  Consent can be withdrawn at any time during sexual activity and each time activity occurs

• Someone consents to sexual activity only if they agree by choice and have the freedom and capacity to make that choice

•  A child under the age of 13 can never consent to any sexual activity

•  The age of consent is 16

At TEC we take all allegations seriously and work to support anyone impacted by such behaviour. If any student is a victim of peer on peer abuse they should speak to an adult in school who will inform the Safeguarding team. 

All reports are dealt with sensitively and will be taken seriously.  

Child Sexual Exploitation - click for more information