Assume sexual harassment and abuse is taking place in schools, teachers told

Teachers must assume sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence are occurring in and around their schools and colleges even when there are no specific reports, Ofsted has said.Education institutions must now have a “whole school” approach in place to address sexual harm, following a recent review that found harassment has become normalised among students.An Ofsted report published earlier this month found children often do not see the point of reporting sexual harassment because it happens so frequently.The watchdog visited 32 state and private schools and colleges and spoke to more than 900 young people about sexual harassment after thousands of testimonials were posted on a website.Ofsted inspectors were told that boys are sharing “nudes” among themselves like a “collection game” on platforms such as WhatsApp and Snapchat while some girls have experienced “unwanted touching in school corridors”.Future Ofsted inspections will now look at how schools and colleges tackle all forms of sexual abuse and harassment, the regulator said.We will expect schools and colleges to have created a culture where sexual abuse and harassment is not acceptable and never toleratedIt has updated its inspection handbooks to help schools and colleges develop a culture that recognises and addresses sexual harm,…
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