Commenting as Ofsted release their recommendations following a review of sexual harassment and abuse in schools, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Ofsted’s review, whilst limited in scope, reveals a shocking prevalence and normalisation of sexual harassment and abuse between children and young people both inside and outside of school. We agree that the significant barriers around children and young people talking about incidents, even in schools which encourage and support this, mean we must all assume this is happening and be proactive in our response.

“The strength in Ofsted’s review lies in the voices of over 900 children and young people across 32 schools, who shared their views and experiences. However difficult, we must all listen to their reality and consider what role we can play in addressing the concerning issues they raise. School leaders now need to create opportunities to listen to the voices of their own pupils to inform the review, development and improvement of the preventative approaches and responses to incidents in their setting.

“We support the clear recommendations Ofsted makes for school and college leaders; sexual harassment and online sexual abuse must not be tolerated in any educational setting, but schools do need to be given the resources, training, support and guidance to implement their whole school approach effectively.

“Sexual harassment and violence is a problem that reaches far beyond the school gates. There is no doubt that schools can and should play a key role in this work, but they can’t solve it alone. We need government and other agencies to play their part too.”

Press and Media contacts:

Steven George
NAHT Head of Press and Media
01444 472886
07970 907730

Rose Tremlett 
Senior Press Officer 
07545 354363

Email : press.office@naht.org.uk