23: Harmful sexual behaviour in schools

NSPCC Learning Podcast

Around a third of child sexual abuse is by other children or young people (Hackett, 2014). Educational settings play a key role in identifying and preventing harmful sexual behaviour. However, this can be difficult to manage without adversely affecting the education of both the child and young person that has experienced the abuse and the child who has displayed the behaviour.
This episode will help you to understand:

• the issues schools, colleges and academies are currently seeing and why there’s an increase in sexualised behaviour in young people
• what healthy, problematic and harmful behaviours are and how you can respond appropriately
• how children and young people are affected, including those who display sexualised behaviour
• what you can do to balance needs so that safeguarding is prioritised without affecting education.

The NPSCC would like to thank Academy Transformation Trust and Ormiston Academies Trust for sharing their expertise and helping us develop our series on harmful sexual behaviour.
Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.
💬 About the speakers
Fiona Barber has been a Children’s Service Practitioner at the NSPCC since 2010, delivering services that involves the assessment and treatment of children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour and who have been affected by sexual abuse. She has background in providing support to children and families in the field of social work and therapeutic care in residential work. In 2014, Fiona joined the National Clinical Assessment Team (NCATS), a service for treating young high-risk harmful sexual behaviour.
Pat Branigan is a Development and Impact Manager for NSPCC’s Children’s Services. He leads the NSPCC’s response to child sexual abuse with a focus on preventing harmful sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people. In addition to this, he’s an anthropologist with a background in public health and has led research into sensitive sexual health topics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Lucy Dawes started out as a primary school teacher in mainstream provision in 2007, teaching across Key Stage 2. In 2012, she moved to her current school which is a SEMH Provision where she supports children who have social, emotional or mental health needs identified on their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). She is now the Assistant Principal and Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator and Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Jacqui Ferris has worked in education for 25 years and is currently part of the leadership team at a secondary academy which serves a community with higher than average levels of deprivation. As a Senior Assistant Principal, she leads on behaviour, attendance and safeguarding and liaises regularly with agencies including social care, the police and family services. She is focused on working in the best interests of children and serves to maximise their educational opportunities and life chances.
📚 Related resources

> Read our blog on understanding children’s sexual behaviour

> Take a course for managing sexualised behaviour in primary and secondary schools

> Refer anyone up to the age of 21 who has displayed harmful sexual behaviour to our NCATS service

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros