Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual assault and harassment by staff of students in schools.

All children, from whatever background and no matter what challenges they face, deserve a safe environment in which they can learn.

The Teachers’ Standards 2012 state that teachers, as part of their professional duties, should safeguard children’s wellbeing.

Statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), sets out that governing bodies and proprietors should ensure policies/procedures are in place for appropriate action to be taken to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. This includes a staff behaviour policy (code of conduct). When drafting staff behaviour policies, consideration should be given to Section 16 of The Sexual Offences Act 2003, whereby it is an offence for a person aged 18 or over to have a sexual relationship with a child under 18 where that person is in a position of trust to the child.

All staff should undergo safeguarding/child protection training at induction and know of the systems in their school or college that support safeguarding. This training should be regularly updated.

Part 4 of KCSIE provides detailed advice on managing allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff. Where a person is dismissed or the employer ceases to use the person’s service, or the person resigns, schools and colleges have a legal duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service anyone who has harmed, or poses a risk of harm to a child or vulnerable adult, for consideration of whether to bar the person from working with children. In cases involving teaching staff, schools also have a duty to consider a referral the Teaching Regulation Agency to consider prohibiting the individual from teaching.