Schools: Music

(asked on 22nd January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reports he has received of sexual harassment at (a) music schools and (b) conservatoires; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent harassment at those institutions.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 31st January 2020

Like all independent schools, music schools are required to meet the Independent School Standards. The Standards require that schools have regard to the ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ statutory guidance. This requires schools to address sexual harassment appropriately, including duties related to allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff and reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment between children.

Independent schools (including music schools) are inspected by either Ofsted or the Independent Schools Inspectorate to test compliance with the Independent School Standards. Inspectors always assess compliance with the statutory guidance as part of their inspections. Breaches of the Independent School Standards are dealt with through the department’s policy on regulatory and enforcement action against independent schools.

Complaints about specific schools received by the department are normally shared with the relevant inspectorate. These can be investigated fully at the next inspection and, if the concerns are significant, the department can commission an emergency inspection or bring forward the next standard inspection.

In relation to conservatoires, all Conservatoires UK members are signed up to its principles of best practice, which apply to teaching settings involving students who are 18 years of age or over.

Universities UK has a programme of activity to support their members and the wider sector to prevent and respond effectively to all forms of harassment and hate crime. Their programme in 2019-2020 includes a focus on staff-to-student sexual harassment. The Office for Students (OfS), which regulates higher education providers, published a consultation on 9 January. The consultation, which will conclude on 27 March, sets out proposals for a proposed set of expectations for the policies, processes and systems that the OfS expects providers to have in place to effectively address sexual misconduct and harassment.

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