Pupils: Sexual Offences

(asked on 15th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps a school is legally obliged to take in response to an accusation of sexual assault being made by one pupil against another.


Answered by
Baroness Berridge Portrait
Baroness Berridge
This question was answered on 25th March 2021

Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

Part 1 of KCSIE, which all staff should receive at induction, sets out what peer on peer abuse looks like, with detailed information covering child on child sexual violence and sexual harassment for staff who work directly with children. All staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training which is regularly updated.

Part 5 of KCSIE sets out how schools and colleges should respond to reports of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment.

We also provide detailed advice to support schools and colleges to understand what sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges looks like, how to prevent it, how to respond to reports of it, and on how to support victims. This advice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sexual-violence-and-sexual-harassment-between-children-in-schools-and-colleges.

The guidance is very clear that all school staff should know what to do if a child tells them they are being abused or neglected.

The guidance is also very clear that concerns about a child should be responded to immediately and referrals (generally led by the designated safeguarding lead) made to children’s social care and the police.

Reticulating Splines