One in eight secondary school teachers says a student in their school sexual assaulted another pupil in the past term, research shows.
A report by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) warns that teachers lack confidence and expertise in teaching sex education and supporting students with issues such as sexual assault.
It says secondary schools and colleges should appoint dedicated “violence against women and girls†leads and deliver relationship violence prevention lessons.
In a Teacher Tapp survey of 4,717 secondary teachers in England, commissioned by the YEF, 13 per cent reported a child sexually assaulting another child in the autumn term.
And 45 per cent of respondents said they lack confidence in teaching students how to intervene if they witness a sexual assault.
Sexual assault in secondary schools
The findings come after education secretary Bridget Phillipson said that the behaviour and development of boys is a “defining issue of our time†and that schools need more support to combat “toxic online influencesâ€.
A Tes investigation in 2021 revealed that primary school staff had also raised concerns about sexual harassment or misconduct involving pupils at their school.
The YEF also commissioned Teacher Tapp to survey 6,000 teachers about their views on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).
Some 55 per cent of secondary teachers said their lack of confidence or expertise is the main barrier to delivering personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and RSHE lessons.
Almost a third of secondary teachers who teach RSHE and PSHE have never received training to teach these subjects, and a quarter do not feel confident teaching students how to leave unhealthy relationships.
Teachers have previously warned about a lack of government support in responding to allegations of sexual harassment and violence.
The Department for Education is currently reviewing the draft sex education guidance, which was produced under the previous Conservative government last year.
It recommended that students should not be taught about sexual violence - or sexual acts, domestic violence and intimate sexual relationships - in “any sexually explicit way†until Year 9.
Call for training
The YEF is calling for the introduction of a dedicated lead to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) in every secondary school, college and secondary alternative provision setting in England and Wales.
It urges the government to invest £1 million to pilot a VAWG training grant across 50 schools, colleges and alternative provision settings, modelled on existing grants for school mental health leads.
The VAWG leads would develop “school-wide strategies, improve RSHE lessons, bring in specialist external providers and train other staff membersâ€.
The YEF further recommends that the government provides £100 million over five years to deliver evidence-based violence reduction programmes for children most at risk.
It also suggests that National Professional Qualifications should include a focus on protecting children from violence, and that Ofsted’s proposed school inspection report cards should assess how settings support suspended children and safeguard children from violence.
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