Leadership

Young People’s RSE Poll 2018

This research by the Sex Education Forum and the National Education Union of young people shows gaps in Relationship and Sex Education on sexual grooming, abusive relationships and how to get help if they are sexually assaulted.

In total 1001 young people participated in the survey, including 393 males, 595 female. Participants were either 16 years old (505 individuals) or 17 years old (496 individuals).

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      string(321) "... on bringing others into conversation, summarising from others or finding ways to connect others’ ideas to build a more collaborative oracy skill.When planning the RSE curriculum for implementation in September 2020, it’s a good time to question who’s taught what and when. Are boys and girls taught ..."
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      string(4448) "the child’s story.When animal characters are male, they’re the powerful and dangerous dragons or tigers. When they’re female, they’re the prey, vulnerable and tiny. Textbooks aren’t a lot better, especially in Key Stage Three where investment can be less than GCSE – researchers, scientists, doctors and astronauts are the male roles – in one case even when the picture of a NASA astronaut was the female Sunita Williams her name wasn’t used and the pronoun attached to the caption was male!We can think about the roles we put students into as well. When we organise groups, do we take opportunities for girls and boys to practise leadership and nurturing? Do we reward kindness, and discuss what kindness means to us in order to build empathy and understanding?OracyOracy’s another interesting example where unconscious bias creeps in and the masculine traits have become more valued. In her excellent book, Mary Beard traces the origins of rhetoric to ancient Greece and Rome, arguing that even the structures of oracy are patriarchal ones; they demand one individual stand up and talk at others, rather than the more feminine quality of a discussion where everyone has a voice.Instead, we could create roles that deliberately focus on bringing others into conversation, summarising from others or finding ways to connect others’ ideas to build a more collaborative oracy skill.When planning the RSE curriculum for implementation in September 2020, it’s a good time to question who’s taught what and when. Are boys and girls taught together? If we choose to separate them to help them ask questions, it’s important that both sexes get the same content; both deserve to know how the other’s body works.We should think about wider skills our students need to level the playing field in later life, not just at work but in their daily lives. Financial literacy is a critical skill; women earn less than men over their lifetime, and often have worse savings and pensions so they’re hit harder by life events. Being aware of the importance of money and thinking about what they value, even from a young age, can help build money confidence.Finally, perfectionism is often under-estimated but in many girls, especially those helpful ones, the thought of being wrong can become almost physically crippling, in large part because their self-worth is so tied up in the value that other people place on them. It’s worse because schools often value the very things that perfectionists do to mask their insecurity: the tiny, neat handwriting, the beautiful headings and meticulously double-underlined date. We have so many opportunities to break this down in schools, helping students to set realistic expectations for themselves for what they can produce or how long a task would take, clear scaffolding to make daunting tasks more manageable, and providing ways for students to take risks, challenge themselves and have it be ok that they don’t do as well as they might have wanted to.Top tips for building a gender-aware educationTake opportunities to explicitly challenge gender stereotypes, in everything from play corners to literary text choices.Audit subject take-up at GCSE and A-Level and explore barriers to either gender.Question everything from a gendered lens. Why are we still teaching PE separately? What about RSE? Do boys and girls have opportunities to learn exactly the same content even if we decide to keep them separate?Ensure skills like oracy and writing provide opportunities to value feminine qualities like collaboration, kindness, and nurture.Consider other skills and knowledge that even up the gender divide, like financial literacy.Structure and scaffold carefully to help girls break down their perfectionist barriers.Charlotte Woolley is the Author of Lost Girls : Why A Feminist Revolution in Education Would Benefit Everyone published by John Catt. She is Head of English and Communications at a girls’ school in North Yorkshire where she’s worked for a decade to raise girls’ aspirations and change the gendered narrative of educationReferencesI’d Blush If I Could: closing gender divides in digital skills through education, UNESCO, 2019 Chris Curtis, http://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/ Donna Ferguson, “Must monsters always be male? Huge gender bias revealed in children’s books”, The Guardian, 21 January 2018"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

The Lost Girls: How Schools Are Causing Girls to Under-achieve In The Wider World

15 Jun 2020

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      string(375) "The Government has announced that Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) will be compulsory in all schools in England from September 2019. This means that all primary school children will be taught about relationships and all secondary school pupils will be taught about relationships and sex. Understanding what helps young people ..."
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      string(3923) "The Government has announced that Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) will be compulsory in all schools in England from September 2019. This means that all primary school children will be taught about relationships and all secondary school pupils will be taught about relationships and sex. Understanding what helps young people engage with RSE will be vital to its success. Past research shows us how certain groups of young people – for example young people with different genders, ages, sexualities, ethnicities, faiths, or those with learning disabilities – have called for RSE that meets their needs and preferences. The report found that young people want to learn about relationships and sex – two aspects of life that will have an impact on their development, safety and happiness as they grow into adults. The research demonstrates how important it is, when designing RSE, to recognise that young people have different preferences and concerns. If educators want to design RSE that successfully engages and supports young people, it is vital to seek the views of young people themselves and to address any concerns they have. Practice Considerations for RSE Educators: The majority of survey participants agreed that RSE should include all of the topics suggested to them. Also, many focus group and survey participants from different support services criticised their past RSE in school for not teaching them all of the topics they thought were important– specifically the topics of LGBT relationships and gender identities, abuse, assault, sexual exploitation, contraception, sexual health and consent. Teach a wide-ranging RSE curriculum to all young people. Don’t assume that topics (such as abuse, grooming, LGBT relationships and gender identities, consent, and pregnancy) don’t need to be discussed if they are not known to be relevant to anyone in the class at that time. When discussing topics in RSE, always consider the potential impact on young people who may have had personal experiences of these issues. Deliver RSE within a holistic Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education programme. Teach topics (such as first menstruation, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or sexual intercourse) early enough so young people feel prepared for the future, and topics can be built upon as children grow. Consult young people about whether they have concerns regarding the topics they will be taught, so their concerns can be addressed. Consult young people about whether they have concerns regarding mixed-gender RSE classes, so their concerns can be addressed. It may be necessary for educators to communicate to young people why certain topics are useful for different genders to learn about. Make sure the skills and characteristics of the educator suit young people’s preferences. They should be open-minded, relatable, confident, knowledgeable and ‘sex-positive’ – including when they teach about LGBT relationships and gender identities. Spend enough time on RSE for topics to be explored in detail. Tme and space for student discussion, debate and peer learning within RSE. WEB LINK Involve Us, Respect Us: Engaging Young People In Relationships And Sex EducationKeywords Relationships, Sex Education, young people, engaging, schools, teachers, support workers, gender identities, abuse, assault, sexual exploitation, contraception, sexual health, consent "
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Leadership

Involve Us, Respect Us: Engaging Young People In Relationships And Sex Education

30 May 2018

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      string(301) "This new guidance by Stonewall for secondary schools to help combat bi-erasure and biphobia is designed to provide specific insight into the experiences of bi young people in schools and highlight issues that bi people of all ages continue to face.
Leadership Briefing (141)"
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      string(380) "... made by students. Use the Stonewall School Report 2017 in staff training sessions. Pick out statistics and testimonies directly relating to the experiences of bi young people, not just young people who are gay, lesbian and trans. Highlight the need for bi visibility and the consequences for young bi people ..."
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      string(301) "This new guidance by Stonewall for secondary schools to help combat bi-erasure and biphobia is designed to provide specific insight into the experiences of bi young people in schools and highlight issues that bi people of all ages continue to face.
Leadership Briefing (141)"
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      string(4808) "The Stonewall School Report found that three in four LGBT pupils (76 per cent) have never learnt about bisexuality. It also found that one in three bi pupils (35 per cent) are bullied for being LGBT. The research further reveals that lack of visibility has a lasting impact. Main Findings: One in three bi pupils (35 per cent) are bullied at school for being LGBT. Bi pupils are less likely than lesbian and gay pupils to have an adult at home they can talk to about being LGBT (37 per cent compared to 46 per cent). Young people who are bi or who identify as another term such as pansexual or queer are more likely to deliberately harm themselves (67 per cent and 79 per cent respectively) than lesbian or gay young people (59 per cent). Three in four LGBT pupils (76 per cent) have never learnt about or discussed bisexuality at school, and that LGBT pupils are far more likely to know of openly gay or lesbian members of staff than of staff who are openly bi or trans. Actions: When training staff: Review relevant school policies and LGBT inclusion work to ensure that biphobia is explicitly referred to and defined, alongside homophobia and transphobia. Examples of biphobic language will help staff to tackle incidents when they occur. See the Getting Started Toolkit for best practice examples. Develop a school script so that all staff feel confident to intervene and challenge biphobic comments made by students. Use the Stonewall School Report 2017 in staff training sessions. Pick out statistics and testimonies directly relating to the experiences of bi young people, not just young people who are gay, lesbian and trans. Highlight the need for bi visibility and the consequences for young bi people if left unaddressed. Talk about sexual orientation as a ‘protected characteristic’ as per the Equality Act 2010. Make clear that the legal duty to eliminate discrimination is the responsibility of all school staff. Be ready to explain that a person’s gender identity can be fluid and/or not fixed, and that not everyone identifies as ‘male’ or ‘female’. Facilitate open and frank conversations amongst staff. Tackle any negative perceptions of bi people with considered questions and constructive challenge rather than confrontation. Create a supportive environment for staff who may come out as bi. Don’t assume staff are straight or gay based on their current relationships, and acknowledge that some colleagues may be bi but won’t necessarily feel comfortable identifying as such. Refer to bi organisations such as BiUk, Bi Community News, BiMedia and The Bisexual Index, and research that is bi specific such as The Bisexuality Report 2012. With students: Tackle all incidents of biphobia and biphobic language without exception. Deconstruct myths and challenge negative stereotypes about bi people with constructive dialogue, rather than just punishment, to build understanding and help tackle repeated incidences of biphobia. Use LGBT History Month and anti-bullying week as opportunities to include and celebrate bi identities; for example, through an assemblies or workshops. Celebrate annual Bi Visibility day on 23 September. This is a great opportunity to fly the Bi flag alongside the Pride flag or display bi posters and role models on your LGBT board. Ensure bi identities are featured on any LGBT notice or celebration boards and that they are equally represented alongside gay, lesbian and trans identities. In your curriculum: As part of the PSHE education curriculum, issues related to bisexuality might be explored within the contexts of personal identity, relationships, anti-bullying or celebrating diversity. Use bi role models such as Frank Ocean, Freddie Mercury and Stephanie Beatriz. Research role models that could be used across different subjects. For example, Alfred Kinsey, the American biologist who created the Kinsey Scale, or the singer-songwriter Azealia Banks.In Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) provide opportunities to talk about different sexual orientations, relationships and forms of attraction, from emotional to romantic and/or sexual. Discuss and challenge negative stereotypes about people of all sexual orientations and genders, including bi people. Explain why stereotypes are harmful and invalid. Discuss the unique challenges and experiences of bi people; for example, coming out to their partner as bi. WEB LINK Celebrating Bi Inclusion In Secondary SchoolsKeywords Bi Inclusion, school policies, LGBT pupils, bisexuality, secondary schools, biphobia, young people, impact, bullied, lesbian, gay "
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Leadership

Celebrating Bi Inclusion In Secondary Schools

10 May 2018

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      string(1836) "Traumatic Stress Network, Secondary Traumatic Stress Committee. (2011). Secondary traumatic stress: A fact sheet for child-serving professionals. Los Angeles, CA, and Durham, NC: National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, p.  2.11	Saakvitne, K.W. & Pearlman, L.A. (1996). Transforming the pain: A workbook on vicarious traumatization. New York, NY: Norton.12	Condley, S.J. (2006). Resilience in children: A review of literature with implications for education. Urban Education, 41(3), 211–236.13 Patel, A. (2017) Social Impact Report 2016/2017. Birmingham: Innovating Minds CIC. http://www.innovatingmindscic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IM-Social-Impact-Report-A5-.pdf 14	Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on “reflective practice”.  Practice Based Professional Learning Centre, 52: 1–27: p. 1.15	Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic.16	Travers, Cheryl J. & Cooper, Cary L. (1993). Mental health, job satisfaction and occupational stress among UK teachers.  Work & Stress, 7(3): 203–219.17 Schmidt. M. (2000). Role theory, emotions, and identity in the department headship of secondary schooling. Teaching and Teacher Education 16: 827–842. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.58.5742&rep=rep1&type=pdf18	Marek, L., Sandifer, D., Beach, A., Coward, L., & Protinsky, H. (1994). Supervision without the problem. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 5(2): 57–64.  19	Department of Health & Social Care & Department for Education (2019). Government response to the consultation on Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: A green paper and next steps. London: Crown. "
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HR and Staff Wellbeing

The Cost of Caring - Supporting the Mental Health of Staff

8 May 2019