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| Boys 'will not attend class with those they have abused' | Boys 'will not attend class with those they have abused' |
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| The government will introduce rules to stop boys who sexually abuse other children at school from being allowed back in the same classroom, schools minister Nick Gibb told a committee of MPs investigating sexual harassment and violence within schools. | |
| Gibb said official guidelines needed to be clear that abusers could not return to classes alongside their victims, and told the Commons women and equalities committee that the government will shortly launch a consultation to make the required changes. | Gibb said official guidelines needed to be clear that abusers could not return to classes alongside their victims, and told the Commons women and equalities committee that the government will shortly launch a consultation to make the required changes. |
| Gibb was pushed to explain the present policy by Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, who suggested the guidance could be made clearer if it said that pupils who committed peer-on-peer sexual abuse could not be placed alongside their victim. | Gibb was pushed to explain the present policy by Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, who suggested the guidance could be made clearer if it said that pupils who committed peer-on-peer sexual abuse could not be placed alongside their victim. |
| “Where there is such a case, the perpetrator and the victim should not be in the same classroom,” Gibb said, adding that the guidance “cannot anticipate every single possible circumstance that could occur”. | “Where there is such a case, the perpetrator and the victim should not be in the same classroom,” Gibb said, adding that the guidance “cannot anticipate every single possible circumstance that could occur”. |
| Last year a report by the committee called for urgent action to end widespread sexual harassment of girls by their peers at school. | Last year a report by the committee called for urgent action to end widespread sexual harassment of girls by their peers at school. |
| “Do you think it is acceptable, either to the girls, or the schools, that two years will have passed for this guidance to come into force when we called for immediate action?” Phillips asked Gibb. | “Do you think it is acceptable, either to the girls, or the schools, that two years will have passed for this guidance to come into force when we called for immediate action?” Phillips asked Gibb. |
| Gibb replied that the general election had slowed down the government’s response, and pledged that interim advice would be issued shortly. | Gibb replied that the general election had slowed down the government’s response, and pledged that interim advice would be issued shortly. |
| Sarah Green, of the End Violence Against Women coalition, said the group was pleased the government had finally responded to the committee’s recommendation. | Sarah Green, of the End Violence Against Women coalition, said the group was pleased the government had finally responded to the committee’s recommendation. |
| “In the worst cases our members come across, schools are worried about being seen to treat an ‘unproven’ allegation seriously and girls commonly leave school. Adult women in good workplaces would never be treated this way,” Green said. | “In the worst cases our members come across, schools are worried about being seen to treat an ‘unproven’ allegation seriously and girls commonly leave school. Adult women in good workplaces would never be treated this way,” Green said. |
| “We hope the minister’s commitment to new guidance is fulfilled without delay. And we hope schools are able to use the experience and skills of specialist sexual violence organisations to help them respond to this endemic abuse.” | “We hope the minister’s commitment to new guidance is fulfilled without delay. And we hope schools are able to use the experience and skills of specialist sexual violence organisations to help them respond to this endemic abuse.” |
| Maria Miller, the committee chair, told Gibb that the panel had been told of schools that “do not routinely report these things to the police”, citing figures from a BBC Panorama documentary suggesting a 70% increase in school-based peer attacks. | Maria Miller, the committee chair, told Gibb that the panel had been told of schools that “do not routinely report these things to the police”, citing figures from a BBC Panorama documentary suggesting a 70% increase in school-based peer attacks. |
| “The lack of a protocol, or information or guidance on how you then deal with that situation, seems to be something that is leaving headteachers flummoxed,” Miller said. | |
| “I find it extraordinary that young girls are being asked to go back into school, into class, with people who have raped them.” | |
| Since the committee’s 2016 report was published, the Children and Social Work Act has made relationships education compulsory for all primary and secondary school pupils, as well as sex education for secondary pupils. | Since the committee’s 2016 report was published, the Children and Social Work Act has made relationships education compulsory for all primary and secondary school pupils, as well as sex education for secondary pupils. |
| The recent Panorama documentary revealed that about 30,000 instances of children sexually assaulting their peers – including 2,600 attacks that may have taken place in schools – had been reported to police in the past four years. | |
| The data from 38 police forces in England and Wales found that reports of sexual abuse and attacks rose from 4,600 in 2013 to nearly 7,900 in 2016. | The data from 38 police forces in England and Wales found that reports of sexual abuse and attacks rose from 4,600 in 2013 to nearly 7,900 in 2016. |
| Miller said: “The committee is perplexed as to why the government is not acting with more urgency. | Miller said: “The committee is perplexed as to why the government is not acting with more urgency. |
| “I understand that the education wheels move slowly, but we are talking about children being abused in schools on our watch and that just has to change quicker than I think we are hearing.” | “I understand that the education wheels move slowly, but we are talking about children being abused in schools on our watch and that just has to change quicker than I think we are hearing.” |
| Gibb told the committee that the advice to schools is regularly updated, and that the government will also be publishing specific guidance for headteachers on peer-on-peer abuse within schools. | Gibb told the committee that the advice to schools is regularly updated, and that the government will also be publishing specific guidance for headteachers on peer-on-peer abuse within schools. |