Peer-on-peer abuse: are your child protection policies strong enough?

Tonight's Panorama programme on BBC1 looks into the subject of child sexual abuse, where children sexually assault other children.

Our Child Protection in Education online training course covers peer-on-peer abuse with this information:

Abuse is not limited to harmful behaviours perpetrated by adults – children and young people can abuse too and this is known as peer-on-peer abuse. This is likely to include behaviours such as online bullying, gender-based violence, sexual touching/assaults and sexting. Staff should follow the procedures outlined in their child protection/safeguarding/anti-bullying/behaviour policies and discuss concerns with the designated member of staff for child protection.

No specific legal obligation

Teachers have a legal duty to report an alleged assault by an adult but there is no such legal obligation if a child is accused. Schools are advised to follow their own child protection procedures.

As reports of sexual offences on schools premises have increased in recent years it is vital that Child Protection Policies are robust enough to cover peer-on-peer abuse.

Sarah Hannafin, policy adviser for the National Association of Headteachers, is reported as saying:

"School leaders and schools want to get it right, but they're not always getting the help and support they need. There needs to be some more clarity in terms of the specific procedures that schools must take."

"When kids abuse kids" will be shown on BBCOne at 8.30pm on Monday 9th October.

EduCare can help

We are currently developing a new online training course that specifically covers peer-on-peer abuse. The course will be included in our EduCare for Education^® e-learning service as soon as it is available, please get in touch if you would like to know more.

Country: --None-- United Kingdom Abkhazia Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Nagorno-Karabakh Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Cyprus Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Réunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia Somaliland South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Ossetia South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Transnistria Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Vietnam
Post/Zip Code:
Job Role: --None-- Academic Registrar Account/Agency/Advertising Account Co-Coordinator Account Controller Account Co-ordinator Account Executive Administration / Office Admin Manager Artwork Provider Assessm. Coordinator Assistant Head Assistant Headteacher /Principal Assistant Principal Bursar Business Director Business Manager Catering Mgr/Superv. CEO / Managing Director Chairman Chair of Governors Chancellor Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chief Sci. Lab. Tech Child protection Clerk to the Governor Dean Deputy Director Deputy Director of Education Deputy Head Deputy Head of Department Deputy Headteacher/Principal Deputy-Vice Head / Principal / Director Dep Vice Chancellor Development Director Director Director Development Director HR Director of Childrens Services Director of Education Director of Finance Education Director Education Manager Executive Head Executive Headteacher/Principal Finance Finance / Procurement Fund Raising Officer Gold / Silver Contact Head / Director of Dept-Faculty Head / Director of Subject Head / Principal / Chancellor Head of Art Head of assessment Head of Biology Head of Boys PE Head of Bus. Studies Head of Business Head of Careers Head of Chemistry Head of Citizenship Head of Classics Head of Department Head of Drama Head of Economics Head of English Head of Faculty Head of Geography Head of Girls PE Head of History Head of HR Head of Humanities Head of IT Head of Journalism Head of Law Head of Maths Head of Media Studs Head of Media Study Head of Mod.Language Head of Music Head of Nursery Head of Nursery/PreS Head of PE Head of Personnel Head of Philosophy Head of Physics Head of Politics Head of PSE Head of Psychology Head of PTA Head of Recept.Class Head of Rel. Studies Head of School Head of Science Head of Sixth Form Head of Sociology Head of Special Need Head of SPS Head of Subject Head of Technology Head of Vocat. Edu. Head of Year Head of Year 1 Head of Year 10 Head of Year 11 Head of Year 2 Head of Year 3 Head of Year 4 Head of Year 5 Head of Year 6 Head of Year 7 Head of Year 8 Head of Year 9 Headteacher Headteacher/ Principal Health/Safety Offic. HR / Recruitment / Retention HR Director HR Manager HR Officer ICT Coordinator INSET Co-ordinator International Office Keystage 1 Co-ordin. Keystage 2 Co-ordin. Keystage 3 Co-ordin. Keystage 4 Co-ordin. Lecturer Librarian Managing Director Market.& Dev. Dir. Marketing Marketing / Communications Marketing Manager Media Assistant Media Buyer Media Planner NQT Co-ordinator Office Manager Operations Operations Manager PA / Assistant to Head / Principal / Director Parent Pastoral / Welfare PA to Headteacher PA to Headteacher /Principal Personnel Director Personnel Manager Personnel Officer Planning/Strategy President Press Comm. Manager Principal Pro Vice Chancellor Provost Public Relations (PR) Recrtmnt Secretary Recruitment Manager Recruitment Officer Rector Resource Manager Safeguarding School Governor School Manager School Nurse School Secretary School Trip Organis. SENDco Senior Advisor Site Manager Strategic Business / Planning Student Student Services Supply Booker Support Role Teacher Timetabler Trainee Teacher Unknown Vice / ProVice / Deputy Chancellor Vice Chancellor Vice President Vice Principal Other
Requirement: --None-- I am a customer and I have a problem I am looking to buy a product for myself I am looking to buy a product for my organisation
Organisation Type: --None-- British Universities Charity Children & Young People Services College Company Educational Body English Colleges English Primary Schools English Secondary Schools English SEN Schools & Colleges International Schools & Colleges International Universities LA Head Office Library Mainstream School Northern Irish Schools & Colleges Other LA Other Organisations Private Individual Pupil Referral Unit(PRU) Scottish Schools & Colleges Secure Unit Special Needs Supply Agency University Welsh Schools & Colleges N/A
 

Return to news

Related content:

EduCare for Education^®

An Introduction to Child Sexual Exploitation