Wednesday 16th of June 2021

Ofsted: Nude pupil pictures not a safeguarding issue 

    • Ofsted’s chief inspector has suggested that male pupils sending naked photographs of themselves to female classmates is not a safeguarding issue for schools. 
    • Amanda Spielman was taking questions from the Commons Education Select Committee this morning, following her watchdog’s publication of a major report last week telling headteachers to act on the assumption that sexual harassment is happening in their schools. 
    • Today she was asked by Ian Mearns, Labour MP for Gateshead: “When is an allegation of sexual harassment involving a child not a safeguarding issue?” 
    • Ms Spielman stated that after talking to a sample of girls who had left school within the last two years. Only one of them was able to say that they had never been sent a nude by a boy but that “Most of the girls laugh that off and think it’s contemptible”.
    • For the full story, select here.

    Ofsted chief warns against victim blaming in ‘modesty’ shorts row 

    • Ofsted’s chief inspector has intervened in a row over girls being told to wear “modesty” shorts under their skirts at primary school, warning against a culture of “victim-blaming”. 
    • Amanda Spielman was responding to MPs’ questions following reports that some primary schools are encouraging girls as young as four to wear shorts as an undergarment so they don’t show their underwear when they do cartwheels and handstands in the playground. 
    • There is also an increasing trend in secondary schools for girls to wear shorts under their skirts or summer dresses to prevent “upskirting” – now a criminal offence – where photos are taken under someone’s clothing without them knowing, either for sexual gratification or to cause upset.
    • For the full story, select here.

    Eating disorders soared in lockdown, experts warn 

    • The number of children and young people in Scotland with an eating disorder has soared to “crisis” point during lockdown, a psychiatry body has warned. 
    • The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland said figures showed referrals had almost tripled in recent years. 
    • There were 217 referrals for eating disorders in under 18s in 2018/19. This increased to 456 in 2019/20 and to 615 in 2020/21. 
    • The Scottish government said it would announce steps to improve services. 
    • For the full story, select here. 
    • To learn more about the impact of lockdown on eating disorders for young people, select here. 

     LGBT+ pupils twice as likely to have been bullied than their straight peers, new research finds

    • LGBT+ school pupils are twice as likely to have been bullied than their straight peers and 91 per cent have heard negative language about being LGBT+ in the past year, new research has found. 
    • A total of 42 percent of LGBT+ school pupils in the UK aged 11-18 have been bullied in the past year, double the 21 percent of non-LGBT+ pupils affected, new findings by LGBT+ charity Just Like Us Found. 
    • The research was taken from the experiences of 1,140 pupils, who said they face slurs, physical threats and feelings of isolation when they attend school because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or another sexuality or gender identity.
    • For the full story, select here.