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Provide staff with the knowledge, skills and values to confidently deliver content that addresses VAWG in a safe and effective way.  

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Provide staff with the knowledge, skills and values to confidently deliver content that addresses VAWG in a safe and effective way.  

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Embed VAWG prevention into school policies, staff training, and curriculum planning:

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Embed VAWG prevention into school policies, staff training, and curriculum planning:

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• 🔗 NSPCC Learning

• 🔗 End Violence Against Women Coalition – Schools Guide

• 🔗 Contextual Safeguarding – Beyond Referrals

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WSA to Preventing VAWG checklist for schools

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WSA to Preventing VAWG checklist for schools

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WSA to Preventing VAWG checklist for schools

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Recognise how race, disability, sexuality, gender identity, and other factors shape experiences of VAWG:

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Recognise how race, disability, sexuality, gender identity, and other factors shape experiences of VAWG:

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• Ensure RSHE and safeguarding policies reflect diverse lived experiences.

• Use inclusive language and imagery in teaching materials.

• Engage with families and communities to understand cultural contexts and barriers to disclosure.

• Provide targeted support for pupils who may be disproportionately affected or underrepresented.

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Create a school culture of safety, inclusion, and zero tolerance for gender-based violence:

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Create a school culture of safety, inclusion, and zero tolerance for gender-based violence:

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• Display pledges and artwork to promote respectful relationships.

• Train staff to respond confidently to disclosures and challenge harmful behaviour.

• Include Domestic Abuse Champions in strategic planning and delivery.

• Reinforce safeguarding protocols and create safe spaces for disclosure

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Empower students to lead peer education, campaigns, and feedback on school culture:

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Empower students to lead peer education, campaigns, and feedback on school culture:

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• Encourage peer mentors and pupil councils to lead assemblies, create posters, and host lunchtime talks.

• Use Norfolk’s Bystander Intervention Programme to equip pupils with tools to challenge harmful behaviour:

🔗 Norfolk Bystander Programme

• Invite pupils to take the White Ribbon pledge:

“I will never use, excuse or remain silent about men’s violence against women.”

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Connect pupils and families to specialist services beyond the school environment:

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Connect pupils and families to specialist services beyond the school environment:

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• 🔗 Rape Crisis England & Wales

• 🔗 The Survivors Trust

• 🔗 SafeLives – Safe Young Lives

• 🔗 Refuge – What is Domestic Abuse?

• 🔗 Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)

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Equip staff with legal guidance and safeguarding tools to respond appropriately to disclosures:

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Equip staff with legal guidance and safeguarding tools to respond appropriately to disclosures:

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• 🔗 Norfolk Community Law Service (NCLS)

• 🔗 CEOP Safety Centre

• 🔗 Lucy Faithfull Foundation

• 🔗 Childnet – Cyberbullying Guidance

• 🔗 GOV.UK – Sharing Nudes Advice

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Provide trauma-informed care and wellbeing resources for students and staff:

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Provide trauma-informed care and wellbeing resources for students and staff:

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• 🔗 Kooth

• 🔗 Sue Lambert Trust | 📞 01603 622406

• 🔗 Just One Norfolk

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Ensure direct support is available for students affected by domestic or sexual abuse:

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Ensure direct support is available for students affected by domestic or sexual abuse:

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• 🔗 NIDAS – Norfolk Integrated Domestic Abuse Service | 📞 0300 561 0555

• 🔗 Leeway | 📞 0300 561 0077

• 🔗 Pandora Project

• 🔗 Daisy Programme | 📞 01953 880903

• 🔗 Brave Futures

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White Ribbon Day and an overview of VWAG prevention

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White Ribbon Day and an overview of VWAG prevention

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White Ribbon Day (25 November) is a global movement to end violence against women and girls (VAWG). Research and evidence shows that girls face high levels of harassment, online abuse, and fear in everyday spaces.

A whole-school approach helps schools move beyond one-off events to embed lasting change through leadership, curriculum, culture, and pupil voice.

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White Ribbon Accredited Organisation Oldham Council partnered with Safeguarding Children Partnership to host the Me, Myself and I Conference for 11 local schools. Nearly 70 year nine pupils attended the event where they learned their values, attitudes and behaviours are influenced, exploring factors which may to lead things such as domestic abuse and contribute to gender inequality.

Read more about the Me, Myself and I Conference, held over White Ribbon Day 2023 in support of the #ChangeTheStory campaign, here.

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Primary prevention in schools and at home - White Ribbon UK

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We work with schools, colleges and youth organisations to educate young people about anti-social and dangerous behaviours that threaten the success and well-being of girls.

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A whole-school framework integrates VAWG prevention into curriculum, culture, and policies. It addresses root causes like gender stereotypes and empowers staff, pupils, and communities to respond effectively.

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Ministerial Foreword

The Scottish Government's aim is to end all forms of gender-based violence across our society - and I am determined to see our schools leading the way.

As Cabinet Secretary, the wellbeing and safety of children and young people in our schools is of the utmost importance. Ensuring that every child is treated with respect and feels safe at school is a task I do not take lightly.

There is no place for harassment or abuse in any form in our schools, and while many of us would have hoped that gender-based violence among young people was a thing of the past, the facts unfortunately do not bear this out.

When the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning was established in 2020, following a recommendation of the First Minister's National Advisory Council on Women and Girls, one of its early pieces of work was to commission reports from the Children's and Scottish Youth Parliaments. These reports both confirmed the gender-based violence which girls and young women continue to experience in Scotland's classrooms. In addition, the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2023 highlights an increase in misogynistic views and language as an emerging concern.

We know that the prevalence of some dangerously misogynistic social media personalities is having a toxic influence on some boys, with a growth in disrespect towards female teachers and classmates alike. It is vital that we counter this discrimination and act to stamp out 'toxic masculinity' in favour of positive masculinity.

Gender-based violence can take many forms and it is essential that everyone within a school community is supported to recognise gender-based violence when it occurs, and be equipped to respond appropriately.

However, I am clear that our aspiration should not simply be to support schools to respond to incidents of gender-based violence. Prevention and early intervention are key elements of our approach - meaning that we want to address the underlying causes of gender-based violence, particularly gender inequality.

This framework is designed to support a whole-school approach to the prevention of gender-based violence. This can be achieved through actions around school culture and ethos, school policies and systems, professional learning and development for school staff, and the curriculum. The guidance includes information on how school leadership, all school staff, families and carers, children and young people, and community partners, all have a role in preventing gender-based violence. Through this whole-school approach, everyone within a school community will be supported to take steps to prevent gender-based violence, to recognise it when it occurs, and to be confident in knowing how to report and respond when incidents happen.

Through this work, we want to see schools create cultures in which all members of the school community know that gender-based violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

It is important to recognise that school staff can also personally experience gender-based violence during the course of their work. This is particularly prescient given that women are far more likely to work in educational settings than men. This guidance therefore includes information on schools' and local authorities' responsibilities to their staff - and to the support available for school staff who experience gender-based violence.

This framework forms part of our broader action to address the issue of gender equality within education, including the Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme and the Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning. The ambitions both complement the aims of our cross-cutting Equally Safe Strategy and our broad commitment to eradicate gender-based violence in every part of our society.

This framework was developed in collaboration with the Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group. I am grateful to the working group for the time and commitment shown in developing this framework, and to Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance for co-chairing the group alongside the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to eliminating all forms of gender-based violence. I am confident that this guidance will support schools in the work they are already doing to deliver a learning environment where all children and young people are protected, cared for, and in which their rights and needs are respected.

Our goal is to eliminate gender-based violence entirely. This will all require much hard work across government, across our schools and across society to support women and girls, shift attitudes and make clear that gender-based violence will simply not be tolerated.

But it is vital that our schools are at the forefront of our approach. It is this generation of young people who can be the ones to end gender-based violence and misogyny once and for all - and it up to us to show the leadership necessary to empower them to do so.
Jenny Gilruth MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

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Preventing and responding to gender based violence: a whole school framework

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This national framework provides support those working with and in all schools to develop and strengthen universal and targeted approaches to gender-based violence.

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Tools for schools to refer cases of child abuse and VAWG, with reporting guidelines.

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In the UK and worried about a child's safety or wellbeing? You can report it to us by phone or online, remaining anonymous if you wish.

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Use local and national data to understand the scale and impact of VAWG. Use pupil surveys, safeguarding audits, and feedback tools to shape the curriculum and monitor progress.

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Use local and national data to understand the scale and impact of VAWG. Use pupil surveys, safeguarding audits, and feedback tools to shape the curriculum and monitor progress.

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📊 Use pupil surveys, safeguarding audits, and feedback tools to monitor progress.

🔗 Youth Endowment Fund Toolkit

🔗 NSPCC Research & Reports

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Deliver inclusive RSHE that tackles misogyny, consent, coercion, and online harms:

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Deliver inclusive RSHE that tackles misogyny, consent, coercion, and online harms:

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• 🔗 White Ribbon UK Schools Resources

• 🔗 Pol-Ed VAWG Lesson Packs

• 🔗 NSPCC Teaching Resources

• 🔗 ENOUGH Campaign Teaching Resources

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NCC- Sexual violence and sexual harassment. Including the Bystander Intervention Programme

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NCC- Sexual violence and sexual harassment. Including the Bystander Intervention Programme

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Ofsted's findings and recommendations on sexual harassment and sexual violence, including online sexual abuse.

Details

Ofsted was asked by the government to carry out a rapid review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. This report summarises our findings and recommendations.

Read the terms of reference for the review.

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Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges

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Ofsted's findings and recommendations on sexual harassment and sexual violence, including online sexual abuse.

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Girls stand together in solidarity as two thirds change their everyday behaviour to avoid sexual harassment

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New research from Girlguiding reveals how the persistent threat of sexism, misogyny and harassment is impacting girls’ everyday lives and affecting their confidence, mental health and wellbeing.

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Only 9% of girls report feeling safe in online spaces. This report examines how online services and platforms can be used by perpetrators to identify young female users and target abuse at them. Abusive communication can take the form of sexual harassment, technology-assisted child sexual abuse, bullying, threats and hate speech.

The research set out to identify the design features of online platforms that can facilitate or promote abusive communications with young female users. It explored the design of ten platforms, using fake accounts for a fictitious 14-year-old girl user. The platforms included popular video-sharing, social media, gaming and messaging services.

A combination of methods was used to understand the interaction between service design, perpetrator tactics and the targeting of girls.

'Typical' user journeys were mapped, documenting the design features that a girl user encounters when registering an account, editing her user information and engaging with other users.

Relevant literature was scanned to establish what is known about the online victimisation of girls and the behaviours and motivations of those who engage in abusive or harmful communication online.

Virtual interviews were conducted with eight experts in platform design, cyber safety and security and children's online experiences and protection.

Fake adult accounts were used to explore how discoverable the fictitious 14-year-old girl was on the different platforms, whether adults could contact her and whether platforms currently do anything to reduce the risk of inappropriate or abusive communication.

The report urges the Government and technology companies to put measures in place to mitigate unsafe design features and protect girls on digital platforms.

Authors: NSPCC and PA Consulting

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A policy report exploring how online services enable the abuse and harassment of girls.

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Flourish Survey 2024 - Reports Published

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Flourish Survey 2024 - Reports Published

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To support children and young people reach their potential and live a healthy and fulfilling life it is essential to hear their voice. This resource provides detailed analysis of the Flourish survey of Norfolk school pupils conducted by the School Health Education Unit (SHEU) in 2024 to understand pupils' views around key aspects of lives.

The analysis is split into six topic reports covering key issues including smoking, drug use, alcohol consumption, diet, physical activity, family relationships, friendships, bullying and sexual health.

Each topic report considers the overall prevalence of key issues reported by pupils and how they vary by pupils' age and characteristics. Comparisons with equivalent Norfolk data from 2015 and 2017 are also made as well as with national survey data where it is available.

Access the Reports

Visit the JSNA Document Library to view the reports.

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Flourish Survey 2024 - Reports Published

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To support children and young people reach their potential and live a healthy and fulfilling life it is essential to hear their voice. This resource provides detailed analysis of the Flourish survey of Norfolk school pupils conducted by the School Health Education Unit (SHEU) in 2024 to understand pupils' views around key aspects of lives.

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Teaching resources and lesson plans | NSPCC Learning

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Teaching resources and lesson plans | NSPCC Learning

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We've created a range of free classroom activities and resources to help your school keep children safe.

We provide teaching resources and lesson plans for early years, primary, secondary and special needs settings.

Developed by our experts in child protection and safeguarding, the resources cover the issues schools need - including bullying, sex and relationships and e-safety.

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Teaching resources and lesson plans | NSPCC Learning

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Explore our free teaching resources and lessons plans, to help your school keep children safe. Includes topics such as bullying, online safety and relationships.

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Life Lessons Violence Prevention Course 

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Life Lessons Violence Prevention Course 

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This course has been developed in partnership with UCL and Anglia Ruskin University to develop a set of evidence based materials for schools that empower educators to counter this type of violence.

These materials are based on the latest research into digital harms and image-based sexual violence and aims to support educators to tackle this type of inappropriate behaviour.

The course includes:

CPD for educators and include a certification

5 units which cover:

Introduction to sexual violence prevention

Understanding sexual violence

Educating about gender and sexual violence

Tech facilitated gender based violence

Dealing with disclosures and instances of sexual violence

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Georgia Latief Content Marketing Manager Life Lessons

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Preventing Digital and Sexual Violence - Life Lessons

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Life Lessons has worked with UCL and Anglia Ruskin University to develop a course to empower educators to counter digital and sexual violence.

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Life Lessons Violence Prevention  Resources

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Life Lessons Violence Prevention  Resources

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A 1 hour lesson for use with year 10 secondary students. Copy and edit to suit the needs of your classroom.

A collection of short Life Lessons videos addressing the topics of sexual and digital violence. These videos feature boys discussing the issue, demonstrating openness, and modeling how to engage in meaningful conversations to be part of the solution.

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Georgia Latief Content Marketing Manager Life Lessons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Preventing Digital and Sexual Violence - Life Lessons

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Life Lessons has worked with UCL and Anglia Ruskin University to develop a course to empower educators to counter digital and sexual violence.

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Life Lessons lesson on sexual harassment and respecting girls 

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Life Lessons lesson on sexual harassment and respecting girls 

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We are proud to have partnered with the team from Kent & Medway Violence Reduction Unit to help bring this important issue to light.

Sexual harassment is something many girls and women will unfortunately experience. We hope by highlighting the issue and the need for respect for girls we can help prevent future sexual harassment.

In this lesson we cover:

Key terms for sexual harassment

Real testimonials from girls and women who have experienced sexual harassment

Being an active bystander

Discussion points and activities for your class.

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We partnered with Kent & Medway VRU to create a lesson on sexual harassment and the importance of respect for girls.

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Life Lesson Blogs: Misogyny and Sexual Violence

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Life Lesson Blogs: Misogyny and Sexual Violence

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Misogyny and Sexual Violence Archives - Life Lessons

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DA Champions 2025 & 2026 Training Dates - NIDAS

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We’re delighted to be able to announce our 2025 Domestic Abuse Champions training dates, for those who would like to become Domestic Abuse Champions.
Priority spaces are given to those who work in the Health & Education Sectors.

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01/12/25 Bystander Intervention Programme: Tackling sexist language and sexual harassment in schools and colleges. (paid for)

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01/12/25 Bystander Intervention Programme: Tackling sexist language and sexual harassment in schools and colleges. (paid for)

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Bystander Intervention Programme: Tackling sexist language and sexual harassment in schools and colleges.

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Bystander Intervention Programme on tackling sexist language and sexual harassment in schools and colleges.