Children will be better protected against misogyny as the
Education Secretary sets out a new plan to challenge toxic
influences and tackle harmful attitudes in schools.
Schools will be supported with a practical framework to tackle
misogyny with resources including practical guides, teacher
training and parent support.
The new approach will help to create a culture of respect and
belonging, and embed positive attitudes from classroom teaching
and enrichment activities to pastoral support and interactions
beyond the school gates.
It will help young people build healthy relationships, challenge
harmful attitudes and develop the skills they need to navigate an
increasingly complex online and offline world.
The challenges children face today extend far beyond the
classroom. New data shows that half (50%) of girls reported
hearing misogynistic comments from other pupils during a week at
school in May, while nearly a third (30%) of year 10 and 11
pupils said they had recently heard comments that made them worry
about the safety of girls.
This new strategy builds on the government's strengthened
Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum now being
taught in schools, improving teaching about healthy
relationships, recognising harmful behaviour and navigating
online risks, including deepfakes, and other harmful content.
The announcement is part of the government's wider efforts to
tackle misogyny, including the new partnership with major
employers announced earlier today by the Minister for Women and
Equalities .
To support teachers with the new curriculum, the government is
investing £150,000 in a new RSHE expert advisory group. Bringing
together expert organisations and practitioners, the group will
develop new resources to support teachers delivering sensitive
and complex topics confidently.
Two new programmes have also begun work this week, through the
government's £16 million Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)
Prevention Programme. One programme will work with secondary
pupils to improve attitudes towards healthy relationships, while
the other will working with boys to challenge harmful attitudes
and negative online influences. These pilots will test the most
effective ways to promote healthy relationships and challenge
harmful attitudes before being rolled out to further schools.
The government is also working with the Youth Endowment Fund who
are running a series of programmes with children aged 12 to 16 to
promote respect, build resilience and provide positive role
models.
Young people will also benefit from strengthened teaching on
media literacy through future curriculum reforms, helping them
better understand online content, challenge manipulation and
think critically about what they see online.
