There is a “slow creep” of sexualised language and behaviour among children as young as five in the classroom, teachers have told the Guardian.
Primary and secondary school teachers described the level of sex and relationship education (SRE) available to children as inadequate in response to a call out via the Guardian’s online Teachers Network.
Their evidence, although anecdotal, gives a troubling glimpse into classrooms where teachers are trying but failing to tackle sexual bullying, harassment and other sexual violence experienced by pupils.
One primary school teacher, based in Merseyside, reported a series of disturbing incidents in the classroom, including pupils as young as 10 being sent explicit photos via social media and a sexual assault between two seven-year-old boys. A secondary school supply teacher, who has worked in London and Humberside, reported “several sexual assaults and a possible rape” over seven years of teaching.
Dozens of teachers contacted the Guardian in response to a call out about sexual violence in schools, shortly before the publication of the Commons select committee inquiry into the issue on Tuesday. The inquiry, begun after a study revealed that many incidents went unreported and others were “brushed off” by teachers, is expected to raise the issue of mandatory SRE, which, although widely supported, was rejected by the government last year.
The teachers who spoke to the Guardian echoed concerns raised by witnesses to the inquiry, who called for children as young as four to be taught about sexism and harassment in order to tackle a “ticking timebomb” of sexual bullying at school. All said they would like to see compulsory SRE, as well as specific guidance on how to prevent sexual bullying and violence.
One primary school teacher with 20 years’ experience, who works in Merseyside, said she believed unrestricted access to the internet was partly responsible for the sexualisation of children.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, in order to protect the children involved, she said: “As a primary teacher, I have been appalled by the rise in sexual language and behaviour in children as young as five. Unfiltered access to the internet and age inappropriate computer games is exposing more and more young children to things they are not able to cope with or understand. Many parents haven’t got a clue what is happening.”
The teacher, who works in an area with high levels of deprivation but has seen problems in schools in better off areas, said: “In the 60s and 70s, the TV was the babysitter in the corner but now it’s the internet and the internet is a dangerous place. Children as young as five are being left on their own with access to the internet. They seeing things they should not be exposed to and it’s not being balanced by parents telling them how to keep safe.”
She has noticed a “slow creep” of inappropriately sexual language and behaviour, to the point where it has become “almost commonplace” she said.
“We’ve had children as young as 10 getting on to social media forums, where they can have conversations and then have been sent explicit photographs. We’ve had a sexual assault, involved two seven-year-old boys. One of them said he was copying something on TV. I’ve heard male children say ‘let me touch your boobies’ and you can see the horrified faces on some of the other children. There is a lot of use of the word ‘gay’ as a term of abuse. I’ve had a boy of five or six talk about dildos.”
Age-appropriate SRE was vital, she said, and should start in primary school. “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle but children need to be taught about what is and isn’t OK.”
Teachers said the pressure on them to deliver academic results meant that teaching social skills such as respect and healthy relationships took a back seat, with disturbing results in some schools.
One secondary school supply teacher, who has worked in Humberside and London, said: “During my seven years of teaching, there have been a number of serious sexual assaults, including a possible rape. As a matter of course, this information is not openly shared among staff and, therefore, possibly allowed to continue unchecked.”
He expressed concern over the fall-out after a 14-year-old girl, who broke down in his class, alleged that she had been raped by a fellow classmate. On another occasion, a female pupil accused two boys of forcing her to perform a sex act in a science cupboard in an incident that the supply teacher said was as treated as “teenage high jinks”. Neither incident appeared to be treated appropriately, he said.
“I found it preposterous that the girl who had made the accusation of rape had to leave the class. She ended up leaving the school to go to another school. It blew my mind. There should be policies in place to deal with sexual assault in order for the schools to properly deal with it.”
According to a BBC investigation last September, based on freedom of information requests to police, 5,500 sexual offences were recorded in UK schools over a three-year period, including rapes. A 2014 survey by Girlguiding UK found that 59% of young women aged 13-21 had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year.
A deputy head of a secondary school in Manchester told the Guardian that children needed extra guidance because of the rise in social media and the availability of online pornography.
The deputy head said: “We are living in a different world. In a school, its bell to bell, the day is gone in the blink of an eye. We know it’s important but you do need support to get it right. The whole basis of gender respect and healthy relationships should be on the curriculum. Our PHSE has been taken off the timetable in terms of having a regular weekly or two-weekly slot. It’s now down to six days a year. That’s not enough. If children were graded in how healthy and respectful their relationships [were], as well as maths and English, there would be time on the timetable for it.”
The National Police Chiefs Council, in its evidence to the commons inquiry, highlighted the availability of online pornography and the absence of sex and relationship education in schools as driving factors in altering the behaviour of young people.
One secondary head of PHSE, based in Lincolnshire, told the Guardian that 95% of a class of year 7 boys told her they had accessed pornography online.
Another teacher, who works in a state-funded secondary school for vulnerable children who have been excluded from mainstream school, described her job as a “tug of war”. She said that for excluded or otherwise vulnerable children SRE should be on a par with maths and English. “Our children are classified as a vulnerable because they have been in gangs or because of their family or behavioural issues. There is a lot of violence in their lives. We try to teach respect and feminism but it’s hard because we only have one lesson a week. We need an extra lesson every week, at least.”
“In a school like ours, it’s a tug of war between getting exam results and getting them into college, and teaching them life skills about how to engage in healthy relationships. It is sad because they are the ones [who] need it most.”
Additional reporting by Marianna Spring
