Sexual harassment , intimidation and bullying of staff by students

[Piggywaspushed]

Am I alone in thinking that this is rarely dealt with well in schools. What's your experience? What do you think could, should, ought to be done and is this , in fact, ever done?

I feel like if we can't protect and support our female staff, how are we ever going to help our students?

Not prompted by anything that has happened to me personally (recently, at least!). Genuinely pondering.

[BobbinThreadbare123]

No, it's brushed under the carpet. It happened to me and I was the one who got told off. Boy suffered no consequences at all. It was one of the many factors in leaving that school and then leaving teaching altogether.

[Piggywaspushed]

Yes, that's sadly what I feel. A bit like discussions surrounding behaviour : 'it comes with the territory. Man up.'. Literally.

At my place, the default response would likely be to tell the victim to set a detention (sitting herself in a room with the perpetrators) and for the victim to contact parents.

[ASauvignonADay]

This literally never happens at our school. Or I can't remember the last time at least. I think it would be taken incredibly seriously! Definitely not normal if it's happening regularly.

[Piggywaspushed]

Never? Seriously? I do find that a bit hard to believe... I think my SLT would say the same because they have a faulty understanding of sexual intimidation and bullying...

[TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross]

I'm not aware of sexual harassment of female staff by students having happened where I teach. However, when a student told a female member of staff to fuck off, that was taken seriously - suspension, if I recall correctly.

[ASauvignonADay]

@Piggywaspushed give some examples, maybe I don't understand what you mean but I really do not think it happens and I'm a safeguarding lead so it would come to my attention!

[greathat]

I've worked somewhere e like that. Leave. Nothing will get better

[eltsihT]

I reported an incident where a boy was very sexual towards me, about 1 month before I went on maternity leave.

He was removed from my class and I did not have to teach him again. I am pretty sure he was suspended too.

He had left school by the time I returned from maternity leave so there wasn’t any need for a follow up with me.

Sadly after he left school he went on to rape someone and is now serving a jail sentence. I do wonder if there were missed opportunities to help him and prevent his crime.

[Piggywaspushed]

sauvignon, boys staring female staff down , boys being aggressive to female staff, asking personal question , commenting in invasive ways on relationships , on pregnancies. Boys shouting at female staff in the way they would shout at their own mothers. I could go on. Boys use their height and stature to intimidate frequently at my school.

[Piggywaspushed]

great as Is aid, it's not generally me that is the victim, as I tend to put these young men back in their boxes. I am just frustrated that it is not accepted as an issue within my school.

[Piggywaspushed]

See newcross, very little would happen as a result of that kind of behaviour in my place.

[noblegiraffe]

When you said sexual harassment I figured not at my school, but boys being sexist and behaving differently to female teachers than to males? Absolutely. I’m a bit fed up of behing pushed past in the corridor by boys ignoring my instructions to turn around only for them to obey the male teacher a bit further down.

Ages ago I sent a long email about the sexist culture among our male students to the head of behaviour (male PE teacher, obvs). Never even got an acknowledgement.

[Piggywaspushed]

That's kind of why my title is so wordy : sexual harassment , I guess, is a more specific (and serious) thing which would probably be taken up by a DH. Sexual bullying and intimidation and the allied 'banter culture' are rife in many secondary schools.

I am not surprised at all by your final paragraph (including the bit in brackets!) I swear I haven't been shortlisted for behaviour related SLT or even middle leadership/advisory posts because I am not male (an unconscious bias , I think, rather than a conscious decision) and this perpetuates issues.

[ASauvignonADay]

@Piggywaspushed thanks for clarification. I don't doubt it's an issue at some schools, but I genuinely don't think it is at ours - and I am hot on that kind of thing! I'm a small female and most boys are respectful. Some even respond in a more respectful manner to woman - I've had a few boys who have behaved in a more threatening way towards men.

[ASauvignonADay]

It's a culture thing that I think can and should be crushed