Ofsted's chief inspector has suggested that male pupils sending naked photographs of themselves to female classmates is not a safeguarding issue for schools.
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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 replied: "I have talked recently, for example, 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 an image by a boy of…a photograph of their naked selves.
"Most of the girls laugh that off and think it’s contemptible. They would not want to be pulled into sort of safeguarding procedures by reason of being sent a photograph that they think is simply contemptible."
Mr Mearns then asked: "Is it not a safeguarding issue for the boy who sent the photograph as well - in terms of their behaviour, and what else they’re likely to be getting up to?"
Sex abuse in schools: Girls being sent naked photos 'common', says Ofsted
Ms Spielman replied: "There’s a spectrum here and the advisers we had on the reference group were really helpful on this – in sexual misconduct of every kind there is a spectrum from the truly evil and appalling at one extreme all the way down to things which are essentially clumsy explorations of emerging adolescent sexuality."
www.tes.com/news/ofsted-nude-pupil-pictures-not-safeguarding-issue
I'm not sure what to say really. I guess it may have been badly reported, or safeguarding means something different to teachers than it does to laypeople?
But it seems to be saying that sending nude photographs is just a "clumsy exploration of emerging adolescent sexuality", not something to be concerned about. She seems to have no understanding that sexual abuse often starts at the lower end of the spectrum she describes, and then escalates. S
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TES: Ofsted: Nude pupil pictures not a safeguarding issue
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ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 16/06/2021 08:10
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