Reaction to Ofsted review; and the Everyone's Invited website

22nd June 2021

Ofsted's publication of its review on safeguarding policies in state and independent schools and colleges in relation to sexual abuse on 10 June has further emphasised how prevalent sexual abuse is in our education institutions and that steps must be taken to tackle this issue.

Head of 3PB's Education law group Charlotte Hadfield, Sarah Bowen and Alice de Coverley from 3PB’s Education and Employment & Discrimination teams presented a webinar at 5pm on 21st June 2021 to update and discuss in relation to this important area.

You can watch the recording here:

Topics discussed included:

• Ofsted’s review, recommendations and findings.
• The Everyone’s Invited website.
• Current guidance on sexual abuse, PSHE, and safeguarding from the Department for Education.
• What should schools and colleges be doing to prevent sexual abuse, deal with it if it occurs, and improve their systems.
• How to manage the needs of victims, survivors, complainants and alleged perpetrators.
• Consideration of SEND and other protected characteristics.
• The relevance and importance of employer and employee duties in dealing with allegations of sexual abuse.
• What might happen next in terms of future guidance and policy.
• The current stage of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
• Judicial review actions, including CEASE UK’s threatened judicial review against the ICO relating to protecting children from pornography.

This seminar includes reference to themes of sexual violence, rape and harassment which might trigger unwelcome and distressing memories or thoughts for some viewers. Students watching might wish to discuss any concerns with their school or college pastoral leads.

NSPCC has a dedicated helpline for people who have experienced sexual harassment or abuse in education. 

This seminar is not intended to constitute and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice on any specific matter. No liability for the accuracy of the content of this document, or the consequences of relying on it, is assumed by the author. If you seek further information, please contact the 3PB clerking team: [email protected]