VIEWS & OPINION Encouraging the reporting of


sexism and sexual harassment Comment by CIARA LAMB, Specialist Content Editor at The Key


Ofsted's recent review of sexual abuse in schools found a number of reasons why pupils weren't reporting experiences of sexism and sexual harassment. So what steps can schools take to break down some of the barriers to reporting, and create a culture where all pupils feel comfortable raising concerns?


Focus on the importance of reporting 'lower level' incidents To encourage pupils to report 'lower level' incidents, such as sexist name- calling, you'll need to be clear about the types of behaviours that are considered unacceptable. To do this, first list these in your behaviour policy. Next, make it clear to pupils that they should report anything on this list, or anything else that makes them feel uncomfortable. It’s also worth highlighting how calling out this behaviour benefits everyone, including: • Themselves: by stopping the problem and getting the help they need • Other people: by preventing it happening to someone else • Alleged perpetrator(s): by catching problematic behaviour early, as it can help them avoid criminal offences later in life


Call out unacceptable behaviour, as it happens This will show pupils what is and isn’t okay. If the incident is very ‘low level’ – for example, a pupil making a comment that staff believe they don’t fully understand – it may be appropriate to explain why it wasn’t okay and ask the pupil to apologise to the victim on the spot. You could


also use it as an opportunity to encourage a class discussion about appropriate and inappropriate language.


Model appropriate behaviour and language to create a culture of respect Small biases and gender stereotypes can feed into a wider culture of sexism and sexual harassment. This means if staff members do or say things that may be problematic, you'll need to challenge them too. Failing to challenge staff can undermine the rest of the work you’re doing and inhibit pupils from talking to staff about their experiences. Shifting towards gender inclusive language isn’t as simple as outlining


phrases or words your school will no longer use. A good starting point is to provide training to help your staff understand the negative impact gendered language can have.


Be clear on what 'zero-tolerance' means in practice If pupils think any sexually inappropriate behaviour will be punished severely, e.g., with exclusion, they may not report ‘lower level’ incidents because they’re worried about getting their peers in trouble. Explain that while you won’t tolerate the behaviour, you won’t demonise anyone – you’ll support and listen to everyone involved. Make it clear the alleged perpetrator(s) will be offered support, so they can change their behaviour. You'll want to update your behaviour policy to include the sanctions you'll consider using, and how you'll decide which is appropriate.


Clearly communicate your reporting procedures and reassure pupils Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) 2021 explains that your reporting procedures need to be well promoted, easily understood and accessible. To build pupils' confidence in your school's approach to tackling abuse,


you'll need to reassure pupils that all reports will be taken seriously, no matter how 'small', and will be dealt with in line with your procedures. You should also explain how victims will be supported and kept safe. KCSIE 2021 has more detailed guidance on next steps.


Introducing metacognition in primary schools


Comment by GRAHAM COOPER, Chief Marketing Officer at Juniper Education


Metacognition is being widely adopted in higher, further and secondary education, and it’s having a positive impact as this report* from the Education Endowment Foundation shows. There are opportunities for metacognitive


strategies to help younger children too. After all it’s never too early to start developing positive learning behaviours. Metacognition is the process we use to plan, monitor and evaluate our


own learning. It enables us to reflect on which strategies are successful in helping us learn new skills, and provides a toolkit for future learning. My colleague Jane Downes invited some primary school leaders to share practical advice about how they developed metacognition in their schools.


• Metacognition week This initiative is all about getting adults to model metacognitive thinking. The week begins with everyone in school, from the headteacher to the


youngest pupil taking up a brand new skill. Each person chooses their own skill, for instance counting in another language. It didn’t matter what the skill is, as long it’s new to the learner. While learning the skill, everyone monitors whether the strategy they


have chosen is effective. Did it help to post up sticky notes with the numbers written on them, or was it better to repeat the numbers out loud? Once the skill has been mastered, learners reflect on the effectiveness of


the strategy they chose. The adults then ask themselves metacognitive questions such as ‘what


didn’t go well and what could I do differently next time’, or ‘what went well and for which other types of problem can I use this strategy?’ These questions can then be displayed in classrooms to help embed


October 2021


metacognitive thinking across the school.


• Metacognitive assembly Another school leader suggests using assemblies to involve everyone in developing metacognitive strategies. A first assembly is held to introduce one new skill for everyone in the


school to learn. It could be something like circus skills or juggling, taught by an external visitor. The whole school learns that skill together and the planning, monitoring


and evaluation process involved in metacognition is modelled by the adults in the school. A second assembly is then held to share the strategies everyone used to


learn the new skill and to discuss when strategies were helpful and when alternatives were needed.


• Colour coding Metacognition can be built into any lesson by encouraging pupils to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning strategies. However, senior leaders found the most challenging aspect of the


metacognition cycle was encouraging pupils to engage with the monitoring phase. One way to address this is to pause the lesson and ask pupils to mark


their page with a colour dot. A green dot indicates the strategies are helpful and the pupil should continue with the approach. A red dot shows it’s time to leave that strategy behind and try something else. Reflection is at the heart of metacognition, and pupils need to overcome


difficulties in order to develop metacognitive thinking. That’s why whole- school adoption of metacognition is so effective, because pupils see their teachers also going through the process of planning, monitoring and


evaluating strategies. Building metacognitive thinking into the school day needn’t involve big


changes. Getting everyone used to asking themselves metacognitive questions is an enjoyable and effective way to help children become independent, lifelong learners.


* https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence- summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/meta-cognition-and-self-regulation/


www.education-today.co.uk 21


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48