Elearning
Provider: NSPCC
published: £35.00 per person
Are you aware of the differences between healthy sexual behaviours and those which are of concern? Do you know what to do if a child or young person has experienced sexual harassment and abuse or is displaying sexualised behaviour? Get the knowledge and skills you need to recognise, report and record sexualised behaviour concerns with our elearning courses for primary or secondary schools.
Provider: NSPCC
published: £9.50
Online training to support secondary school teachers to deliver inclusive sex and relationships education. We want all young people to grow up understanding healthy behaviours in relationships and to get help from a trusted adult if they need it. This elearning course is part of our Talk Relationships service that supports people working in secondary education to overcome any challenges they may face when delivering sex and relationships education.
Provider: CPD Online College
published: £20.00
In this Domestic Violence course you will learn of the existing legislations surrounding domestic violence in order to protect individuals. You will consider the key elements of domestic violence in relation to the behaviours that are experienced by both the abuser and the victim.
Podcasts
Using trauma-informed and therapeutic practices with children and young people. In January 2020, we published a series of podcast episodes on assessing and preventing harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). Our newly published three-part series focuses on direct work with children and young people displaying HSB and using trauma-informed and therapeutic practices.
Domestic abuse experts from the NSPCC Helpline discuss what workplaces can do to provide support to parents and children experiencing domestic abuse. The discussion covers topics including how to create a workplace domestic abuse policy, the indicators of domestic abuse and what managers can do to support colleagues experiencing domestic abuse or other safeguarding concerns.
It can be hard to determine what healthy, problematic, inappropriate or serious sexual behaviour looks like in schools, particularly where there are limited resources available. This is where specialist provision and services can help. They can support you in assessing the young person who has displayed sexually harmful behaviour and help you to understand the nature and extent of the behaviour.
According to new research by the children’s commissioner for England, one in 10 children have watched pornography by the time they are nine years old. And teachers say the effects are being felt in schools. So what makes young people vulnerable to this kind of content, and what impact might it have on their brains and behaviour?
Find out how to improve your practice around domestic abuse when working with children and families. In this episode, we discuss the complexities of domestic abuse and why it is a safeguarding and child protection issue. We talk about the main themes that emerged from our learning from case reviews briefing on domestic abuse and share what we see in practice.
NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode on the effects of domestic abuse on children, young people and babies. The episode features representatives from Childline and the NSPCC Helpline discussing: what children are telling Childline about domestic abuse and how this differs from what adults are telling the Helpline; the ways in which the effects of domestic abuse may present through a child’s behaviour; the importance of listening to the voice of the child; and safeguarding actions for professionals who identify domestic abuse.
In this podcast episode, actor and Childline ambassador Natalie Dormer is joined by two teachers to talk about what it’s like to teach sex and relationships education. They discuss the challenges teachers may face when teaching SRE, as well as practical solutions to these problems.
Video
Websites
Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. You can talk about anything. Whether it’s something big or small, our trained counsellors are here to support you. Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. Get help and advice about a wide range of issues, call us on 0800 1111, talk to a counsellor online, send Childline an email or post on the message boards.
Are you concerned about a young person or child’s sexual behaviour around other children? Does a child you know do or say things you feel are inappropriate or that make you uncomfortable? Has a child you know taken sexual exploration too far? Or do you know a child with sexual behaviour problems online?
Fully Human is the research and development arm of the PSHE Association. It’s our place to think, stretch out and join the dots between this fast changing world and what might best support children and young people to navigate it.
How long will it take you to step in? Violence against women and girls starts with words. Watch this interactive scene of a group of friends hanging out and click the ‘Maaate’ button when you think it’s time to call out their behaviour.
“Our confidential helpline is available for male victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence across the UK as well as their friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues and employers. We provide an information, support and signposting service to men suffering from domestic abuse from their current or former wife, partner (including same-sex partner) or husband. This can range from physical violence or object throwing to abuse such as constant bullying or insults.”
Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) is developmentally inappropriate sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people which is harmful or abusive. Peer-on-peer sexual abuse is a form of HSB where sexual abuse takes place between children of a similar age or stage of development.
Child to Parent Abuse is complex and misunderstood – partly because it has historically been largely ignored in favour of a focus on intimate partner abuse, partly because it is drastically under-reported, and because there are lots of misconceptions around the subject. Some parents may not recognise what is happening to them as abuse – but the behaviours they are experiencing are abuse, and they are not okay.
Supporting those who have experienced violence and abuse is at the core of everything we do. No matter what your experience – domestic violence, sexual violence, ‘honour’ based violence, forced marriage, FGM, human trafficking or modern slavery – we are here to support you.
The digital world is shaping the way young people develop their relationships on and offline. If used correctly, it can be a great tool to establish and maintain healthy relationships. For young people, when it comes to dating online it isn’t just about dating apps. It’s about how relationships develop on social media and through private messaging.
The A-Z of Consent is free to download and share. The Consent Coalition is a group of organisations within Nottingham who are working together to raise awareness of the importance of consent, banish myths about rape and sexual violence, and encourage survivors and victims to access support and report any sexual violence.
The Mix is the UK’s leading support service for young people. We are here to help you take on any challenge you’re facing – from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. Talk to us via our online community, on social, through our free, confidential helpline or our counselling service.
Documents
Author: Gov.UK
Published: 11-03-2024
This non-statutory advice aims to support designated safeguarding leads (or equivalents) and senior leadership teams in education settings in England in responding effectively to incidents involving the sharing of nudes and semi-nudes. (Updated March 2024)
Author: Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse
Published: 01-01-2023
“Our ‘Key messages from research’ papers aim to provide succinct, relevant information for frontline practitioners and commissioners. They bring together the most up-to-date research into an accessible overview, supporting confident provision of the best possible responses to child sexual abuse. This paper focuses on children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour, and is an update of the previous 2018 version.”
Author: South West Grid for Learning/Marie Collins Foundation
Published: 01-01-2023
The purpose of this document is to help increase understanding of the type of incidents of harmful sexual behaviour. These FAQs are based on cases that have been reported to the Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service (HSBSS) and aim to provide some guidance on what to do should you be dealing with something similar. This document can also be a useful resource to share with staff to help raise awareness of harmful sexual behaviour.
Author: SWGFL
Published: 01-01-2023
The purpose of this document is to support schools in creating a good foundation for understanding, recognising, and responding to incidents of harmful sexual behaviour. The policy template should be adapted to suit your specific setting and should be referred to when responding to any incidents of harmful sexual behaviour to ensure a consistent and safe approach across the school community.
Classroom Resources
Gender based violence
Category: Domestic Violence, Healthy Relationships, Violence
Audience: KS3, KS4
Developed by: Bold Voices
Duration (minutes): 10-30
Keywords: gender, harassment
An engaging introductory lesson exploring the definition of gender based violence and highlighting some key experiences including public sexual harassment, upskirting and victim blaming.
CEOP Talks Relationships is a 6 week campaign helping teachers to educate and support young people in building healthy relationships.
Category: Healthy Relationships, Online Safety
Audience: KS3
Developed by: CEOP
Duration (minutes): 60 x 6
Keywords: Rights, healthy relationships, Nudes (Sexting), law, consent
Week 1 – Starting new relationships
Week 2 – Rights in relationships
Week 3 – Healthy sexual experiences
Week 4 – Sharing nudes and semi-nudes
Week 5 – The internet’s impact on relationships
Week 6 – Creating positive attitudes and cultures
It will also signpost you to a range of our free resources that you can use with young people, parents and carers, and colleagues, that will help to promote healthy relationships and tackle online sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and non-consensual nude image sharing amongst secondary aged young people.
These lessons and guidance will give teachers and schools the confidence to teach about consent effectively from key stage 1 right through to key stage 5/post-16, and cover everything from the law on consent to key considerations for safe, effective teaching.
Category: Healthy Relationships
Audience: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5
Developed by: PSHE Association
Duration (minutes): 30-60
Keywords:
Accompanying teacher guidance covers everything from the law on consent to key considerations for safe, effective teaching. These materials will give you everything you need to plan, sequence and teach this statutory RSHE content within a PSHE education programme tailored to your pupils’ needs.
Understanding healthy and mutually respectful relationships
Category: Exploitation, Healthy Relationships, Online Safety
Audience: KS3, KS4
Developed by: CEOP/NCA
Duration (minutes): 3 x 60
Keywords:
The Exploited film and accompanying lessons aim to help young people understand healthy and mutually respectful relationships; including what healthy and unhealthy features look like in both online and offline contexts and how to report concerns of abuse.
Defining a healthy relationship
Category: Healthy Relationships
Audience: KS4
Developed by: PSHE Association
Duration (minutes): 4 x 60
Keywords: healthy, unsafe, family, abuse
A resource for schools preparing for statutory RSE from September, the lessons will support your students to recognise the qualities of healthy relationships, exhibit healthy relationship behaviours, identify the features of unhealthy or unsafe relationships/family situations and know how to seek help if they or others are facing abusive circumstances. (Requires log in)
Online pornography, healthy relationships and body image
Category: Healthy Relationships, Online Safety
Audience: KS3
Developed by: Childnet
Duration (minutes): 3 x 45
Keywords: body image, healthy, pornography
With Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) becoming statutory in all schools from September 2020, schools need practical, thoughtful and helpful resources to help them teach RSE. Myth vs Reality, our new PSHE Toolkit for 11-14s explores the topics of online pornography, healthy relationships and body image. This toolkit is an extension of our hugely successful practical PSHE toolkit ‘Crossing the Line,’ which aims to generate discussions amongst young people aged 11-14 about their experiences online.
14 free lesson plans developed by the NSPCC and PSHE Association. With comprehensive teacher guidance, full lesson plans, resource sheets and a slide deck for each lesson, you'll have everything you need to address these vitally important topics with confidence.
Category: Healthy Relationships
Audience: KS3, KS4
Developed by: NSPCC/PSHE Association
Duration (minutes): 14 x 45-60
Keywords:
Through relevant, age-appropriate content, these lessons help young people to: grow up understanding healthy and harmful relationships; recognise their right to be safe, heard and respected; and know how to get help if they need it.
KS3 and KS4 lesson plan pack
Category: Healthy Relationships, Wellbeing
Audience: KS3, KS4
Developed by: Gov.UK/NHS
Duration (minutes): -60
Keywords:
Developed with teachers and NHS-approved, this lesson helps students describe the qualities of positive friendships, practise skills to be a good friend and learn how they can find support and advice. Includes a short video to prompt discussion.
Better understanding of healthy relationships, and how to challenge unhealthy behaviours
Category: Healthy Relationships
Audience: KS3
Developed by: CEOP
Duration (minutes): 8 x 60
Keywords: values, rights, stereotypes, bystander
The resource aims to help young people develop a better understanding of healthy relationships, and how to challenge unhealthy behaviours and social norms, to better protect them from harm through child on child abuse, both off and online. The resource is designed to be delivered through structured sessions in education settings. In schools, the lesson plans should be embedded into the Relationships and Sex Education curriculum. The lessons can be delivered in consecutive weeks, or separately to fit within a wider scheme of work on healthy, respectful relationships. (PSHE Association approved)
Lawyer-led workshops
Category: Healthy Relationships
Audience: KS3, KS4
Developed by: Integrate UK
Duration (minutes): 60
Keywords: consent, rights
“We deliver hour-long lawyer-led workshops to 11-18-year-olds on consent, including the legal definition of consent, how to identify consent, the ages of consent, bystander intervention, the offences of rape, sexual assault and ‘sexting’, responding to disclosures and ways to obtain help.”
This lesson pack explores how young people can recognise unsafe situations when in public spaces, take care of their peers on nights out, and challenge attitudes which may lead to unsafe decisions.
Category: Domestic Violence, Healthy Relationships
Audience: KS4, KS5
Developed by: Thames Valley Police
Duration (minutes): 60
Keywords:
The content has been informed by focus groups made up of young people aged 14-16 and mirrors the broader three pillars of the Thames Valley campaign:
News
27/01/2025: Domestic abuse tsar calls on police to recognise victim rights of child witnesses
The police are currently failing to recognise the victim rights of children who witness violence and abuse in their home, according to the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales.
04/12/2024: Murdered teen’s mum fears more lives will be lost
The mother of a teenager killed by her ex-boyfriend fears others are likely to die if more is not done to tackle abuse and violence in young people’s relationships.
04/11/2024: Home Office to examine domestic violence age thresholds after teenager’s murder
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to “look at” lowering the age at which a person can be classed as a victim of domestic abuse after the murder of a 15-year-old girl by her ex-boyfriend.
04/11/2024: Mother of girl, 15, stabbed to death by boyfriend calls for teenage domestic abuse law change
Under current laws, the victim and the perpetrator must be over 16 for it to be deemed a crime of domestic abuse.
13/09/2024: Inspectors to probe agencies response to child victims of domestic abuse
Joint targeted area inspections to examine how councils, NHS, the police and probation work together in response to domestic abuse, particularly where victims are unborn or young children.
28/08/2024: ‘We make mothers responsible, but don’t work with men’: Brid Featherstone on child protection
Professor Brid Featherstone reflects on her three decades of research into domestic abuse and child protection and why she feels social work needs to become more poverty aware.
08/05/2024: Invest £50mn in evaluating child domestic abuse support, ministers urged
The government is being urged to invest £50mn in evaluating support for child victims of domestic abuse as Foundations warns that more children could experience abuse than start primary school this year.
07/05/2024: Domestic abuse: I was quite controlling, things needed to change,
“I just thought it was normal,” says Peter looking back at how volatile he used to be with his partner, Amy.
28/02/2024: ‘State of crisis’ for domestic abuse services because of cuts, warns commissioner
Reductions already being made to domestic abuse provision due to funding shortfalls and uncertainty, watchdog tells levelling up secretary Michael Gove.
10/01/2024: Critical Success Factors For Working With Domestic Abuse Perpetrators
Nicole Renehan & David Gadd set out key ingredients for effective work with domestic abuse perpetrators.
We define domestic abuse as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer. It is very common. In the vast majority of cases it is experienced by women and is perpetrated by men.
Domestic abuse can include, but is not limited to, the following:
- Coercive control (a pattern of intimidation, degradation, isolation and control with the use or threat of physical or sexual violence)
- Psychological and/or emotional abuse
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Financial or economic abuse
- Harassment and stalking
- Online or digital abuse
(Women’s Aid)
Cornwall
Cornwall Domestic Abuse Helpline (24hrs)
01872 225629
Victim Support for Devon and Cornwall
0300 303 0554
Cornwall Women’s Refuge Trust (24hrs)
01872 225629
Esteem (support for male victims)
01872 321546
Plymouth
Plymouth Domestic Abuse Service
01752 252033
Victim Support for Devon and Cornwall
0300 303 0554
Devon
Devon’s Domestic Abuse Helpline
0345 155 1074
Victim Support for Devon and Cornwall
0300 303 0554
North Devon Against Domestic Abuse
01271 321946
Torbay
Are you ok?
(Torbay domestic abuse service)
01803 698869
Victim Support for Devon and Cornwall
0300 303 0554
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it.
In general terms, it manifests itself in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing:
- intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide);
- sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
- human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
- female genital mutilation; and
- child marriage.
(United Nations 2019)
“Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) is developmentally inappropriate sexual behaviour which is displayed by children and young people and which may be harmful or abusive. It can be displayed towards younger children, peers, older children or adults. It’s harmful to the children and young people who display it, as well as those it is directed towards.”
(NSPCC Briefing 2017)
Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which supports children and young people exposed to domestic abuse.
Operation Encompass is a Trauma Informed and Trauma Sensitive charity. We acknowledge and understand the impact of Domestic Abuse as an Adverse Childhood Experience(ACE)
Operation Encompass mitigates against the damage caused by exposure to Domestic Abuse and other ACE’s.
At last there is someone I can talk to
At last there is someone I can talk toAre children experiencing domestic abuse a vulnerable group?
A Handbook for Schools
