A stark warning has been issued by the Children's Commissioner for England, who states that schools are failing to protect pupils from a 'pervasive' culture of sexism and misogyny that is 'baked into' the system. Dame Rachel de Souza is demanding a radical overhaul of the current approach, calling for urgent and decisive action.
The Scale of the Problem
Following a major review, the Commissioner's office found that harmful attitudes are not being adequately challenged, leaving many children, particularly girls, feeling unsafe. The report suggests that these issues are often dismissed as 'banter' or go unreported due to a lack of faith in the system.
A Blueprint for Change
Dame Rachel has laid out a comprehensive plan to address the crisis. Key recommendations include:
- Curriculum Reform: Embedding lessons on healthy relationships, respect, and online safety more deeply into the curriculum for all age groups.
- Mandatory Training: Compulsory, high-quality training for all teachers and school leaders on identifying and tackling sexual harassment and misogyny.
- Ofsted Oversight: A new mandate for the schools' inspectorate, Ofsted, to specifically assess and report on how schools are combating these toxic cultures.
- Whole-School Approach: Encouraging schools to adopt a unified strategy that involves parents, carers, and the wider community.
Beyond the Classroom
The report emphasises that the problem extends beyond the school gates, fuelled by easy access to online pornography and harmful content on social media. It calls for a concerted effort to ensure digital literacy and awareness form a core part of the solution.
Dame Rachel de Souza stated that the current situation is 'unacceptable' and that a proactive, national effort is required to dismantle the deep-rooted sexist attitudes plaguing schools. The government is now under pressure to respond to these urgent recommendations.
