Tailored education resources
Communicate with children and parents and carers guides with our tailored guides for teachers and education professionals.
How can these resources help you?
Schools and professionals in education settings play a pivotal role in identifying and responding to concerns about children and supporting them to be safe.
Half a million children are estimated to experience some form of sexual abuse each year, yet few ever reach the attention of statutory services. If children do tell an adult that they have been sexually abused, they are most likely to tell someone they know and trust, so professionals in education settings must have the confidence and skills to communicate with the children and families they work with.
Keeping children safe in education statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) highlights the importance of identifying concerns early, preventing concerns from escalating, all staff having the knowledge of what to do if a child shares that they have been abused and an understanding of how to reassure victims and that they will be supported and kept safe.
To help, we have developed by professionals a series of free guides which bring together research, practice guidance, and expert input – including from survivors of abuse – specifically for those working in education settings to support response.
Communicating with children: A guide for education professionals
This resource provides guidance on how professionals should respond when they have concerns of sexual abuse, what they can say to children, building an understanding of context, how to support children and advice on responding to harmful sexual behaviour at school.
Communicating with parents and carers: A guide for education professionals
This guide is designed to help professionals understand more about how child sexual abuse affects parents and carers and their children, so that they can support them effectively. Understandably, many teachers say they find it hard to talk to parents when there are concerns, this guide helps to support conversations of this kind and build confidence. It explores the impact of child sexual abuse carried out in different contexts, and how such abuse can affect families differently. It also explains why parents need to receive a supportive response from their child’s school/college, and what this involves.
