Education Secretary unveils plan for schools to tackle misogyny

Children will be better protected against misogyny as the Education Secretary sets out a new plan to challenge toxic influences and tackle harmful attitudes in schools.

Schools will be supported with a practical framework to tackle misogyny with resources including practical guides, teacher training and parent support.

The new approach will help to create a culture of respect and belonging, and embed positive attitudes from classroom teaching and enrichment activities to pastoral support and interactions beyond the school gates.

It will help young people build healthy relationships, challenge harmful attitudes and develop the skills they need to navigate an increasingly complex online and offline world.

The challenges children face today extend far beyond the classroom. New data shows that half (50%) of girls reported hearing misogynistic comments from other pupils during a week at school in May, while nearly a third (30%) of year 10 and 11 pupils said they had recently heard comments that made them worry about the safety of girls.

This new strategy builds on the government’s strengthened Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum now being taught in schools, improving teaching about healthy relationships, recognising harmful behaviour and navigating online risks, including deepfakes, and other harmful content.

The announcement is part of the government’s wider efforts to tackle misogyny, including the new partnership with major employers announced earlier today by the Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson.

To support teachers with the new curriculum, the government is investing £150,000 in a new RSHE expert advisory group. Bringing together expert organisations and practitioners, the group will develop new resources to support teachers delivering sensitive and complex topics confidently.

Two new programmes have also begun work this week, through the government’s £16 million Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Prevention Programme. One programme will work with secondary pupils to improve attitudes towards healthy relationships, while the other will working with boys to challenge harmful attitudes and negative online influences. These pilots will test the most effective ways to promote healthy relationships and challenge harmful attitudes before being rolled out to further schools.

The government is also working with the Youth Endowment Fund who are running a series of programmes with children aged 12 to 16 to promote respect, build resilience and provide positive role models.

Young people will also benefit from strengthened teaching on media literacy through future curriculum reforms, helping them better understand online content, challenge manipulation and think critically about what they see online.