Schools told not to treat harassment as ‘banter’

Schools should not dismiss classroom harassment as “banter” or “boys being boys”, officials said, as the Government issued its first ever guidelines for tackling sexual misconduct in schools.

The Department for Education’s guidance focuses on sexual violence and sexual harassment between children at school and college, and is aimed at governing bodies, head teachers and principals.

It advises that schools not dismiss sexual harassment as “banter”, “part of growing up”, “just having a laugh” or “boys being boys”. It adds that school is the ideal place to “unlearn” sexism and that “tolerating sexist behaviours risks normalising them”.