'Schools should get in experts to help change attitudes to women'
A Devon charity is calling for more funding to help teach healthy relationships and respect for females in schools.
The chief exec of a county-wide abuse support service says she wants more funding for specialists to teach health relationships in schools.
Caroline Voaden, from Devon Rape Crisis and Support Centre, says attitudes towards women and girls need to change - and schools can help lead that.
She told us: "Healthy relationships is now on the curriculum but schools are up against it, they don't have time, they don't have the expertise.
"You have to approach it very carefully.
"We are funded mainly by the ministry of justice but we don't get any funding from the department for education and that's something that I would like to see change that the department for education gives money to experts in the field who could then support schools in their learning."
In response, a DfE spokesperson said: "Since the new, mandatory Relationships, Sex, and Health Education curriculum launched in 2020, we have supported teachers via a range of training modules, programmes, and non-statutory guidance, so that they can gain the knowledge and confidence to teach the new curriculum and foster open conversations with their students on important issues, such as healthy relationships.
“In addition to this, we’re trialling support and supervision for Designated Safeguarding Leads in over 500 schools across up to 10 local authorities, so that more schools can benefit from specialist support on how to identify and respond to concerns of child sexual abuse.”
They added: "From the 2021-22 academic year, we expect all schools to implement relationships, sex and health education to secondary age pupils and relationships and health education to primary age pupils in full.
"In primary schools, age-appropriate Relationships Education involves supporting children to learn about what healthy relationships are, boundaries and personal space and their importance, as well as how to develop mutually respectful relationships in all contexts, including online.
"In secondary schools, the curriculum also covers content on sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming, coercion, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based violence and FGM, and how these can affect current and future relationships.
"We know that not all teachers are comfortable teaching about sex and relationships, including peer-on-peer abuse, which is why we’re asking schools to dedicate inset day training on delivering the RHSE curriculum and we have also invested over £3 million to back the package of support for RSHE (Relationships, Sex, and Health Education curriculum)."