Understanding unwanted sexual comments, touching, and online harassment between pupils, and schools' duties under KCSIE Part 5.
Sexual Harassment is unwanted sexual behaviour among pupils, such as sexual comments, jokes, touching, or online abuse, that violates a child's dignity and sense of safety.
Sexual harassment in schools refers to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature — including verbal comments, online messages, unwanted physical contact, and sharing of sexual images — that violates a child's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, or humiliating environment. KCSIE Part 5 places clear duties on schools to prevent sexual harassment and to respond effectively when it occurs. The Everyone's Invited campaign highlighted how widespread sexual harassment and abuse in schools is, leading to increased focus from Ofsted and the DfE.
Sexual harassment between pupils can occur in corridors, classrooms, playgrounds, and online. It includes sexual comments, jokes, and gestures; unwanted physical contact; sharing of intimate images; and online sexual harassment via social media or messaging apps. KCSIE is clear that sexual harassment, even where it appears low level, must not be ignored or normalised. Repeated or serious incidents may constitute sexual violence.
In your child's behaviour
On their device
Deliver a whole-school approach to sexual harassment prevention
KCSIE and Ofsted expect schools to take a proactive, whole-school approach. This includes clear policies, staff training, age-appropriate RSE, and a culture in which harassment is not normalised or tolerated.
Respond to all incidents, including 'low level' concerns
Schools must not dismiss sexual harassment as 'banter' or 'part of growing up'. Every concern should be logged, assessed, and responded to. Patterns of seemingly minor incidents may indicate a more serious underlying problem.
Engage pupils in developing a positive school culture
Student voice is important. Schools should involve pupils in developing expectations around respectful behaviour and provide clear, accessible ways to report harassment anonymously if needed.
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Myth: It's just banter, or part of growing up — schools don't need to make a big deal of it.
Fact: This is exactly the attitude that let the problem grow. Ofsted's 2021 review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges found that some teachers and leaders were dismissing sexual harassment as 'banter' or 'messing around', and that this normalisation was a key reason pupils didn't bother reporting it. Statutory guidance for schools (KCSIE) is explicit that sexual harassment must never be brushed off as 'banter', 'part of growing up' or 'boys being boys' — every report should be taken seriously, recorded, and followed up.
Myth: If it happens in a group chat, on the bus, or outside school hours, it's not really the school's problem.
Fact: Schools' safeguarding duties don't stop at the school gate. KCSIE Part 5 expects staff to respond to sexual harassment and sexual violence between pupils wherever it happens — including online, out of school hours, or off the school premises — because it can still affect a child's welfare and safety once they're back in school. If your child tells you something happened outside school hours, it's still worth reporting to the school as well as, where relevant, the police.
Myth: Sexual harassment at school is something that only happens to girls.
Fact: Ofsted's 2021 review found that both girls and boys reported experiences of sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual comments and being sent explicit images — though girls' experiences were markedly more frequent, and boys were sometimes more likely to describe similar experiences to each other as 'banter'. Assuming it's only a 'girls' issue' risks boys' experiences being missed or minimised, and can make it harder for boys to come forward.
Before the move to secondary school, help your child build the basics: that unwanted comments about someone's body or looks, name-calling, or unwanted touching are never OK, whoever does it, and that 'just joking' doesn't make it acceptable. Encourage them to tell a trusted adult if something feels wrong, and reassure them they won't be in trouble for speaking up.
As pupils start secondary school, sexual comments, jokes at someone's expense, or unwanted touching can start to appear in corridors, changing rooms and group chats. Make clear this is never 'just banter', and that schools are required to take reports seriously and act on them. Encourage your child to tell a trusted member of staff, and let them know they can come to you first if that feels easier.
Peer pressure, group chats and image-sharing become bigger factors at this age. Talk to your teenager about what unwanted sexual attention looks like online and in person, that they should keep — not delete — messages or images if something happens so they can be reported, and that the school's Designated Safeguarding Lead is there to help, not to judge them for what happened.
The same duty to take sexual harassment seriously applies in sixth forms and colleges, not just school-age settings. Encourage older teenagers to speak up for themselves and for friends who may be targeted, and make sure they know how to report to their institution as well as to the police (101, or 999 if it's happening now) if something crosses into a criminal matter.
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