AQW 12128/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 17/05/2024
Answered On Date: 28/05/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether information in relation to incidences of sexual violence and harassment which have occurred in schools between pupils is recorded by (i) his Department; and (ii) the Education Authority.

Answer:

The Department of Education (DE) and the Education Authority (EA) do not record information in relation to all incidences of sexual violence and harassment in schools. Record keeping in relation to safeguarding and child protection matters is the responsibility of individual schools and their Boards of Governors (BoGs). BoGs should ensure that the arrangements operated by the school for the retention, management and release of records comply with statutory requirements, including data protection legislation.

The Department. Circular 2020/07 - Child Protection: Record Keeping in Schools provides a framework for managing child protection records in order to ensure schools create and retain reliable records to demonstrate accountability for decisions and actions taken.

The Safeguarding and Child Protection in Schools - A Guide for Schools provides guidance on wider safeguarding and child protection, including harmful sexual behaviour and record keeping in schools where there is a child protection concern. Circular 2022/02 - Children Who Display Harmful Sexual Behaviour provides specific guidance for schools and other educational settings about identification and management of harmful sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people.

The EA’s Child Protection Support Service (CPSS) provides training to designated safeguarding roles within schools and advice on managing a range of child protection concerns, including harmful sexual behaviour, via its helpline. CPSS record details of the types of advice and support sought by schools and provide updates on any areas of concern to inform policy, training needs etc. CPSS also maintain records on the number of Risk Assessment Management Plans developed under the DE circular 2022/02, given their role in supporting the school Principal and Designated Teacher for Child Protection in managing this process.