Written submission from Bryntirion Comprehensive School (SVS0062)

Summary

• This evidence outlines the approach of a comprehensive school in South Wales, in supporting all learners to understand key aspects of gender equality and gender-based violence.
• The strategies as outlined are a direct response to formal and anecdotal outcomes of interactions between and with students, which suggest a shift in terms of young people’s constructions of sexual relationships and gender and sexual ideation.
• Resources provided by external providers do not always reflect the unique contexts of learners.
• The key aspect of working with young people to address gender equality and gender-based violence is enabling all young men to identify that media, societal and cultural stereotypes disempower young men in accessing heathy and satisfying relationships and resources to which they are also entitled.

1. Bryntirion Comprehensive School is a co-educational, green category school in Bridgend, South Wales. In addition to my role as full-time, designated lead and teacher of PSE, the school also directly employs a designated full-time school nurse, with whom I work closely, and two part-time school counsellors. I am responsible for the coordination and delivery of schemes of work, as well as liaison with a range of multi-agency services to support this curriculum, such as Calan DVS (formally Welsh Women’s Aid), Barnardo’s, the Samaritans and South Wales Police, as well as specific, targeted interventions, according to the needs of individuals and groups of students.

2. I believe that the evidence that I have included in this report will be useful to the Select Committee Inquiry in terms of identifying a proactive approach to support all learners within a school setting to identify and address gender equality and gender-based violence. The strategies that have been implemented at Bryntirion Comprehensive School have been included as an example of Best Practice by the Welsh Assembly Government[1]. Aspects of this work were also cited by Leighton Andrews AM in his Key Note Address at the Keeping Learners Safe Conference at Cardiff’s SWALEC stadium in November 2015. Examples of students’ work, as a result of participation in the pilot project that I describe in this document, have also been included in a forthcoming Best Practice Guide for young people on the subject of advocacy and equality, compiled by Emma Renold, Professor in Childhood Studies at Cardiff University, and funded by the NSPCC.

3. The delivery of lessons, which affords me the opportunity for ongoing dialogue with students, as well as a close working relationship with the school nurse and the Deputy Head for Safeguarding, ensures that schemes of work and lesson plans are tailored according to the specific experiences and priorities of groups of learners. Information regarding school policy and sex and relationship education (SRE) are shared with parents by letter, during open sessions and via a Health and PSE Twitter feed, which also includes guidance and resources to initiate dialogue between parents and children.

4. A key aspect of my practice is the routine carrying-out of practice-based research to ensure that the PSE Framework for Key Stages 3-5, as set out by the Welsh Assembly Government, is delivered in accordance to school policy and using resources that meet the needs, context and experiences of the learners.

5. In 2013, I began collating evidence specifically relating to violence against women and children, in response to young people’s contributions during lessons and emerging themes, which suggested to me that a shift was taking place in terms of access to information regarding sex and relationships and problematic content. This coincided with outcomes from my doctoral research into social media and adolescent mental and emotional well-being, which indicated that some young people feel compelled to participate in high-risk technologically-mediated sexual behaviours, in order to attract and maintain the attention of peers.[2] Furthermore, young people intentionally engaged in behaviours such as connecting with strangers via sites including ChatRoulette and Omegle.[3]

6. Whilst planning schemes of work to address issues of risk and abuse, I noticed that a number of resources that were supplied or presented by external agencies to address behaviours such as sexting or dating abuse did not always meet the exact contexts of some young people in school and the wider community. This was problematic, due to the fact that some young people were not able to identify that their own attitudes or behaviours were abusive, or that they were being abused, because their experience did not match that of the resource.

7. Evidence was recorded in the form of students’ work, images of outcomes of collaborative tasks and student feedback and auditing tools. I identified that some male and female students were expressing confusion and concern regarding aspects of sex and relationships. Construction of sexual relationships for a number of male students included aspects of violence and high-risk sexual activity. Girls, however, expressed a desire for a highly idealized romantic relationship, and some disclosed activities, such as their use of creative writing apps such as Wattpad to create and share fictional depictions of sexual and romantic relationships, often including depictions of self-harm and suicide as a response to emotionally-charged encounters or rejection between celebrity figures. Boys and girls expressed equal curiosity regarding non-binary constructions of gender and sexual identity.

8. Findings were shared with members of the senior team, and initiated discussion regarding lesson resourcing, wider policy and training needs. I also shared my concerns, in terms of safeguarding, with the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), representatives of the Police and Crime Commission (PCC) for South Wales and the NSPCC. I later compiled a written report of my findings for the Welsh Government.[4]

9. By way of a proactive and creative response to my research, in June 2014 I began a collaborative project with Ali Franks, who was then employed as Senior Drama Practitioner of Valley and Vale Community Arts. The outcome was #NoBlurredLines, a theatre in education performance and accompanying gendered workshops for 16-18 year olds, focusing on the subject of sexual consent. The project, which performed as a pilot to Year 12 students at Bryntirion Comprehensive School, toured between January and April 2015, involving 576 students across ten schools and educational settings across Bridgend and Newport. The project was evaluated in full.[5] The report includes the finding that:

We observed that in the schools where children came from higher socio-economic backgrounds, the girls were much more informed and educated on their rights and the laws surrounding consent, whereas there was a higher level of aggression from the boys regarding the girls’ role in non-consensual situations. Believing the law to be “unfair” and the play to be “overly feminist”. Interesting however, when in direct dialogue with some of these boys following the workshops
they were more understanding and less “aggressive” regarding their entitlement (Franks, 2015. p.10)


10. In terms of moving forward, I wanted to ensure that all young people at Bryntirion Comprehensive School had the opportunity to develop the skills to negotiate healthy and successful personal relationships. Crucial to this was the development of their ability to be critical and analytical in their use of media, particularly in terms of accessing information regarding sex and relationships. In September 2015, I piloted a scheme of work for all Year 10 students on the subject of Laddism. The course meets the requirements of the PSE guidelines for Key Stage 4, the WAG guidance regarding Violence Against Women and Girls, as well as the criteria for the Individual Project component of the Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate. Students participate in 20 hours of sessions, during which they have the opportunity to consider gender equality in terms of pay, recruitment and responsibilities within the home, as well as political, sport and media representation. 

11. In addition to discussion regarding depiction of gender, Disney and Hollywood, music videos, gaming, social media sites and pornography are also considered in terms of objectification and promoting exploitation and dating abuse. The course then progresses to consider societal messages directed at young men, exploring male body image, muscle dysmorphia, the use of recreational and performance enhancing drugs, socially-acceptable risk taking behaviours, self-harm and suicide. Male students are also invited to consider their own role as allies to women within the home, the workplace, the creative industries and the political sphere.

12. In parallel to the taught element of this project, young people are supported in developing the skills of enquiry, in terms of how to carry out research, consider ethics and evaluate their findings. Whilst the young people are then able to select their own topic related to PSE for investigation, the overwhelming majority of girls chose to carry out a project on the subject of gender representation, gender inequality or gender-based violence. The majority of boys have chosen to investigate gender-based violence within gaming, as well as issues related to male mental health.

13. By way of preparing younger students for this project, as well as developing the school ethos in terms of supporting gender equality and healthy relationships for all, topical short films, such as those used in the #thisgirlcan, the #likeagirl and Ariel’s #sharetheload campaigns are used as starter activities. In addition to discussion regarding the stereotyping of girls, however, the resources are also used to enable students to consider aspects of masculinity which deny young men the right to express their feelings, to ask for help, or to consider their own importance as a care-giver, should they choose to have children of their own.

14. In terms of moving forward, I am in the process of creating a resource in conjunction with, and for delivery by Chief Superintendent Stuart Parfitt of South Wales Police, who will be working with students in Years 7-10 to address the issue of sexting. In response to the context as identified at Bryntirion Comprehensive School, students are being educated to understand why they should not ask others to make and send a sexual image, due to the power imbalance and difference in terms of motivation between girls and boys, rather than focusing on the legal implications for the young person who makes and sends the image.

Recommendations

• Sex and Relationship Education and Gender Equality should be made a compulsory element of the core education curriculum at all key stages across primary and secondary.

• Schools should be supported in carrying out their own research to ensure that policy, strategy and resourcing reflects the constructions of learners.

• All students – not only perpetrators and victims – should have the opportunity to learn about gender-based violence and its multiple contexts, underpinned by a clear understanding of gender equality.

May 2016