YEF calls for action as 1 in 8 teachers report sexual assault between pupils

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is calling for every secondary school, college and alternative provision to have a dedicated lead to prevent violence against women and girls.It comes as a YEF-commissioned survey found that one in eight secondary school teachers reported that a child in their school committed sexual assault against another pupil in the past term. 

The recommendation for anti-violence leads forms part of the YEF’s new Education Policy, Children and Violence report, which sets out eight key proposals to reform and invest in the education system and protect children from violence. 

With Labour pledging to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, and ensure schools tackle misogyny and teach healthy relationships, the charity said the “need for clear, targeted action has never been greater”. 

A separate 2024 YEF survey of 10,000 teenagers revealed that nearly half (49%) of 13–17-year-olds in a romantic relationship that year experienced violent or controlling behaviour, equivalent to 464,345 children in England and Wales, or one in eight teenagers. 

However, the YEF found that many teachers feel “ill-equipped” to address this issue. Over half (55%) of secondary teachers cited a lack of confidence or expertise as the main barrier to delivering PSHE and RSHE lessons, while 31% who teach these have never received training to teach them. 

In addition, 27% said they don’t feel confident teaching students how to leave unhealthy relationships, while 45% lack confidence in teaching how to intervene if they witness a sexual assault. 

To help schools prevent relationship violence, YEF is calling for the government to: 

• Invest £1m to pilot a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Lead training grant across 50 schools, colleges and alternative provision settings.
• Invest £35m in England and £2m in Wales to scale up the initiative if shown to be successful. This could reach all secondary schools and colleges, and 500 AP settings in England, in addition to all secondary schools, colleges and pupil referral units in Wales. 
• Invest £100m and update Pupil Premium to help schools tackle violence
• Provide £100m over five years to deliver evidence-based violence reduction programmes for children most at risk. This could involve extending the Department for Education’s SAFE Taskforces or providing targeted funding to the 200 secondary schools, colleges, alternative provision and Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) settings in areas of England and Wales with the highest levels of violence. 

Jon Yates, CEO of the Youth Endowment Fund, said: “Over the past decade, schools have led the charge in breaking down the stigma around mental health and providing crucial support for young people. With the right resources, training and leadership, they can have a similar transformative impact in tackling violence against women and girls. 

“Netflix’s Adolescence has shone a much-needed spotlight on the toxic influences boys are growing up with. It’s time to act. Research shows that lessons on healthy relationships can make a real difference. The Labour government has the opportunity to make a bold statement that violence against women and girls will not be tolerated.”