I spent last Saturday with a growing and enthusiastic group of women who want to empower and support one another in the workplace. WomenEd also wants to see leadership parity in a profession that is 75 per cent female.
The session I took part in was entitled “Finding and using your voice” - or “Finding and using your inner megaphone”, as I dubbed it. I was not being funny then and I am not being funny now: women in schools have to speak louder because there are issues that affect them disproportionately.
In education, we simply cannot ignore the world and the society around us. It’s impossible to do: it creeps into every school, every classroom.
What does it say when the Republican nominee for president of the United States, the most important job in the western world, is exposed for boasting about sexually assaulting women? If he can say “Grab ’em by the pussy” and not get unanimously condemned, then surely anything goes.
What does it say when in this country a complainant in an allegation of rape whose identity is protected by law is nevertheless named and vilified on social media just because the accused is a high-profile footballer?
What does it say when we are fully aware of the destructive effects of openly available pornography on young people but do nothing about it?
Against such a backdrop, it comes as no surprise that the ATL teaching union is warning of a rise in the number of female teachers being subjected to sexual harassment in school, including by their pupils.
Sexual harassment ‘has become acceptable’
“It’s a great cause of concern,” said Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL. “Sexual harassment in too many places has become acceptable. These actions can ruin lives.”
The widespread use of smartphones has been blamed for much of the problem. One teacher has complained of feeling “violated” after boys used their phones to take photographs up her skirt and then circulated them. She said: “I’m mostly worried about keeping the authority in the class, and to be honest I’m feeling a little violated/threatened by the boys.”
Let’s be clear here: boys have always tried to look up girls’ skirts. It’s natural sexual curiosity that’s usually sorted with a good telling-off by an adult. The difference here is scale (the teacher in question said she was resigned to the fact that her “a*** is likely to be all over Snapchat by now”), a lack of boundaries and, most importantly, a total lack of respect: all females, regardless of age, are now seen as fair game.
Senior leaders have a duty to ensure dignity in the workplace. A NASUWT survey found that only a quarter of schools had an internet or social media policy that made specific reference to protecting staff from abuse. That’s just not good enough.
Schools can take steps to stop the worst excesses of society seeping in
Despite everyone’s best efforts to make them do so, schools cannot cure the ills of society; society must heal itself. But schools can take steps to stop its worst excesses seeping in.
The children involved in the “upskirting” incident were punished by being excluded for a period of time and not allowed to bring their phones on site until Christmas.
Is that enough? No. Whatever the merits of smartphones in education, the wellbeing and dignity of staff is far more important. Heads cannot control wider society but they can, and should, control their school environment. Unless they can guarantee a safe and respectful teaching space, they should insist that pupils’ phones be left at the door.
Ann Mroz is digital publishing director and editor at TES. She tweets as @AnnMroz
