From responding to hate crime and recognising honour-based abuse to educating pupils about safe oral sex and the dangers of the human papillomavirus, the job of a teacher has never been more complex, the ATL proved this morning.

Delegates at the teaching union’s annual conference in Liverpool have voted to improve teachers’ ability to handle all of the these difficult issues.

Helen Porter, the ATL’s equalities lead and a full-time secondary teacher, told Tes that the conference showed that the roles and responsibilities of a teacher are “more challenging now than they’ve ever been.”

The conference voted to raise awareness of honour-based abuse and for the union to produce guidance on how to recognise its signs.

According to an ATL survey of 361 members, 28.8 per cent were worried they could be perceived as prejudiced or racist if they report concerns about honour-based abuse and child abuse linked to faith or belief.

While 71 per cent of ATL members say they have training in how to identify and report female genital mutilation, the survey found much lower awareness of other forms of honour-based abuse.

‘Everyone’s responsibility’

Only 48.2 per cent of teachers have received training on the identification of honour-based abuse, and only 13 per have received training on the identification of breast ironing.

Breast ironing is the pummelling of a pubescent girl’s breasts with hard or heated objects in an attempt to flatten them.

Ms Porter, who proposed the motion, said: “Some may think, ‘I’m a teacher and I take my safeguarding responsibilities very seriously, but how many abusive practices can I be expected to identify?’

“Yet we all know that we may be the only adults outside the family who know that child well. It is everyone’s responsibility to share information to safeguard a child.”

Delegates voted to raise awareness about the human papillomavirus (HPV), and expressed concerns that there is not currently a vaccination programme for boys.

HPV, which can be spread through oral sex, can cause a number of different illnesses in both sexes, including throat cancer. However, the NHS currently only vaccinates girls aged 12-13 in schools.

Sree Varshini Rajkumar, who proposed the motion on the issue, said teachers had “a duty of care to the young men in our schools to provide them with the information that they need to choose to get vaccinated”.

Update guidance

Ms Porter, who also spoke during the HPV debate, said: “Safe oral sex is not widely discussed in education settings but many sexually transmitted diseases, including chlamydia, syphillis, HIV and HPV can be transmitted this way.”

She said schools needed to educate young people about the need to use condoms and dental dams - a thin latex sheet which acts as a prophylactic barrier during oral sex.

On hate crime, the conference backed a motion instructing the ATL executive to lobby the government to update guidance on the issue, and to provide continuous professional development and resources to help members deal with it in schools.

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