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This article considers how schools are addressing harmful sexual behaviour occurring between students. In the context of policy and school inspection, driven by student disclosures of sexual harm, schools are being required to evidence responses to sexual harassment and abuse within and beyond school. Presenting findings from 14 school audits the article highlights evidence of the levers where schools claim they are achieving well and those where they self-assessed lowest. The findings are based on analysis of 14 school assessments. The findings evidence that schools more readily develop statutory policy processes and are less equipped to address cultural elements driving harmful and unsafe environments. The findings have implications for how schools are supported to address sexual harm and what drives changes in this area.

Introduction: Interventions to support behaviour change in people living with chronic health conditions increasingly use patient groups as the mode of delivery, but these are often designed without consideration of the group processes that can shape intervention outcomes. This article outlines a new approach to designing group‐based behaviour change interventions that prioritizes recipients' shared social identity as group members in facilitating the adoption of established behaviour change techniques (BCTs). The approach is illustrated through an example drawn from research focused on people living with severe obesity. Methods: A prioritization process was undertaken in collaboration with stakeholders, including behaviour change experts, clinicians, and a former patient to develop an evidence‐based, group intervention informed by the social identity approach to health. Three phases of development are reported: (1) identification of the health problem; (2) delineation of intervention mechanisms and operationalization of BCTs for group delivery and (3) intervention manualization. The fourth phase, intervention testing and optimization, is reported elsewhere. Results: A group‐based behaviour change intervention was developed, consisting of 12 group sessions and 3 one‐to‐one consultations. The intervention aimed to support the development of shared social identity among recipients, alongside the delivery of evidence‐based BCTs, to improve the likelihood of successful intervention and health outcomes among people living with severe obesity. Conclusions: A manualized intervention, informed by the social identity approach to health, was systematically designed with input from stakeholders. The development approach employed can inform the design of behavioural interventions in other health contexts where group‐based delivery is planned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of how to tackle abuse through adolescent sexual image sharing is an increasing concern for schools, yet little is known about how they should respond. In this article, I review school responses to this phenomenon. The findings presented are taken from a mixed-methods study into harmful sexual behaviour carried out in seven educational settings across four local authorities in England. Using data from focus groups, observations, case reviews and reviews of policies and procedures I present findings on abuse through image sharing including suggestions for safer school environments. I argue that responses to adolescent sexting must move beyond risk aversion and challenge the very socio-cultural systems that enable abuse through sexual image sharing. Achieving this requires responses that recognise developing adolescent sexuality within a digital age and understanding what works in practice for schools and young people. Concurrently, schools have responsibility to challenge socio-cultural norms underlying harmful sexual practices between young people.