Abuse by People Working with Children

Abuse can occur in any organisation where people are in a position of trust and influence over those under 18 years old. Everyone within these organisations needs to know how to act to keep children and young people safe. 

A study by the University of Greenwich on the retrospective sexual misconduct and harassment of students by teachers in secondary schools in Ireland and the UK found:

• 85% experienced sexual harassment;
• 21% experienced unwanted sexual attention;
• 14% experienced at least one form of online sexual harassment;
• few students reported the incidents to the school, and for those that did, no action was taken.

Keeping Children Safe in Education says it’s critical that settings create a culture in which all concerns about people working with children are shared responsibly with the right person, recorded and dealt with appropriately.  

An open and transparent culture should:  

• enable organisations to identify inappropriate, problematic or concerning behaviour early;  
• minimise the risk of abuse; 
• ensure that people working in, or on behalf of, the organisation understand their professional boundaries, act within those boundaries, and in accordance with the ethos and values of the institution. 

Be prepared to think the unthinkable. 

The duty of care  

When children are in your care you have a duty to keep them safe from harm and abuse. 

Every organisation working with children and young people should create a safe environment. This is not just early years, education settings and social care settings, but also community groups, hospitals, sports clubs and religious groups, etc.  

Everyone working in regulated activity should be vetted using safer recruitment processes (for education settings see Part 3 in Keeping Children Safe in Education), including checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). 

No matter how unthinkable, keeping children and young people safe from harm includes protecting them from potential abuse by your colleagues. Everyone undertaking regulated activity should be trained in child protection, be able to spot the signs of harm and abuse and know the appropriate action to take. 

Grooming behaviours 

Grooming doesn’t only focus on children and young people, but also involves the grooming of the victim’s families and the perpetrator’s colleagues to secure access and prevent detection. 

William Vahey, a prolific sex offender, was able to obtain employment at a school in London. The Serious Case Review following the discovery of the abuse that he had perpetrated at the school found that whilst there were aspects of his behaviour that should have alerted senior staff, these were never looked into.  

The review found that Vahey not only groomed children but groomed the staff as well, assuming a great deal of power and influence in the school. Therefore, even though individuals had concerns these were never taken further – despite the review finding some pupils referred to him as ‘paedo Vahey’. Ian Huntley, a perpetrator of domestic abuse, sex offender and murderer, also groomed staff at the school where he worked as a caretaker. 

Perpetrators may aim to present as caring, hardworking staff and will employ tactics to gain power and one-to-one access to children within or outside the organisation.  

Remember, settings such as schools, early years, colleges and care homes provide a regular point of contact with children and young people. Perpetrators can befriend victims with ease. The child’s trust can override the child’s ability to see through deception. The Jeremy Forrest case demonstrates this risk. He groomed his pupil to begin what she believed was a genuine romantic relationship, and easily encouraged her to run away with him. Concerns were also raised about the school’s culture where staff “repeatedly failed to see the evidence of [the teacher’s] misconduct or to hear the concerns raised by students.“ 

Age of consent 

It’s a criminal offence to have a sexual relationship with a child under the age of 16. It’s also an offence for an adult to have a sexual relationship with a young person under the age of 18 if the adult is in a ‘position of trust’. This applies when the young person is under 18 but over the age of consent. (The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2000) 

Culture of vigilance 

Promote an open culture, in which staff may raise concerns without fear of reprisal. Ensure everyone feels comfortable to openly discuss safeguarding issues within (and, where appropriate, outside) the workplace, including online safety. Create a culture where any concern can be raised, and everyone knows it will be taken seriously and investigated. 

The culture of vigilance extends to out-of-school clubs and activities held at your setting run by an external provider. Governance bodies should ensure that the provider is compliant with the requirements of Keeping children safe in out-of-school settings, and that the leasing/transfer of control agreements reflect this.  

Your managing allegations policy and procedures should include that allegations relating to an incident that happened when an individual/organisation was using your premises to run activities for children should be dealt with according to your setting’s procedures, including informing the LADO.  

If you have concerns 

If you have concerns about a colleague, they should be referred to the headteacher or principal in an education setting or to the manager/owner/designated person in other organisations.  

In education settings, if there are concerns about the headteacher or principal, this should be referred to the chair of governors, chair of the management committee, trustees or the proprietor of an independent setting as appropriate.  

If allegations of abuse are made against the headteacher or principal, where the headteacher is also the sole proprietor of an independent school, allegations should be reported directly to the LADO.  

Take action 

• Raise any concerns with the designated person, headteacher or principal, manager, etc., as appropriate. 
• Follow your managing allegations procedures. 
• If necessary, refer directly to the LADO and, if a crime has been allegedly committed, the police. 
• Keep taking action until you know children and young people are safe.