Commenting after the passing of motion 27 at NEU Annual Conference, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Schools and colleges are in a unique position to be able to have influential conversations about topics around sexism and gender stereotypes, from a young age. Education can challenge these stereotypes and behaviours before ideas and incidents escalate.
“By trying to tackle sexism across the life of a school or college, both students and staff can be safer, and empowered to support each other.
“It is positive that teachers have been using and see value in the NEU ‘It’s Not OK’ toolkit for preventing sexism and sexual harassment.
“The rise of sexist and violent ideas online is problematic and young people are very influenced by their peers and the content driven by algorithms. Greater regulation of tech companies and quicker action on removing harmful content is needed.
“Helping young people interrogate the motivation and appeal of online figures can help students to think critically about what they see and increase confidence in reporting harassment.
“The NEU wants to see a curriculum for the modern age with a greater focus on social learning and active citizenship.
“The NEU is also working alongside other unions and the TUC on their programme on ‘Tackling sexual harassment – Building preventative cultures within the trade union movement’.”