Over 1,500 Derby school children now educated on healthy relationships

Our domestic abuse charity, Glow, is on a mission to address, overcome and end domestic abuse. One of the ways that they do this is through their work in schools across Derbyshire. 

The education and prevention team work across the county to educate children and young people about healthy relationships. In the last two years, they have educated over 1,500 young people. Alongside this, they also offer domestic abuse awareness training sessions to teachers and school staff.

Sessions, delivered online by a specialist domestic abuse worker, help teachers identify the warning signs of domestic abuse and the impact it can have on their pupils. The training empowers teachers to feel more confident when responding to disclosures, which helps them create a safe environment for young people being impacted by abuse at home.

Data from SafeLives shows that teachers need ‘training, resources and time’ to effectively deliver relationship education and handle disclosures. Only 58% of teachers surveyed by the charity believe they have sufficient training to teach RSE (relationship and sex education) effectively.  

However, 100% of teachers that took part in Glow's domestic abuse awareness training said that they can now better recognise domestic abuse better after attending the session. All teachers also said they felt ‘fully confident’ in signposting to specialist services.

Education and Prevention Team Leader, Sarah Buckley, leads Glow's prevention work in schools and colleges.

She said: “At Glow we’re on a mission to address, overcome and end domestic abuse. That means we address domestic abuse at it’s very core, through education, in order to prevent it from ever starting in the first place.

“Our education and prevention sessions in schools are key, but we also need to make sure staff are equipped to support students in the best possible way.

“This means giving teachers the tools they need to handle disclosures quickly and appropriately. We want them to feel confident doing this, to give pupils the best possible support.”

The team deliver teacher training sessions alongside our relationship education programme, Relationships without Fear (RWF). RWF educates children and young people about healthy and unhealthy relationships and how to keep themselves safe from future abusive behaviour.

Sarah added: “The training compliments the work that we do with children and young people in schools. We want the whole school community to be aware of the signs of abuse and how to respond appropriately.

“By working with teachers and educating them on what they need to look out for, it makes them feel more prepared to deal with these situations, which in turn keeps pupils safer.”

Click here to find out more about Glow's work with pupils and staff in schools and colleges.