Government Plan for Schools to Tackle Misogyny

Schools are being promised new help to tackle misogyny, after the Education Secretary set out a plan that treats sexist behaviour as a safety issue, not a side story. In the Department for Education announcement, ministers say schools will get a practical framework backed by teacher training, written guidance and support for parents. That matters because this is not only about what is said in one lesson. The government wants schools to build a culture of respect and belonging across classroom teaching, enrichment activity, pastoral care and everyday interactions, including what spills in from social media and what happens beyond the school gates.

The case for action is hard to ignore. New government data says that half of girls reported hearing misogynistic comments from other pupils during a week at school in May. Nearly a third of Year 10 and Year 11 pupils also said they had recently heard comments that made them worry about girls' safety. If you are a pupil, parent or teacher, those numbers tell you something important: misogyny is not a fringe problem and it is not harmless 'banter'. It shapes whether girls feel safe, whether boys learn distorted ideas about power, and whether school feels like a place where everyone belongs.

The plan builds on the strengthened Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum already being taught in schools. According to the Department for Education, that means more teaching about healthy relationships, spotting harmful behaviour and understanding online risks, including deepfakes and other damaging content. This is where the story moves beyond discipline. Ministers are arguing that pupils need help to tell the difference between confidence and control, between jokes and abuse, and between ordinary online chatter and content designed to make hostility towards women and girls seem normal.

Teachers are also being promised more backing. The government says it is putting £150,000 into a new RSHE expert advisory group, which will bring together organisations and practitioners to produce resources for staff teaching sensitive topics with confidence. There is a simple reason this matters. Schools are often expected to solve social problems at classroom speed, while teachers are given very little time or specialist training. If this plan is going to mean more than a press release, staff will need clear materials, time to use them and backing when difficult conversations arise.

Alongside that, two new programmes have started work through the government's £16 million Violence Against Women and Girls Prevention Programme. One is aimed at secondary pupils and will try to improve attitudes to healthy relationships. The other will work with boys to challenge harmful attitudes and the pull of negative online influences. The idea is to test what works before any wider roll-out. The schools plan also sits within a broader government push on misogyny. The Department for Education says it accompanies a partnership with major employers announced by Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson, while the government is also working with the Youth Endowment Fund on programmes for 12 to 16-year-olds focused on respect, resilience and positive role models.

Another strand is media literacy. Ministers say future curriculum reforms will give young people stronger teaching on understanding online content, questioning manipulation and thinking critically about what they see on their screens. For parents, the message is that this work cannot stop at the classroom door. The government says families will be offered support too, because children are picking up ideas about gender, status and relationships from group chats, short videos and everyday life as much as from school. If the plan works, it should make it easier for adults to use the same language about boundaries, consent and dignity.

There is a bigger lesson here. When a government says half of girls hear misogynistic comments in school, the issue is not only behaviour management. It is about what kind of social rules young people are being taught, copied and repeated. **What this means for school life:** you can expect this debate to reach tutor time, assemblies, safeguarding work and conversations at home, not just RSHE lessons. For students and teachers reading this, the real test will be whether girls feel safer, whether boys are challenged early and fairly, and whether the promised tools reach classrooms in a way pupils can actually feel.