4.2 Describe how policy and strategy related to domestic abuse has influenced educational programmes and the school curriculum

This guide will help you answer 4.2 Describe how policy and strategy related to domestic abuse has influenced educational programmes and the school curriculum.

Domestic abuse has a long-term impact on individuals, families and communities. National policies and local strategies have been developed to tackle it, and these have directly influenced what is taught in schools. The subject now has a clear presence within both the curriculum and broader educational programmes.

Government guidance stresses that schools are in a unique position to identify the early signs of abuse. Policies set out expectations for prevention and support. This leads to curriculum content that covers healthy relationships, respect and safety, alongside awareness of abusive behaviours.

Defining Domestic Abuse

Domestic abuse refers to threatening, controlling, violent or harmful behaviour between people who are in an intimate relationship or family arrangement. This can include:

• Physical harm
• Emotional abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Financial control
• Coercive behaviour such as threats and isolation

Children who see, hear or live with abuse are recognised in law as victims. This recognition means schools have a duty to respond, not only to protect children but to teach them about respectful relationships and safety.

National Policy Background

Major statutory guidance and laws set the framework for schools. These include the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Children Act 1989 and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Education bodies follow this framework to build domestic abuse awareness into teaching.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 defines abuse and recognises the impact on children. This affects safeguarding guidance that schools must follow. It shapes how the curriculum integrates lessons on the topic.

The Department for Education provides detailed guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education. This makes teaching about domestic abuse part of a compulsory programme.

Local Strategies

Local safeguarding partnerships create strategies based on national law and best practice. Schools receive training and resources through these partnerships. This ensures teachers understand signs of abuse and can address them.

Local strategies may include:

• Providing approved lesson plans on healthy relationships
• Offering toolkits for teachers to handle disclosures from pupils
• Linking schools with domestic abuse support services
• Coordinating awareness events within schools

Impact on Curriculum Content

Domestic abuse policy and strategy have directly shaped the Relationships and Health Education curriculum in primary schools and the Relationships and Sex Education curriculum in secondary schools.

In practice, this includes:

• Teaching children how to identify safe and unsafe relationships
• Explaining the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviours
• Promoting equality and respect in friendships and partnerships
• Encouraging empathy and understanding of other people’s experiences

In secondary school, lessons often cover consent, controlling behaviours and where to get help. These are grounded in the legal definitions from domestic abuse policy.

Preventive Education

Policy highlights the importance of early prevention. Schools are required to give pupils the skills to recognise abuse before it happens. This prevents harm and promotes resilience.

Preventive education involves:

• Using age-appropriate scenarios to discuss respect and boundaries
• Encouraging pupils to speak to trusted adults
• Making safeguarding procedures clear to all pupils
• Including digital safety, recognising that abuse can occur through technology

Teacher Training and Awareness

Policies require staff training so that teachers can deliver lessons confidently and pick up on warning signs.

Training programmes include:

• Understanding how domestic abuse presents in school behaviour and attendance patterns
• Learning key points of the law
• Rehearsing responses to pupil disclosures
• Managing safeguarding records securely
• Knowing referral pathways into support services

In many areas, safeguarding leads in schools act as a point of contact for all domestic abuse concerns. Strategies support these leads with specialist networks.

Whole-School Approach

National strategy encourages schools to take a whole-school approach to domestic abuse. This means it is not just covered in lessons, but built into school culture and policies.

This approach includes:

• Clear safeguarding policies available to all staff, pupils and parents
• Encouragement of respectful communication across the school
• Visible posters and awareness materials
• Active links with local police and support organisations
• School counsellors or pastoral staff available for 1-to-1 discussions

Safeguarding Links

Domestic abuse policy fits into wider safeguarding policy. Schools must identify vulnerable pupils and make referrals to social care when needed.

The curriculum supports this by telling pupils how to seek help, which agencies are available and what processes exist for reporting abuse. This is often delivered alongside lessons on bullying, mental health and online safety.

Role of PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) Education

Policies directly influence content in PSHE. This subject provides space for sensitive topics like domestic abuse to be explored in a safe environment.

Within PSHE, domestic abuse policy has led to:

• Structured sessions on resilience and self-esteem
• Discussion of emotional wellbeing in relationships
• Guidance on speaking out against harmful behaviour
• Encouraging peer support and inclusion

These lessons are adapted for different age groups so they can understand the key messages at a level that makes sense for them.

Addressing Cultural and Social Factors

Policy frameworks acknowledge that domestic abuse can affect any background. Educational programmes must be sensitive to cultural differences but must also keep the message clear about what behaviour is unacceptable.

Teachers are encouraged to:

• Use diverse examples in lesson materials
• Avoid stereotypes in discussions
• Highlight equality in relationships
• Be alert to cultural misconceptions about consent and control

School Partnerships with External Specialists

Policies recommend that schools work with external organisations that specialise in domestic abuse prevention and support.

This can involve:

• Guest speakers from local support services
• Theatre or drama workshops exploring the consequences of abuse
• Parent workshops explaining what children are learning about relationships
• Information points in school for pupils seeking confidential resources

These partnerships strengthen the curriculum by adding expert voices and lived experience perspectives.

Impact on Pupils

The policy focus on domestic abuse has measurable effects on pupils. They gain:

• Greater awareness of unsafe situations
• Skills to seek help sooner
• A clearer picture of what respect looks like in a relationship
• Less tolerance for controlling or abusive behaviour

In some cases, lessons have led pupils to disclose concerns about their own home life. These disclosures then allow intervention and support to happen earlier.

Handling Disclosures

Policies guide schools on handling disclosures carefully and sensitively. Teachers learn to:

• Listen without judgement
• Record details factually
• Pass information promptly to the safeguarding lead
• Avoid promising absolute confidentiality to pupils, as safeguarding law requires action

This training safeguards pupils and meets legal responsibilities.

Parental Engagement

Policy strategies include engaging parents so they can support the same messages at home. Schools may:

• Share overviews of lesson content ahead of teaching
• Invite parents to attend joint workshops
• Provide links to community services and helplines
• Circulate printed guides on healthy relationships and domestic abuse signs

When parents know what children are learning, they can reinforce the lessons in everyday life.

Monitoring and Reviewing Curriculum Impact

Strategies often require schools to check how well domestic abuse topics are taught and understood. This might involve:

• Pupil feedback surveys after lessons
• Teacher reflections and adjustments to lesson plans
• Review by school governors or safeguarding boards
• Updating resources to match new laws or local service availability

Regular review makes sure the content stays relevant and effective.

Barriers and Solutions

One barrier schools face is pupil discomfort with sensitive issues. Policy guidance addresses this by suggesting interactive, respectful teaching methods and small group discussions.

Other barriers include staff confidence and lack of time. Strategies encourage integrating topics into existing lessons to make them part of everyday teaching rather than an isolated event.

The Link with Equality Policy

Domestic abuse education links closely with equality and diversity policies. By tackling attitudes that allow abuse, schools promote safer communities for all genders and identities. This is a direct outcome of both safeguarding policy and equality law.

Final Thoughts

Domestic abuse policy and strategy have transformed the role of schools in prevention and awareness. What once might have been addressed in isolated lessons is now embedded as a core safeguarding topic across the curriculum.

Teaching pupils about healthy relationships, respect and safety gives them the skills to recognise abuse and take action. Policies and strategies both nationally and locally have ensured schools approach the subject with consistency and confidence. This helps protect children during their school years and equips them for safer adult relationships.