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Inquiry publishes literature review on residential schools

22 November 2018

The Inquiry has published a literature review of published research on child sexual abuse in residential and non-residential schools.

The review covers five key areas:

  • Pupils attending residential schools.

  • Standards for keeping children safe from sexual abuse in schools in England and Wales.

  • The scale and nature of child sexual abuse in schools, including a specific focus on peer on peer abuse within schools, the perpetrators of abuse and the victims of abuse.

  • The factors that influence the incidence of, and responses to, child sexual abuse in schools.

  • Examples of, and research evidence in relation to, unsuccessful safeguarding measures and positive approaches adopted by schools.

This review will provide context for research commissioned by the Inquiry into schools. It will explore the role of residential schools (both residential special schools and mainstream schools) in England and Wales in safeguarding children from child sexual abuse.  

This primary research will feed into the Inquiry’s residential schools legal investigation that is investigating the nature and extent of, and institutional responses to, child sexual abuse in residential schools, including schools in the state and independent sectors and schools for children with disabilities and / or special educational needs.

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