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The University of ManchesterEsther NelsonDoctorate in Educational and Child Psychology Exploring professional action around sexually inappropriate behaviour and children in schools2013Background: Sexually inappropriate behaviour (SIB) displayed by children and young people often results in pupil school exclusions and, at present, a national intervention pathway is not available (DfE, 2010). School staff feel ill equipped to recognise and respond to SIB (Flanagan, 2010), and within the present research context, they may be placed in ‘out of city’ specialist settings, with attendant social, emotional and financial implications. Participants: From Local Authority (LA) with local SIB pathway: 2 Educational Psychologists (EPs). From non-pathway LA: 2 EPs and 6 school professional participants with SIB case experience.Methods: A qualitative mixed methods investigation, consisting of surveys, semi-structured interviews and a focus group. A documentary analysis of the existing regional LA policies and pathways was completed. Semi-structured interviews were completed with EPs; a focus group with professionals with experience of children displaying SIB to discuss the knowledge, thoughts and feelings of these staff members in relation SIB, and the current processes and pathways in use within the school and the LA. Analysis/ Findings: Content analysis of the existing policies reveals much variation between LAs in how incidents of SIB are managed in schools. Thematic analysis of interview data with EPs reveals both facilitators and potential barriers for managing incidents of SIB. Thematic analysis of interview data with school staff reveals practical approaches and strategies which if included in a pathway would be beneficial in dealing with incidents of SIB.Conclusion/ Implications: Procedures for managing incidents of SIB vary widely within LAs in the region. Pathways and procedures should include practical advice for managing these incidents and would benefit from being designed through a bottom up approach, focusing on the approaches and strategies that teaching staff at the front line would find beneficial. |
