At Beeston Primary School, the safety and wellbeing of every child is our priority. We recognise that children can harm other children, which is known as child-on-child abuse. This can happen inside or outside school, including online, and may involve a single incident or repeated behaviour.

What is child-on-child abuse?

Child-on-child abuse can take many forms, including:

• Bullying, cyberbullying and discriminatory bullying.
• Physical abuse, such as hitting, kicking or causing physical harm.
• Sexual violence and sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual comments, jokes and online messages.
• Coercive, controlling or abusive behaviour in peer relationships.
• Forcing or pressuring a child into sexual activity.
• Creating or sharing nude or semi-nude images, including digitally manipulated or AI-generated images.
• Upskirting and initiation or hazing activities involving humiliation, harassment or abuse.

This list is not exhaustive. All concerns must be taken seriously.

Our approach to safeguarding

All staff are trained to recognise, challenge and report child-on-child abuse. Harmful behaviour must never be dismissed as “just banter”, “having a laugh” or “part of growing up”, as this can normalise abuse and discourage children from seeking help.

In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), we are committed to:

• Teaching children about consent, healthy relationships, respect and online safety.
• Promoting equality, inclusion and positive behaviour.
• Supporting children’s emotional wellbeing through pastoral care and nurture provision.
• Responding promptly to concerns and following our safeguarding procedures.
• Working with parents, carers and external agencies, including children’s social care, BCM cluster services, the local family hub and the police, where appropriate.
• Monitoring behaviour and safeguarding records to identify patterns, emerging risks and children who may need additional support.

Our Inclusion Team, regularly review behaviour incident records to identify concerns and trends at an early stage.

What should I do if I have a concern?

If you are concerned that your child, or another child, may be experiencing or displaying child-on-child abuse, please contact school as soon as possible. You can speak to Mrs Knowles, our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), or a member of the Safeguarding Team.

You do not need to be certain that abuse has occurred to share a concern. We will listen, take all concerns seriously and take appropriate action in line with our safeguarding procedures.

At Beeston Primary School, every child has the right to feel safe, valued and protected from harm.