NCFE is committed to ensure the highest possible quality learning experiences for learners. As part of this commitment, we’re working to raise awareness and understanding following OFSTED’s 2021 Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges which revealed that sexual harassment is commonplace.
We believe in the power of education and proud to be involved in the solution of reducing sexual harm in education.
We’re working in collaboration with The Derwent Initiative (TDI), a charity which has been working for nearly 30 years to find practical approaches to reducing the risk of sexual offending. Our joint work aims to finding solutions which benefit everyone is our society.
Alongside TDI, we’re launching a series of Podcasts aimed at opening a conversation on the endemic of sexual harassment and online sexual abuse for children and young people. Through these podcasts we’ll explore how we create safer learning communities for leaners and staff, drawing on the knowledge and experience of the guests.
In this series of conversations, Sarah Dagger, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is joined by a panel of specialist guests, including experienced professionals from across the field of education, psychology, public protection and safe-guarding to expert researchers and experienced leaders across a range of education, healthcare and children services as they explore how we can, and must, reduce sexual harm.
The series kick starts with ‘The Big Picture’, providing a historical context of sexual harm laws before exploring key findings from the OFSTED review and the importance of listening to ‘victim voice’ such as the ‘Everyone’s Invited’.
Sarah Dagger, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is joined by a panel of specialist guests and expert researchers to discuss the importance of reducing the risk of sexual harm in education. Sarah welcomes back Sheryl Simms who is joined by Matt Jenkins, TDI’s researcher and experience FE teacher as they discuss general legal consideration from the Sex Offences Act 2003, to consent and capacity and the impact of peer on peer abuse.
Find out more about how you can reduce the risk of sexual harm from The Derwent Initiative on TDI's Website and learn more about New Safeguarding rules from NCFE.
Sarah Dagger, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is joined by a panel of specialist guests and expert researchers to discuss the importance of reducing the risk of sexual harm in education.
Sarah welcomes back Deborah Jenkins MBE and Matt Jenkins as they discuss what regulation-compliancy looks like and what OFSTED are looking for in their inspection framework.
Sarah Dagger, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is joined by a panel of specialist guests and expert researchers as she continues to conversation of the importance of reducing the risk of sexual harm in education. In conversation with Matt Jenkins and Sheryl Simms, Sarah explores how the rapid increase in our technological world and the blurring of lines between home life and work/college life has impacted the endemic of sexual harm for young people.
Find out more about how you can reduce the risk of sexual harm from The Derwent Initiative on TDI's Website
Sarah Dagger, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is joined by a panel of specialist guests and expert researchers as she continues to discuss the importance of reducing the risk of sexual harm in education. In the penultimate episode of the series, Sarah welcomes back TDI’s Chief Executive, Deborah Jenkins, and Sheryl Simms, Independent Chair for the Safeguarding Board of Northern Ireland and a consultant trainer with over 20 years experience of working in public protection as the conversation explores what the gold standard looks like when we talk about accountability in action, exploring the role everyone plays in reducing the risk of sexual harm across education
Find out more about how you can reduce the risk of sexual harm from The Derwent Initiative on TDI's Website and learn more about Relationship, Sex and Health Education from NCFE
Sarah Dagger, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is joined by a panel of specialist guests and expert researchers to discuss the importance of reducing the risk of sexual harm in education. Sarah welcomes back Sheryl Simms who is joined by Matt Jenkins, TDI’s researcher and experience FE teacher as they discuss general legal consideration from the Sex Offences Act 2003, to consent and capacity and the impact of peer on peer abuse.
Find out more about how you can reduce the risk of sexual harm from The Derwent Initiative on TDI's Website and learn more about New Safeguarding rules from NCFE.
Deborah is particularly interested in the development of partnerships to address complex problems. Over the last thirty years she has held leadership positions in organisations ranging from tiny third sector projects to major healthcare providers and provided consultancy to organisations in the UK and abroad.
She was a founder of Common Purpose and has been a NED and Chair in the NHS for 25 years. Between 2017 and 2020 she was appointed by the DfE as the founding chair of two experimental children’s companies transforming failing children’s services in Sunderland and Reading. She is strongly committed to the North East, where she has been based since the mid eighties. Currently Deborah is CEO of TDI, a charity finding practical solutions to manage the risk of sexual offending which she has led since 1993, and chairs NCFE, the UK’s third biggest qualifications awarding body, the Northern Neonatal Clinical Network, and Cultura (formerly the North of England Civic Trust).
She is also an executive director of Trades4Care, a CIC set up to provide work experience and coaching for young people interested in a career in trades, and runs her own consultancy, Kindling Ltd. Deborah is honoured to be a Deputy Lieutenant for Tyne and Wear, and was awarded the MBE for services to urban regeneration in 1995.
Sarah, Provider Development Officer at NCFE, is passionate about the power of education to make a difference to the outcomes of young people and to ensure social equity and inclusion. Over the last ten years she has worked in education in a variety of teaching roles but specialised in Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Physical Education and behaviour management and safe-guarding. With experience across a range of socio-economic settings, she whole-heartedly believes that education is the key to transforming lives and empowering every individual with the life skills and opportunities to thrive in society. Mental health and well-being will always be the precursor to successful learning and personal development. Sarah believe the emotional well-being of learners should underpin every decision and action of education leaders, driving forward improvements to ensure every individual has a safe environment to learn in the opportunity to succeed. Sarah will have the difficult conversations, shine a light on topics of importance and be a voice for those who need it.
Sheryl has a wealth of experience with over 20 years of working within the public protection, safeguarding and education arenas. She has designed and delivered an extensive array of courses on child abuse, safeguarding and sexual violence to a variety of professionals such as social workers, a variety of health care professionals, teachers and both uniform police officers and detectives. She has also provided supervision and advice to teams investigating child abuse and sexual offences including interviewing both potential perpetrators and victims.
Sheryl has also designed and delivered training and assessing courses for those wishing to become trainers and designing and delivering bespoke training courses for professionals with inspectorate roles.
Currently she works as a consultant trainer, and this includes providing professionals across England and Wales with training on child sexual abuse for the Child Sexual Abuse Centre of Expertise. Furthermore, she is an Independent CMR Chair for the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI) chairing teams of professionals producing Case Management Reviews.
