Heads 'fail to tackle sexual exploitation'

Headteachers are turning a blind eye to sexual exploitation of pupils for fear that it might send out negative messages about their schools, the Deputy Children’s Commissioner has warned.

Sue Berelowitz told the Education Select Committee that many schools were reluctant to accept that some bullying amounts to sexual exploitation or violence.

The hesitancy may also be due to the cases being “so horrible”, she said. “It is the most sadistic stuff I’ve ever encountered … The reluctance is to believe these levels of depravity are being enacted upon children.”