Expect Respect 

We have developed our Expect Respect Programme for schools funded by the Home Office as part of the government’s wider strategy of preventing violence against women and girls. The aim of our education sessions is to materially enhance the whole-system approach, therefore keeping children safe and advancing our understanding of what works to prevent violence against women and girls.

Based on our What Works research the Expect Respect Programme for schools is in line with the ETF Standards, the PSHE curriculum, British Values and the Equality Act. Our Expect Respect programme is free and reaches children and young people of all Key Stages from ages 4-18. Our programme consists of:

We first ask schools to book an up to 1-hour virtual introduction session with us in which you will receive an overview of the Expect Respect programme, and we can answer any questions you may have. Equally, these sessions are utilised to assess the individual needs and expectations of each school. If you are interested in booking an introduction session with us, please let us know via email with an overview of your availability.

Our second session is our two-hour staff training. As we follow a whole-school approach, these sessions are mandatory and will cover safeguarding processes, disclosure management, trauma-informed classroom management, long-term SEMH-based support, best practices in reporting and school culture change tools. These sessions can only be booked once an introduction session has been attended. 

The third stage of our education programme is the in-person delivery to children and young people carried out by our training officers.

We have sessions for all Key Stages including post 16. Our sessions are in line with the PSHE curriculum and include a lesson plan for staff which outlines British Values used within the sessions.

Our programme is designed to be inclusive of children with SEND and children who speak English as a second language. We have bespoke SEND resources and workshops, additionally, we will deliver to all children speaking English as a second language.

Expect Respect is funded by the Home Office project What Works to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls. As such, we are required to submit regular reports to the Home Office to assess the impact. Following the teacher training and education sessions, we will send out anonymous evaluation surveys, to be completed by both the staff and students who have engaged with our sessions. It is vital to the longevity and monitoring of this project that these surveys are completed and sent back to us. 

As a key aim of our education programme is to evaluate the effectiveness of our domestic abuse education, we ask you to conduct evaluations with your students before and after the sessions. You will receive all the support, tools and information required to do this efficiently and successfully. 

The Expect Respect Programme for schools also includes our online Love Respect platform that your learners can access for further information, advice, support and signposting. This includes our accessibility toolbar that ensures inclusive access to SEND and ESOL learners.

To book onto the Expect Respect Programme for schools simply email: cyp@womensaid.org.uk to book an introduction session with us so that we can be flexible for your settings needs.