Image Source: ERH Engineering
Oggy Bloggy Ogwr doesn’t receive any subsidy and isn’t funded by the BBC. If you like what I’m doing here and think this work is important in keeping locals informed of what’s happening in Bridgend, consider a donation. Â One-off or monthly; as little or as much as you want. Click the links below, or full details are available here.
One of the backbench members’ questions at this month’s full council meeting came from Cllr. Rhys Goode (Lab, Nantymoel). He asked what work Bridgend Council were doing to address sexual harassment and misogyny in the county’s schools.
He welcomed the positive work done to date, but questioned part of the answer he received: namely, the low number of reported incidents.
He quoted reports by Estyn (the school inspectorate in Wales). These reports stated that people who experience harassment don’t consider it worthwhile to report it. Such abuse has become “normalised”, and by reporting it, they may become a target for further abuse. This leads to under-reporting.
Cllr. Goode highlighted Bridgend College’s work to address some of the issues raised by Estyn, including the introduction of an anonymous reporting system (“See It, Hear It, Flag It”).
"Cardiff Model" considered good practice
Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr. Martyn Jones (Lab, Garw Valley), reminded councillors of a task force addressing weapons and violence in schools. That work is ongoing, and the number of serious incidents in schools has fallen.
This week, the task force heard from officers at Cardiff Council about a new model for managing behaviour. This has been recognised as “good practice”. It’s something that’s now being seriously considered for Bridgend.
Cllr. Jones noted Cllr. Goode’s comments about under-reporting of incidents; this was something the council were “looking at”.
Officers have also been tasked with preparing a report on school behaviour for the Cabinet.
Related Posts
