Welcome

Staff in children's homes must recognise sexualised behaviour and peer sexual harm, and respond calmly without shaming or labelling. Harmful sexual behaviour, sexual harassment, coercive pressure and image-based abuse can occur within friendships, groups, relationships and online. What may look like banter to others can feel frightening, confusing or unsafe to the child experiencing it.

This course is for residential child care workers, senior residential workers, waking night staff, team leaders, deputy managers, registered managers and other staff in children's homes and residential child care settings. It is a frontline awareness course and does not replace specialist assessment, police investigation, therapy, legal advice or local safeguarding procedures.

Learner note: This course includes examples of sexual harassment, sexualised behaviour and child-on-child harm. If the topic affects you personally, pause if needed and use your workplace support or reporting routes.

This is a UK-wide course. It draws on shared safeguarding principles about harmful sexual behaviour, sexual harassment, child-on-child harm, consent, healthy relationships and escalation. Where helpful, the course cites NICE guidance, children's homes quality standards, inspection expectations and relationships guidance. Staff in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland must follow their own local safeguarding arrangements and procedures.

Why This Course Matters

• Peer sexual harm is real: children can harm other children.
• Online and offline harms overlap: pressure, sharing and humiliation can move between both.
• Consent is not only about words: fear, pressure and power imbalance matter.
• Shame blocks safety: punitive responses can stop disclosure and learning.
• Early action helps: calm responses and timely specialist referral reduce harm.

A Safer Response Spine

• Notice the behaviour and the context.
• Protect children from further harm.
• Record clearly without exaggeration or minimising.
• Share concerns through the safeguarding route.
• Support restorative and specialist follow-up where appropriate.