Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Published on this website Monday 20 May 2024 by Jill Powell

A teacher has been found guilty of child sex offences against two pupils at the school where she worked.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, who taught at a Manchester high school, claimed there was no sexual contact between her and the first schoolboy and claimed sexual contact did not take place with the second boy until he was 16 and after she had been dismissed from the school.

On 15 October 2021, after Joynes arranged for a 15-year-old boy to stay overnight at her home, she took him to the Trafford Centre where she bought him a £345 belt. They then returned to her flat and engaged in sexual intercourse.

When she was arrested, she made no comment in her police interview. She was then charged with sexual activity with a child and suspended from her teaching job.

Whilst suspended and on bail in respect of those offences, a second 15-year-old boy was targeted by Joynes. The pair engaged in a sexual relationship, which only ended when Joynes became pregnant.

Once again Joynes refused to comment when interviewed by police.

Joynes later admitted that she became involved with the first boy after she gave him most of the digits of her phone number and he guessed the rest. She denied that any sexual contact had taken place between them.

She admitted that the second boy had been to her flat when he was 15 but claimed no sexual contact took place until he had reached the age of 16 and she no longer worked at the school.

Following a nine-day trial at Manchester Crown Court, Joynes was found guilty of six sexual offences against the two boys.

Sentencing will take place on 4 July 2024.

Jane Wilson, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Rebecca Joynes is a sexual predator.

“Joynes was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching and safeguarding children. She abused her position to groom and ultimately sexually exploit schoolboys. Her behaviour has had a lasting impact on them.

“The CPS worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case to put before the jury, including eyewitness testimony, phone evidence showing the messages sent by Joynes and CCTV footage.

“I would like to thank the victims for supporting the prosecution. Joynes will now face the consequences of her actions.”

Source: Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published on this website Thursday 16 May 2024 by Jill Powell

This briefing paper from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel is part of an ongoing series of publications to share information arising from work undertaken by the panel with:

• safeguarding partners
• those working in child protection

The purpose of this briefing is to share learning from analyses of rapid reviews and local child safeguarding practice reviews (LCSPRs) to inform the work of safeguarding partners.

The briefing explores common themes and patterns identified across reviews and highlights practice issues raised by safeguarding partners from across England.

Source: Department for Education published on this website Friday 17 May 2024 by Jill Powell

Following multiple reports of disturbing materials being used in Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) lessons, the Department for Education has published updated guidance that will ensure content is factual, appropriate and that children have the capacity to fully understand everything they are being taught.

Parents will have the right to see the resources that are being used to teach their children about relationships, health and sex in all circumstances and new age limits will be introduced so that children are not introduced to content they may not have the maturity to understand.

Sex education will not be taught before Year 5, and at that point from a purely scientific standpoint.

The contested theory of gender identity will not be taught and the guidance confirms copyright law should not be a barrier to sharing curriculum materials with parents – with the updated curriculum open for an eight week consultation from 16 May.

At secondary school pupils will learn about legally ‘protected’ characteristics, such as sexual orientation and gender reassignment, but the updated guidance is clear that schools should not teach about the concept of gender identity.

In light of the Cass Review, it is important that schools take a cautious approach to teaching about this sensitive topic, and do not use any materials that present contested views as fact, including the view that gender is a spectrum. This is in line with the Department’s gender questioning guidance, which also takes a cautious approach to assist teachers in ensuring they are acting in the best interests of children.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:

This updated guidance puts protecting children at its heart, and enshrines parents’ right to know what their children are being taught.

It will support schools with how and when to teach often difficult and sensitive topics, leaving no doubt about what is appropriate to teach pupils at every stage of school.

Parents can be reassured once and for all their children will only learn age-appropriate content.

Schools should ensure that RSHE teaching materials are available to parents and that parents are aware of what is being taught.

New content in the guidance, mirroring letters sent by the Education Secretary to schools over the past year, makes it clear that schools should make materials available to parents, and clarifies how copyright legislation gives them scope to do so.

The guidance also now includes additional content on suicide prevention in the secondary health and wellbeing section, including equipping pupils to recognise when they or their peers need help.

The guidance has also been strengthened to help young people to understand the benefits of rationing time spent online and the impact on their wellbeing, and the serious risks of viewing content that promotes self-harm and suicide.

Following reports of schools seeing rising levels of harmful misogynistic behaviour, the guidance now includes a dedicated section on sexual harassment and sexual violence, which covers some specific types of abusive behaviour that were not explicitly discussed previously, such as stalking, as well as advice for teachers about how to address misogynistic online influencers. 

James Grimes, Head of Prevention at Gambling with Lives said:

We welcome this guidance as DfE is clearly learning from gambling-related deaths and lived experience of addiction.

Young people deserve the full picture about the impact of addictive gambling products and the link to mental health harms and suicide.

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind:

Our 2023 polling of parents relating to sex education revealed the very serious concerns of parents. We are grateful to the time that the Government has given to understanding and addressing those concerns during the past twelve months, and fully support this commitment to ensuring parents are well-informed and actively involved in their children’s education when it comes to sensitive topics such as Relationships and Sex Education (RSHE).

As the first educators of their children, parents deserve full transparency and access to the curriculum and resources used in schools.

This initiative to strengthen the partnership between schools and parents will foster a collaborative environment, ensuring that children receive comprehensive, balanced, and well-informed education while respecting parents’ roles and concerns. We believe that open communication and shared understanding are key to promoting the wellbeing and safety of all children.

Dr Alison Penny, Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network said:

Most children will face the death of someone important by the time they leave school – the big feelings this brings can leave them feeling isolated. Consistent evidence from recent surveys shows that children, young people, parents and teachers support grief education being covered sensitively in school, aligned with children’s wider learning opportunities at home.

This empowers them to cope with their own experiences, and be better allies for their grieving friends, building a compassionate community around the next generation.

Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group said:

It’s vital that young people are able to understand thoughts of suicide or self-harm that they may be feeling, and that schools are confident in addressing this most sensitive of subjects. The new guidance aims to break down the shame that can make it hard to ask for help and, crucially, places an emphasis on safe ways of coping.

RSHE is vital in equipping students with the knowledge to make informed and ethical decisions about their wellbeing, health and relationships, setting them up for the future.

The updated guidance, which was informed by an independent panel, follows a thorough review by the government in response to disturbing reports that inappropriate material is being taught in some schools.

The draft guidance is now open to consultation. When final, the guidance will be statutory and schools will be expected to follow it.

Source: Ministry of Justice published on this website 15 May 2024 by Jill Powell

This consultation paper seeks views on options for the reform of the law of limitation in child sexual abuse cases in England and Wales.

Specifically, it considers the recommendation by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (‘the Inquiry’) on limitation law.

It also examines the law of limitation in child sexual abuse cases in other jurisdictions examined by the Inquiry and seeks views on options, other than removal of the limitation period, for reform of limitation law in child sexual abuse cases.

Lord Bellamy KC Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Forward to the consultations writes:

“The Government recognise that child sexual abuse is completely abhorrent and I want to pay tribute to the victims and survivors who came forward and told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse about the abuse they had experienced. I also want to thank Professor Alexis Jay and the other panel members for the very thorough work they carried out on behalf of victims and survivors. At present child sexual abuse cases in the civil courts are normally subject to a three-year limitation period. This means that claims must be brought within three years of the abuse happening or the victim having knowledge of the abuse or alternatively, when the victim attains the age of 21 if they were under 18 when the abuse occurred. The law does also enable the courts to grant extensions to time limits where there are legitimate reasons for a delay in bringing a claim, and a significant number of historic child sexual abuse claims will involve applications for such extensions. In evidence to the Inquiry the Government recognised that some child sexual abuse claims were rejected because they were outside the standard three-year limitation period and there may be potential to assist in those cases by changes to the law of limitation. However, it was also recognised that changes to limitation law in child sexual abuse claims may have an impact on other groups and that ultimately our key focus is that a fair trial should be able to take place. The Inquiry made a number of recommendations for the law on limitation. These were focused on legislative reform to remove the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims brought by victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in respect of their abuse while also reflecting the importance of the right to a fair trial. In our response to the Inquiry, the Government accepted the critical issue this recommendation seeks to remedy (that a significant number of claims about child sexual abuse are rejected on grounds of the limitation period having passed) and agreed to consult on options for reform of limitation law in child sexual abuse cases. This consultation fulfils our promise to consult and the Government is keen to hear views on how limitation law can be reformed to protect the interest of victims and survivors while ensuring the right of defendants to a fair trial are maintained. The Government will consider all responses carefully and publish a response setting out the way forward in due course.”