Introduction

Schools have the opportunity to change pupils’ attitudes or to be the playgrounds, both literal and metaphorical, in which damaging and negative gender relations are rehearsed and internalised for future reference. The prevalence of domestic violence, coupled with schools’ responsibility for the social and moral development of their pupils, presented a space within which to introduce the initiative discussed here. This chapter considers the important role that schools can play in addressing the many gender inequalities, stereotypes and negative images of women that persist in mainstream and popular culture. Such inequalities, which can engender low self-esteem in girls and a sense of entitlement in boys, may contribute to the types of behaviour that lead to domestic violence.

Evidence of the need for a school-based domestic violence prevention initiative in the borough was initially identified with reference to the London Domestic Violence Strategy (GLA, 2001). Several years after the introduction of the Learning to Respect (LTR) programme discussed in this chapter, the need for domestic violence prevention in the school curriculum was affirmed by the former government's VAWG strategy. The new 2013 cross-government definition of domestic violence, extended to include 16 and 17 year olds, amplifies this need (Home Office, 2013).

Funding was secured and the author was appointed, in 2004, for a fixed-term part-time consultancy to establish a pilot scheme which became known as the ‘Learning to Respect: Domestic Violence Education Programme’ (the LTR programme). This chapter considers the many opportunities and barriers presented during the development, delivery and evaluation of the LTR programme in Hounslow, a large diversely populated west London borough. Other issues explored include the practicalities of delivery, the evolution of the post, its location within an education context, concomitant funding issues, the formation of a multiagency team to deliver training and the relationship of all of these factors to the sustainability of the programme. The chapter illustrates the methods by which the programme gained some purchase in schools through the creation of a distinct identity and by collaborating with colleagues involved in supporting schools to meet statutory requirements related to areas such as curriculum development and child protection.