Domestic violence and abuse prevention programmes in the early years classroom: a pastoral, academic and financial priority?

Barriers to domestic violence education in Northern Ireland: Pupils' views and experiences

“…Therefore, there may be a need for a rebalancing of the education system, whereby schools do not give precedence to academic outcomes at the expense of student wellbeing and personal development (Lloyd, 2018). If schools are expected to be a central agent for meeting the pastoral needs of all children and young people (McKee & Mason, 2015), schools should allow sufficient time to provide meaningful DV teaching and learning. We propose that the education budget considers allocating greater funds to enable schools to meet the pastoral needs of all pupils.…”

“…Pupils from Catholic and Controlled schools reported that schools' academic focus meant less effort and time was put into educating pupils about social issues such as DV. These experiences expressed by pupils are concerning, given that schools are expected to be a central agent for meeting both the academic and pastoral needs of all children and young people internationally (McKee & Mason, 2015).…”

“…The extent and consequences of abuse in young people's lives has led to the acknowledgement of schools being an important setting for conducting DV prevention efforts (Barter et al, 2009; Harris et al, 2015; Lagerlöf & Øverlien, 2022; McKee & Mason, 2015; Stanley et al, 2015; WHO, 2010, 2019). Schools have repeated contact with a large population of children and young people (Harris et al, 2015; McKee & Mason, 2015) who have yet to experience or are just embarking on their own intimate relationships (Stanley et al, 2015). Even though education can play an important role in addressing DV, the views and experiences of those who receive DV education (e.g., pupils) have typically been limited internationally (Fox et al, 2013; Stanley et al, 2015).…”