Development of ESAS
Equally Safe at School (ESAS) stemmed from Rape Crisis Scotland’s work delivering its National Sexual Violence Prevention Programme to schools across Scotland since 2013. The programme has been highly successful in improving young people’s knowledge and understanding of issues relating to consent, relationships, gender and sexual violence. However workers delivering the programme also identified the need to work with the whole school community to embed and sustain key messages about gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, improve policy and strengthen responses to student disclosures.
By launching the ESAS website we hope to enable meaningful and sustained progress towards preventing GBV - so that young people grow up to expect gender equality, to reject violence and to know that they can collectively help to build an Equally Safe Scotland.
Whilst we were aware of a lot of good practice in Scotland, many schools, young people and other partners similarly recognised the need to strengthen our shared focus on GBV as a major concern for schools, and to provide further guidance and support to help them address it comprehensively. So in 2015-16 we started to explore the potential for developing the ESAS whole school approach to addressing GBV and promoting gender equality.
The development and delivery of ESAS has been funded by the Scottish Government through Equally Safe funding and is included in the Equally Safe Delivery Plan. It was developed by Rape Crisis Scotland in partnership with the University of Glasgow, who has helped to guide its progress, develop its methodology and conduct research with schools involved in the pilot.
ESAS was piloted in six schools in South Lanarkshire, East Ayrshire and Glasgow between 2017 and 2021, with support from Zero Tolerance and a wide range of other voluntary and statutory partners and stakeholders. Pilot schools were involved in co-developing the ESAS approach and tools to ensure they were feasible and effective. The experiences of schools participating in the pilot has been fundamental in informing and shaping the intervention into what it is today.
In this section, you can find out about their ESAS journeys through case studies, the testimonies of senior management leads and student perspectives.
School Lead's Testimonies
“As a denominational school whose core values are about respect, tolerance and dignity, the ESAS intervention made a lot of sense because there were so many links with our school’s values and ethos. We also recognised how the intervention fitted well under the broader umbrella of rights and increasing pupil voice, which are incredibly important in our school.
“There were also clear links between ESAS and improving attainment. ESAS increased pupil voice and therefore confidence and participation, encouraging pupils to think outside the norm. This translated into how young people thought of the careers available to them. ESAS generated a buzz in the school which motivated staff and pupils to keep going with the work.”
– Lorna Lawson, ESAS School Lead and Headteacher at St John Ogilvie High School
“As the school Child Protection Officer I was privy to a lot of information that gave me an insight into the extent of the problem of gender based violence. I could see first hand the impact of the problem on children and families. The idea of a whole school approach to help educate the whole school community was really appealing and differentiated ESAS from the many initiatives that schools are approached with. It was something that we saw as the most valuable for the community.
“What I really liked about the ESAS approach was that it involved the whole school and was really comprehensive. We had school assemblies which gave the opportunity for any pupil in the school to be involved in leading the intervention by joining the Action Group, which is quite rare. That unique selection process that was open to anyone really paid off because we ended up with so much enthusiasm and commitment from the pupils who signed up.”
– Andrew Boyle, ESAS School Lead and Depute Head Teacher at St Joseph’s Academy
Young People's Testimonies
- “I joined the ESAS Action Group because I’d always wanted to join something that was beneficial not just to me, but to my community.”
- “I enjoy talking to people from different year groups and learning about their opinions. It helps provide a better understanding of how people feel across all year groups.”
- “I love being part of the Action Group because we are doing so many good things and making lives better.”
- “I think other schools should have an action group because sometimes teachers and staff don’t know or can’t come up with appealing or fun ideas/activities that promote respectful and appropriate behaviour. Getting the pupil’s thoughts is and should always be a major factor when thinking about ideas regarding the school.”
- “I think the Action Group is wonderful and enjoyable. The thought put into the group is clearly visible which makes it comforting to be a part of.”
- “All schools should definitely do ESAS, you have no idea how much it can benefit a person.”
