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Sex & Consent Education is a student-led initiative to encourage young people to play their part in ending sexual violence. The ground-breaking course, which is a collaboration between Colourful Peach Arts & Education and Wellington College, returns to campus for its second year running in September 2022, after an overwhelmingly positive response from pupils and staff.
When it comes to sex, today’s teenagers have a huge amount to contend with, due to the prevalence of online pornography and the sexualisation of social media. ‘Everyone’s Invited’ pushed consent to the top of the agenda within education and Wellington recognised that it was the right time to introduce an even more comprehensive sex ed programme. By doing so, the College hopes to smash survivor stigma and prevent harm from happening.
"We want our students to be the advocates for a world that moves beyond sexual violence in the future"
David Walker, Deputy Head (Pastoral and Wellbeing)
The programme, which is open to all pupils from Third Form and up, is the brain child of Ella Simms from Colourful Peach Arts & Education and is run with the support of Deputy Head, David Walker.
Ella has long been involved with Wellington, including as course director of the Global Social Leaders programme. She regularly provides workshops on consent, intersectionality and pornography but this is the most comprehensive initiative she has ever run in a school. Ella has drawn on her extensive background in youth work and her keen interest in theatre to create an interactive, fun and entertaining series of sessions driven by the feedback and input of pupils themselves.
"It’s important to not be ignorant and even though I thought I knew the basics of consent there was a lot I didn’t know and I got to learn about topics which I had no clue about."
Wellington Pupil
The content of the first half of the course was informed by pupils’ responses to a survey about sex and consent. Some of the main issues that came up included a lack of awareness about the prevalence and impact of sexual violence, confusion around the subtleties of consent and a need to understand more about our threat responses.
Colourful Peach developed the ‘As If’ model to explain more about the nuances of consent, highlighting 4 key areas to be mindful of (age; state; informed and freedom from threat or pressure). Ella also speaks openly to pupils, without judgement, about unhealthy porn habits and the negative effects that this can have on real life behaviour.
Reflecting the Wellington ethos of independence and inclusivity, the programme encourages pupils to become leaders in ending sexual violence as they move through life, whether at university, in the workplace or in social situations.
"We all have a part to play in ending sexual violence and it should definitely start at school before it’s too late (as sometimes it has even happened before then)."
Wellington Pupil
Student leadership is at the heart of sex ed at Wellington and a panel of student volunteers co-designed the second half of the curriculum of the course. Last year, the panel chose to discuss topics like sexuality, sexual health, body positivity, supporting survivors and staying safe on nights out. Going forward, pupils also want to talk more about relationships and choosing the right partner.
The student panellists relished taking full ownership of their roles, even teaching some of the sessions. Every member has requested to re-join and volunteer again this academic year.
Further support is given to the programme via ‘Class Catalysts’, peer-nominated students who attend additional training to help combat misinformation, identify victim blaming, dispel myths and tackle the issue in everyday conversations.
Colourful Peach works with a diverse team of inspiring facilitators to deliver the content of the course. These include professional theatre makers; a Palestinian boxing champion and award-winning life-coach Nadia Sibany; writer and education specialist for Black Pride, Char Bailey, named on the Pride Power List 2022; head facilitator of Beyond Equality (formerly Good Lad Initiative) Ben Hurst and inclusion consultant Benjy Kusi who creates educational content and has been recognised as Tik Tok UK’s ‘voices for change’ and is a LGBTQIA+ trailblazer for Pride Month as well as being selected for the ‘this is Black’ campaign.
The sessions are carefully tailored to the age of the pupils with some being taught in a mixed setting and some single sex depending on the subject. Inclusivity, kindness and respect underpin every aspect of the teaching. Colourful Peach also train Wellington teachers, House Masters and House Mistresses to help them to support pupils and to ensure the principles of the course are embedded in daily school life.
The plan for the future is to continue to innovate and develop even more opportunities for student leadership on the course. Ella is confident that many other schools beyond Wellington will want to adopt their own tailored version of the programme. Independent schools with a residential element face a unique challenge in this area and the course presents an opportunity for schools to go beyond box ticking and have a massive impact in reducing sexual harm.
Once again, Wellington is leading the way in wellbeing by educating pupils to be a force for good and by being unafraid to address the big issues affecting the lives of young people today.
Ella Simms from Colourful Peach says:
“I learned that Wellington believes in empowering young leaders to create real change through working on Global Social Leaders, co-founded by the college in 2011. When ‘Everyone’s Invited’ happened, David Walker and I kept this at the forefront of our minds. At Colourful Peach we seek to unite, empower and entertain in all we do and it has been a privilege to innovate with Wellington students. I am deeply grateful for the overwhelmingly positive feedback, that students feel free from judgement, have expressed gratitude for the work and a commitment to make a difference beyond the Wellington community, which we will see more of this academic year.”
Find out more about the brilliant work of The Colourful Peach
“It’s a topic we can talk about now, especially between genders”
Wellington Pupil
