Lesson plans for schools

What is this resource?

The National FGM Centre, in partnership with the Eve Appeal, has co-designed lesson plans for introducing FGM to young people in Key Stages 1, 2, and 3. Know Your Body was created to reach young people with the greatest barriers to healthcare access.

The lesson plans equip schools and teachers with age-appropriate, interactive, and specialist-designed lesson plans that are easy to use and integrate into the class. They follow the mandatory RSE duty as well as PSHE Association standards for teaching.

The lesson plans come in a pack of teachers guidance, including ‘script’-like wording that can be followed and adapted, a PowerPoint presentation with presenter notes, and an animation. Teachers can choose to deliver the lessons using either the PowerPoint or the interactive animation. Further information is provided around engaging parents and frequently asked questions by children.

What does the RSE duty require schools to teach on FGM?

Schools and educational professionals are ideally suited to not only raise awareness of FGM, but also to safeguard and support girls and young women.

The government statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE), makes it compulsory for secondary schools to teach pupils about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other harmful practices, including forced marriage and ‘honour’-based abuse. Although the duty to teach about FGM is not mandatory for primary schools, it can optionally be applied.

By the end of secondary school, pupils should know the concepts of, and laws relating to, sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming, coercion, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, forced marriage, ‘honour’-based violence and FGM, and how these can affect current and future relationships.  

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Whilst teaching FGM in primary settings is optional, we encourage all schools to teach about the topic from the earliest opportunity from key stage 1 to identify and protect girls at risk earlier, and empower the next generation to speak out about the issue.

These lesson plans, developed by The National FGM Centre, in partnership with The Eve Appeal, were designed to be an easy resource for teachers to begin classroom based learning about the topic within the umbrella of violence against women and girls, and follow a spiral curriculum.

To help prepare you for this, please see: Female Genital Mutilation: Guidance for schools – understanding your role in safeguarding girls, engaging parents and teaching about FGM. This includes background information to FGM, information on prevalence, risk indicators, and how to have conversations with girls identified at risk or who have been identified as having undergone FGM, and their parents where there are safeguarding concerns – including a ‘conversation form’ to help capture your concerns when making a referral to children’s services.