New! Lesson plans for schools

FGM Lesson Plans

What is this resource?

The National FGM Centre, in partnership with the Eve Appeal have collaborated in co-designing 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, specialist designed lesson plans that are easy to use and embed in class, which follow the mandatory RSE duty as well as PSHE Association standards for teaching.

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

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.

By the end of secondary school, students should know and understand:

The physical and emotional damage caused by FGM
That it is a criminal offence to perform or assist in the performance of FGM
Where to seek and access support for FGM

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.