(Re-)Imagining the Relationship Between Schools and the Police in Preventing and Responding to Harmful Sexual Behaviours in Schools, 2022-2024

This dataset comprises anonymised qualitative interview transcripts generated as part of a study examining professional responses to harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) among children and young people in school and safeguarding contexts. The study was motivated by growing policy and public concern regarding peer-on-peer sexual abuse, alongside recognition of the limitations of existing legal, educational and safeguarding frameworks in addressing the relational, developmental and socio-cultural dimensions of such behaviours.

The dataset includes interviews with a range of professional stakeholders, including police personnel, school staff, and practitioners working in social care, therapeutic services and third-sector organisations. Participants were recruited on the basis of their professional involvement in, or insight into, responses to HSB, resulting in a dataset that captures both direct case-based experience and broader systemic and preventative perspectives.

Interviews explored a range of topics, including definitions and understandings of HSB; perceived drivers and contexts, including the influence of peer cultures and digital environments; institutional responses within schools and policing; multi-agency working; and the challenges of balancing safeguarding, education and criminal justice approaches. Particular attention was given to tensions between punitive and educational responses, the timing and impact of formal justice processes, and the role of prevention through relationships and sex education.

The data provide detailed accounts of how HSB is interpreted and managed across institutional contexts, highlighting variability in practice, constraints on professional decision-making, and gaps in coordination between agencies. Participants frequently emphasised the importance of early intervention, relational approaches, and whole-system responses, while also identifying structural pressures, including resource constraints and delays in formal processes, as shaping outcomes for young people.

The dataset offers insight into contemporary professional understandings of HSB and the complexities of responding to it in practice. It is intended to support secondary analysis of institutional responses to youth sexual harm, as well as research on safeguarding, policing, education and youth wellbeing in post-digital contexts.