This week at the Girls’ School Association Annual Conference I had the chance to ask Jess Phillips MP how the government plans to rebuild young people’s trust – both in the systems designed to protect women and girls, and between young men and women themselves. Her answer was candid, sometimes sobering, and, importantly, hopeful. It also made me reflect deeply on our own role as a school.

Jess Phillips started her speech talking about her years at King Edward VI High School for Girls, describing how she didn’t have to perform or shrink herself – she could simply be. That resonated with me. This is exactly what we want for our girls at BGS: the freedom to grow, question, express themselves and feel entirely at home in their own skin.

However, she also outlined how much the world has changed. Violence and misogyny among teenagers is rising, and the age at which harmful behaviour begins is falling faster than anyone predicted. Domestic abuse within teenage relationships is increasing. The average age of perpetrators in child sexual abuse cases is now shockingly just 14 years old. Schools have seen this emerging for years; Jess Phillips described us as the canaries in the mines, that just weren’t heard. 

Importantly, she reminded us that this is not only a girls’ issue. Violence against women and girls harms boys too through fear, misinformation and pressures that distort what healthy relationships look like. I loved that Jess Phillips spoke as a mother of two young men as well as a politician, and that struck a chord with me. I’m also raising two boys while overseeing the wellbeing of hundreds of girls, so I am acutely aware of both sides of this issue.

For many parents in communities like ours, it can feel tempting to hope these problems sit elsewhere. But the digital world means anyone can be affected, and the influences shaping young people’s attitudes today reach into every school and every home. 

Yet alongside the concern, Jess Phillips also shared something energising: she feels immense hope from young women today, young women who will not tolerate disrespect, who expect fairness, and who want to be part of the solution. This is absolutely the spirit we see here every day at BGS.

She also stressed the vital role of schools. Sometimes unfairly burdened, as teachers increasingly pick up responsibilities previously held by other services, but also uniquely placed to make a difference. Schools, she said, are where the real work of teaching about respect, consent and relationships happens and where it can genuinely change lives.

This is work we take seriously here at BGS. We ensure relationships education is a genuine dialogue, not a tick-box exercise. We teach consent, digital awareness, empathy and kindness in ways that feel meaningful. We are proud to help our girls understand their own agency and, through our collaboration with Bedford School, to help boys understand it too. Above all, we model what trust looks like – trust in adults, in systems, and in themselves.

Jess Phillips left us with a powerful reminder: we cannot allow brilliant, capable girls to have their futures limited by harm we can prevent. The financial cost of violence against women and girls is staggering £13 billion a year in lost work alone – but the human cost is far greater.

Her speech was challenging at moments, but ultimately a call to action. She spoke with deep respect for schools, reminding us that education deserves greater recognition for all its shoulders. I loved her approach, for its honesty and no-nonsense clarity, that unfiltered, straight-talking candour that spoke to my northern soul and made me feel that I was hearing the truth, unvarnished and unafraid. It’s a talk I won’t forget, and one that has left me inspired to do even more for the girls in our care.

Thus, at BGS we will continue to engage with these issues thoughtfully and age-appropriately, with the reassurance that your daughters are part of a school committed to their safety and wellbeing. Thank you, as ever, for partnering with us in raising girls who know their worth and who will go on to build a world where that worth is never questioned.