Douglas Academy is a large secondary school in Milngavie with a roll of approximately 1,050 learners. 

• 9% of pupils live in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) deciles 1 to 3
• 36% have an additional support need
• 7% receive free school meals

Staff understand that social justice issues can permeate all communities across Scotland. Preventative approaches have been embraced by the setting. 

The school strives to use the robust relationships which exist within this close-knit community in order to ensure that learners feel safe to disclose and understand that gender-based violence (GBV) and wider equalities issues are not confined to particular demographics.

Inclusion in school improvement plan

Work on GBV developed over several years:

2021 to 2022: Extensive learner engagement through pupil parliament and pupil councils highlighted learners’ concerns about global social justice issues such as sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and the extent to which social media is perpetuating harmful narratives.

2022 to 2023: Leaders undertook structured research into Equally Safe at School (ESAS), Anti‑Racist Education, and Time for Inclusive Education resources. The school provided feedback to all young people through “You said, we did” assemblies.

2023 to 2024 onward: Social Justice and Equalities became one of three whole‑school improvement priorities. Within this, the school committed to gender‑based violence prevention, Anti‑Racist Education and LGBT‑inclusive Education, alongside maintaining long‑standing work such as Rights Respecting Schools.

The school’s approach emphasises careful planning rather than reactive decision‑making, to unite stakeholders and ensure a sustainable shared vision.

Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)

Douglas Academy first implemented MVP in 2016, with staff trained to deliver the programme. The first pupil mentors were recruited in 2018 and, since then, the school has run MVP annually. The programme aimed to: 

• increase awareness of GBV and related themes in age‑appropriate ways
• strengthen relationships between S5/S6 pupils and younger pupils
• provide a meaningful peer‑support network
• create visible senior‑pupil leadership roles contributing to a safer culture

Peer mentors now mostly S5 and S6 delivering session to S2. MVP also offers senior pupils leadership opportunities.

Equally Safe at School (ESAS)

By 2021, despite strong MVP implementation, learners were reporting that GBV issues were becoming more visible in society particularly through social media, and MVP alone was not reaching every learner. ESAS was therefore seen as the next logical step towards a whole‑school, structural approach.

Managing capacity

MVP Delivery Model

The school trains up to 30 mentors per year, keeping the cohort manageable.

Mentors work in teams of up to five, assigned to S2 registration classes, providing flexibility around exams, deadlines or absences.

12 members of staff currently support MVP (11 teaching, 1 youth worker).

A guidance staff member is present during delivery to provide sensitive support if disclosures or distress arise.

ESAS Implementation

100% of teaching staff completed the ESAS module and staff survey.

Over 800 pupils completed the ESAS survey.

An 11‑member ESAS Working Group was formed, all of whom have undertaken enhanced training.

New staff are expected to complete ESAS training as part of their PRD targets.

Sustaining learner engagement

Douglas Academy is committed to ensuring that pupil participation is central to driving improvement within Social Justice and Equalities Education. This includes:

• annual MVP cycles
• ESAS surveys and focus groups with every year group.
• creating ESAS Ambassadors
• engaging learners in 16 Days of Activism
• providing learner updates using “You said, we did”

Challenges and how they were addressed

Timetabling and staffing

MVP training must be early in the year. Weekend training proved unsuitable due to pupil employment.

The school trialled different delivery models and eventually opted have seniors deliver in S2 PSE classes, meaning that a member of guidance staff is always present in case any learner needs support.

Parental communication is proactive and transparent, with letters outlining content. Opt‑outs are extremely rare.

Staff turnover

The school has built a permanent and stable staff base trained in MVP and ESAS, with annual opportunities to build capacity by training more staff.

Survey management

To achieve the 100% staff engagement goal, this required dedicated in‑service time and so this was carved out.

Additionally, to ensure good learner engagement, practitioners were asked to protect class time so that learners could complete the pupil surveys.

Engaging boys and men

Male participation is lower than female participation across staff volunteers, ambassadors, and mentors.

Planned actions include mixed‑gender training teams and bringing in male external speakers to address balance.

Changes observed and evidence of impact

Since the beginning of Douglas Academy’s journey in prevention work, they have noticed and have evidenced a number of changes across the school and wider community.

There is an improved awareness of what constitutes GBV and how stereotypes and micro-aggressions lay the foundations for wider societal behaviours.

Greater confidence amongst staff and pupils to discuss sensitive issues such as racism, homophobia, sexual harassment and bias.

Refreshed reporting procedures, prompted by survey insights, showing that some learners were unsure how to report concerns. The school delivered assemblies clarifying reporting pathways for any issue.

Curriculum mapping began to identify where social‑justice themes appear across curricular areas and departments.

There is a higher visibility of GBV and equality issues in the school’s culture.

Successes

Successes include:

• presenting their work at the local authority Learning Festival
• receiving external recognition for high‑quality ESAS practice
• establishing a strong culture of collaboration, openness, and learner‑centred decision‑making

Sustainability and next steps

The school will:

• maintain the ESAS Working Group and the Social Justice improvement priority
• Re‑survey at an appropriate time
• continue network‑building with schools and agencies
• consolidate policy into a single Social Justice Policy, rather than maintaining multiple separate equality‑related policies
• refine curriculum mapping so that each department contributes meaningfully to one or more social‑justice strands, without increasing workload pressure

Next steps

The school would like to focus on:

• parents and carers are currently informed but not yet fully involved - this is a planned next step
• the school has not resurveyed yet to avoid survey fatigue, but this will be planned for an appropriate time