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Cranbrook in Sydney鈥檚 east is one of the most elite boys schools in Australia. On Monday night, the ABC鈥檚 Four Corners program聽聽some female teachers had been bullied by male staff and sexually harassed by students.

Amid the school鈥檚 decision to go聽聽by 2028, there are concerns about whether Cranbrook will be a safe space for girls.

In a聽, Cranbrook said its 鈥渃urrent staff, including female staff, overwhelmingly support the School, its values and its culture鈥�. It also said it has appointed teacher Daisy Turnbull to prepare for coeducation and 鈥渟upport the furtherance of gender equality鈥� at the school.

What do schools need to do in order to be genuinely gender inclusive?

In the last few years, a number of boys private schools have faced allegations of unacceptable gendered cultures. This includes聽,听听补苍诲听聽and woefully inadequate聽聽between students.

笔谤别惫颈辞耻蝉听聽has also found elite boys schools can be hostile places for women and girls, trans and gender diverse students, as well as boys who don鈥檛 conform to traditional norms of masculinity.

Simply enrolling girls will not automatically make a boys school more inclusive, less sexist or safer.

Schools aiming to truly welcome a wider range of students will need to significantly reshape the structures and culture of the school itself, both within and beyond the classroom.

The World Health Organization has聽聽to ensure schools are healthy and safe. It addresses three overlapping areas:

1. teaching and learning

2. the broader school environment

3. partnerships with parents and the community.

This approach can be applied to gender equity and inclusivity.

The first component of a healthy school involves what students learn and the approaches and strategies used to teach it.

Schools that are gender equitable provide diverse curricula and equally diverse extra-curricular opportunities accessible to all students, regardless of gender.

There are all kinds of boys and all kinds of girls. So even single sex schools should be catering to students with a wide range of skills, interests, preferences and experiences. Likewise, there are students who are trans and non-binary, who may be excluded from school activities divided along narrow gender lines.

Some co-ed schools still segregate boys and girls for certain subjects. This approach upholds the idea that boys and girls learn differently and that some topics (such as聽) are too awkward to discuss in mixed-gendered groups.

Some schools choose to segregate classrooms to improve girls鈥� opportunities in areas they have been traditionally underrepresented in. While this can spring from feminist recognition of gender inequalities, it reaffirms the very divides it is attempting to challenge.

The current聽聽provides opportunities to engage young people in discussions about gender stereotypes and power in age-appropriate ways, in both primary and high school.

In English, students should聽聽that challenge traditional gender roles and inequality.

Science, technology, engineering and maths subjects can聽聽content and careers, through hands-on classroom activities that encourage critical thinking and build confidence.

In health and physical education, comprehensive聽聽should be a priority and include discussions of gender, power, violence, consent and healthy relationships.

Teachers鈥� values and attitudes about gender will also be reflected in their聽. This includes whether or not they address students through gendered language, divide students into gendered groups for activities or discipline boys and girls differently.

So teachers also need support and quality professional development to keep pace with evolving understandings of gender and聽.

The second component of a healthy school is the school culture. School leaders should use respectful and inclusive language and there should be strong policies to deal with child-protection concerns, gender-based discrimination and violence at school.

Research indicates that, unlike other forms of bullying,听聽or ignored by staff. Sexist language and behaviours can be dismissed as 鈥渏ust a normal part of growing up鈥� and so become a routine part of young people鈥檚 schooling experiences.

School staff should also feel valued, respected and safe in their workplace regardless of their sex, gender or sexuality. Unfortunately, evidence indicates this is not always the case. A 2018 survey found聽聽reported experiences of discrimination in the workplace. Australian research published in 2020 found women teachers were experiencing unacceptably high rates of聽.

School leaders have a duty to ensure their schools have robust policies and processes for responding to disclosures of harassment and discrimination from staff. They also need to pursue聽聽cultural change to ensure a safe work environment.

Students can be active partners in developing an inclusive school community and can even help聽聽relating to gender, overcoming biases and developing healthy relationships.

Student diversity should also be reflected through gender-balanced representation in student leadership roles. Student initiatives around gender equality and LGBTQIA+ visibility, such as聽, should also be supported.

School uniforms should provide options so all young people feel safe and comfortable in what they wear at school.

The third and final part of a healthy school looks beyond the school gates. Schools should see parents as partners and celebrate diversity in the community.

Parents should be invited to ask questions about curriculum and school culture and to raise concerns or lend expertise. School policies should be publicly available and regularly reviewed with student and parent input.

Schools can also work with organisations that promote gender equity, diversity and promote healthy relationships such as聽,听听补苍诲听.

These organisations can support schools鈥� counselling and pastoral care services and provide resources and training for teachers.

While boys schools have been the focus of recent media attention all schools should be called upon to evaluate and reflect on their gendered culture.

Co-ed and girls schools are not immune to gender-based violence, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.

A whole-of-school review of curricula, school culture and partnerships can help schools ensure they are creating inclusive and respectful environments. This work is urgent if we aspire to a society where all students and teachers are safe in our schools.

This article was originally published in . It was authored by Dr Kellie Burns, School of Education and Social Work and Dr Jessica Kean, Lecturer in Gender and Cultural Studies.聽

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