Forced marriage: staff factsheet

Use this factsheet to make sure staff are clear on what forced marriage is, what signs to look out for, and what to do if they have concerns or a child confides in them. 

You could either use it as a handout when discussing the issue at a staff meeting, or send it round for staff to read themselves. 

Want to make it more interactive? 

Ask staff if they know what the difference is between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage, and how forced marriage could have an impact on children, before you share the factsheet with them.

If you want to have more of a discussion about the issue, try using these questions:

• How and where might we display information for pupils about forced marriage?
• How else might we inform them about forced marriage, so they can better recognise for themselves if they're at risk?
• How can we safely make sure pupils can seek advice discreetly and privately?
• Given the list of indicators in the factsheet, are there current or previous pupils who you think may be at risk from this issue? What action could we take, or could we have taken? What could we do differently in future?
• What might you do differently now, off the back of our discussion in this meeting?

... use our safeguarding scenario on forced marriage to get staff to put the learning into practice.