Queen Elizabeth’s School has won a prestigious award recognising their work around the prevention of Domestic Abuse.

Head of Year 11 and teacher of Drama, Dulcie Oliver received the award at the National Theatre in London at an evening, hosted by the charity Tender.
Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre, presented Dulcie Oliver with the award for QE recognising her work and the support shown by the school saying the following: "When introducing the topic of relationships into the classroom, it is an understandable concern for many teachers that it will “open a can of worms” for students who may have personal experience of any issues being discussed. When Tender approached Queen Elizabeth’s School in Crediton, Devon, the school were keenly aware of opening possible “cans”, as some students had experience of domestic abuse through their families and their own relationships. However, they remained committed to the Tender project because, in the words of a wise member of staff: “opening the can helps students to seek support.”

The charity's Patron: Olivia Colman attended the evening and presented some of the eight awards, along with other well-known faces who support and advocate for the work of Tender, including: Will Greenwood (Former England Rugby player), half of RizzleKicks: Jordan Stephens and Jess Peters (politician).

Tender’s focus is the prevention of domestic and sexual violence. They work with young people across the UK in both Primary and Secondary schools and last year the charity worked with over 36,000 students.
The project engaged twenty Year 10 Queen Elizabeth students who received a workshop from the Tender facilitators. This group then devised a piece of Drama exploring the theme of domestic abuse to raise awareness and also help young people recognise the signs of an unhealthy relationship, and help them access support.

A large range of provision and pastoral staff were made available for students both during and after the workshops. Robust safeguarding procedures are put in place during every project, for participants and audiences.

The students who participated in the project were thrilled to know that the work that they created and performed (and the impact it had) led to students feeling that they could access support from the staff and agencies available and thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the project.

In Devon the scheme is overseen by Dr Sarah Cole who approached QE to see if it could be arranged for the project to be run shortly before Christmas last year, keen to empower our students and enable them to engage with this wonderful programme.

Rupert Poole, Principal said: "This award recognises the vital work we do in this area. It is a sad fact that a significant number of young people experience domestic violence, so it is important we do everything we can to help our students learn about healthy relationships. My thanks to Dulcie Oliver for leading on this and many congratulations to her for this richly deserved award."

For more information on the work of the charity, please visit: www.tender.org.uk