RSHE Assembly Delivered by Transport for London (TfL)
Harris Academy Merton is committed to educating our students on various aspects of life, including their safety and well-being. Today our Year 9 students attended a thought-provoking RSHE assembly delivered by Transport for London (TfL), exploring how sexual harassment can occur on public transport and what young people can do to stay safe, report concerns, and support others.
TfL used still CCTV images to demonstrate the scale of camera coverage across the transport network and explained that busy periods, such as before and after school, can create crowded spaces where inappropriate behaviour may occur or appear accidental.
Students learned about different forms of sexual harassment, including unwanted comments, staring, cyber flashing, upskirting and inappropriate touching.
Real-life case studies, including stories from the Cheer Up Luv project, helped students understand the emotional impact these experiences can have.
TfL highlighted that harassment can escalate when incidents go unreported, noting that only around 10% are currently reported.
The session covered practical digital safety, including restricting AirDrop settings to prevent strangers from sending inappropriate content and explained how Zip Card journey data supports the retrieval of CCTV footage when incidents are reported.
A key focus of the assembly was educatiing students on how and where to get help. Students were encouraged to seek support from a “safer stranger” in uniform such as a bus driver, TfL staff member or local shop worker and were taught how to report sexual harassment through 999 (emergency), 101 (non‑emergency services), CrimeStoppers (anonymous reporting) and the British Transport Police text service 61016, with TfL emphasising the importance of providing clear details such as descriptions, locations and timings when reporting incidents.
Students also learned about help points on platforms, online reporting tools and specialist services such as the Victim Support chat function and the Fearless Charity for Young People.
The assembly explored active bystander strategies, showing students safe ways to support someone being harassed without increasing risk, such as approaching them as if they were a friend to help remove them from the situation.
The session concluded by helping students understand common responses to threatening situations—the four ‘F’s’: fight, flight, freeze and friend—supporting them to recognise their own reactions and how to seek help afterwards.
