Sex education doesn’t fail because young people are immature.

It fails because adults are carrying unprocessed sexual shame.

Sexologist, sex therapist and consent trainer Sian Johnson joins us to unpack why sex education, consent conversations and sexual disclosures are so difficult for adults, not because they’re ‘awkward’, but because they activate shame carried in our bodies, beliefs and nervous systems.

This episode delves into:

• The difference between healthy shame and toxic sexual shame

• Why sexual shame can stop people reporting abuse or exploitation

• Why asking teachers to deliver RSE without proper support is setting them up to fail

• How shame shows up in classrooms, safeguarding roles and professional responses

This is an honest, nuanced conversation about what adults bring into safeguarding spaces, often unknowingly, and why ignoring that reality puts both professionals and young people at risk.

Because safeguarding is also about what’s happening inside those who hold responsibility.

Connect with Sian Johnson:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sian-johnson-37385416/

Website: https://sianjohnson.com/

Useful Links:

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk

• Email us at Cornerstone: info@cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - https://www.cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/cornerstoneconnectsignup - for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts.

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

Consent is often taught as simple.

Real life rarely is.

In the first of our series 'Let's Talk About Sex (and Safeguarding)', Chris East is joined by Rupert James Allison, consent workshop facilitator for university students, to unpick what consent actually looks like in the real world.

They touch on why myths from the 1970s still linger, how heteronormative teaching has limited our understanding of consent, and why focusing solely on harm can shut down meaningful learning.

Rupert introduces the Wheel of Consent and a deceptively simple question that can transform sexual experiences and everyday interactions alike:

Who is this for?

From non-verbal communication to the power of asking for a pause, this conversation challenges the idea that consent is a one-off yes or no.

Instead, it invites us to see consent as something we arrive at together.

This episode is essential listening for educators, safeguarding professionals, university staff, and anyone who wants to move beyond box-ticking and towards ethical, respectful, and genuinely mutual sexual experiences.

Contact Rupert James Alison on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupert-james-alison/⁠

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Useful Links:

• ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding⁠ - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - ⁠www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk⁠

• Email us at Cornerstone: ⁠info@cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk⁠

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs:

⁠https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4⁠

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - ⁠https://www.cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/cornerstoneconnectsignup⁠ - for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts.

• Chris East on LinkedIn:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/⁠

• Leah East on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/⁠

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East

What happens when a teacher breaks and no one notices?

In this powerful episode, experienced educator Anna Fannon shares the moment she went beyond burnout, and why it changed everything.

From masking in the classroom to hiding in plain sight, Anna describes what it feels like to be physically present at work, but mentally gone.

Together, Anna and Chris confront one of education’s biggest blind spots: why staff wellbeing is still treated as a 'nice to have', while safeguarding and care are reserved almost entirely for students, and what it really costs when adults are expected to keep going, unnoticed.

This conversation digs into:

• Why cake, cards and wellbeing posters aren’t enough

• The real cost of constant masking for staff

• What leaders miss when they don’t ask, “What do you need?”

  
  

If you work in education, leadership, safeguarding or pastoral roles, this one is for you.

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Useful Links:

• https://buymeacoffee.com/cornerstonesafeguarding - Every coffee you buy helps us keep creating practical tools and content for safeguarding professionals like you

• To find out more about Cornerstone Safeguarding - www.CornerstoneSafeguarding.co.uk

• Email us at Cornerstone: info@cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk

• Book in a meeting to discuss your safeguarding needs:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ0ZwllED1_R0eAmzurUNbXW6dk92TtCp9BE8oysOnlPwBl3L2vNEooyvSJ3fQaQBk_q1onKflh4

• Subscribe to Cornerstone Connect - https://www.cornerstonesafeguarding.co.uk/cornerstoneconnectsignup - for fresh safeguarding insights, priority access to support, and exclusive discounts.

• Chris East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-east-801496174/

• Leah East on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-east-cornerstone/

Producers of this episode: Chris East, Leah East

Host of this episode: Chris East