Michael Gove has agreed to write to all schools in England about female genital mutilation, after a Guardian-backed petition urging the education secretary to take action attracted nearly 250,000 signatures.

The education secretary's pledge was given as he met 17-year-old student Fahma Mohamed, the face of the campaign, and praised her for her "inspirational" work.

He agreed to write to primary and secondary headteachers drawing their attention to guidelines around the issue and reminding them of their duty to protect schoolgirls.

Speaking after the meeting, Mohamed said she was relieved and delighted at the outcome.

"I think it is fantastic that he is finally listening. I feel like we had got over the biggest hurdle and I am so glad he is willing to meet us and see the work we do."

She thanked the thousands of people who had put their names to the petition. "I want to thank every single person who signed, without them we would never have got this meeting and Mr Gove would never have agreed to write to all schools. This is a real step to helping us eradicate this issue forever. It's a huge weight off my shoulders."

Gove also agreed to consider how FGM education could be delivered in an age-appropriate way in classrooms, and promised to visit Mohamed and members of the youth charity Integrate Bristol at the City Academy Bristol, one of two schools in the country to run an FGM awareness project.

Michael Gove, the education secretary. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA

The education secretary said: "I was very pleased to meet Fahma Mohamed today. She has been running an inspirational campaign. Fahma and her supporters have done fantastic work in raising awareness of female genital mutilation. It is a truly horrific crime. We must do everything we can to end it."

Gove said guidance on keeping children safe would be sent out by Easter – before the summer holidays – and would include material to enable teachers to tackle the subject of female genital mutilation.

The material will cover prevalence statistics, factors that heighten risk, warning signs and a reminder of the statutory safeguarding duties of teachers and other school staff in relation to FGM, as well as links to other information.

He asked for more evidence of good practice on teacher training and how education about FGM could be age-appropriate.

"I thank Fahma – and other courageous public campaigners against female genital mutilation – for their efforts. We all want to see this very serious form of child abuse consigned to history," he said.

It is estimated that there are 24,000 girls at risk of FGM. Hundreds are taken abroad each summer to be cut, often with little or no indication of what is about to happen to them.

17-year-old Fahma Mohamed. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt for the Guardian

The thinking behind asking Gove to issue written guidance to schools is that awareness of the issue among girls is one of the best ways to ensure that the practice is stamped out.

Mohamed, a trustee of Integrate Bristol, met Gove alongside the charity's founder, Lisa Zimmermann, and fellow members Naz Ahmed, Hamda Mohamed and Faduma Dualeh.

"I see this as a huge victory," said Zimmermann. "It is a first if incomplete step, I believe that head teachers want to do their best for their children but they need to be told how to help."

Nimko Ali, co-founder of FGM charity Daughters of Eve, who was also at the meeting, said that campaigners would keep up the pressure on Gove and other ministers. "Mr Gove is a bit late to the party, he has RSVP'd but now he needs to get on the dance floor," she said.

The campaign to end FGM has gathered momentum recently, after the Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai said Mohamed was her "sister" and praised her efforts. "Over 140 million girls and women are mutilated – but like keeping girls out of school in Pakistan, we can come out together and be strong and change things for the next generation," Malala said. "I am her sister and I am at her side."

The campaign, one of the biggest hosted on Change.org, also won the backing of the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who called it deeply inspiring.

As a result of the campaign the Scottish government has already agreed to send a letter to every teacher in Scotland asking them to be proactive about teaching the risks and warning signs of FGM.

Mohamed also received the support of many police crime commissioners, with 23 of 42 signing the petition by Tuesday following a push by lobby group Policing for All. The Royal College of General Practitioners pressured the government, telling the home affairs select committee that while it believed all GPs who suspect that a child has been subjected to FGM should refer the parent or guardian to social services, it was concerned that services were not sufficiently equipped to deal with cases.

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier in the day health minister Jane Ellison – who recently announced plans to record all instances of FGM in hospitals and clinics – praised Mohamed as a "brilliant young woman".