The resulting report – entitled Time to Listen – focuses on how local authorities, police, probation services, Youth Offending Teams, health services and Local Safeguarding Children Boards are working together to tackle and prevent CSE.
It has been published after inspections by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and HM Inspectorate of Probation.
While the report as a whole carries key messages about joint working and best practice across all the services involved, it also emphasises the vital role of schools and includes a number of case studies of best practice.
It states: “We found that schools played an essential role in raising awareness among large numbers of children about the risks of CSE. We saw a range of approaches used, including supporting some children to speak out about their experiences of being exploited.”
Examples included in Liverpool, where the use of drama productions has led to increased referrals from schools to children’s social care. Inspectors added: “Headteachers are clear about referral pathways, and articulated well their involvement in multi-agency CSE meetings leading to greater confidence in identifying children at risk of exploitation.”
Drama is also used in South Tyneside, the report finds, where all schools include CSE as part of the PSHE curriculum. One play in particular has been adapted to reflect local issues: “This ensures that the material is relevant to young people and is helping them identify the key warning signs in their local area. The play has been seen by children looked after with the support of specialist nurses and shown at the general practice safeguarding education forum.”
In some areas, sexual health services are being made available in schools, the report adds, leading to young people confiding in health practitioners. However, the report also warns that in other areas, school nursing services are so under-resourced that sexual health and safeguarding services are not being provided to schools.
The report concludes: “Raising awareness across the community is crucial. Children can help in developing materials to support other children to understand the risks and issues. Schools have a critical role. The wider community, including parents and carers as well as public services such as transport and recreation and the business community, needs to take responsibility for their role in protecting children.”
Elsewhere, the report emphasizes that one of the key warning signs of CSE is when children go missing from home, care or school and it urges a more consistent and effective response to this from the police and better information-sharing between agencies. It adds: “Sharing information between agencies, including schools, allows prevention work to be targeted.”
- The report, ‘Time to Listen’: A joined up response to child sexual exploitation and missing children, can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/2cMIk5f