Safeguarding young people from abuse and exploitation Next Steps and Implications for Education Providers Dr Carlene Firmin MBE Senior Research Fellow and Head of MsUnderstood Partnership @carlenefirmin @uniofbedsCSE NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT AUTHOR PERMISSION

The International Centre Committed to increasing understanding of, and improving responses to child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking in local, national and international context. Achieved through: academic rigour and research excellence collaborative and partnership based approaches to applied social research meaning and ethical engagement of children and young people

Overview Contextual and complex nature of abuse and exploitation– a brief overview Where we have been in terms of response Towards contextual and holistic responses: examples of promising practice Discussion – implications for education Questions

Contextual nature of exploitation and abuse Sexual harassment and bullying Peer recruitment Gang-affected neighbourhoods CSE in parks, shopping centres Neighbourhood School Peer Group Home Child Peer association to IPV Peer group sexual offending Domestic abuse Neglect

Overlaid categories of exploitation Missing Harmful sexual behaviour Teenage relationship abuse Serious Youth Violence Sexual Exploitation Radicalisation

Where we have been: 1:1 intervention for young people who have been exploited, and sometimes group intervention Relocation, care placements (under section 20) and securing on welfare grounds Child and family assessment Investigation and prosecution post disclosure Siloed strategies, action plans, assessment tools, referral pathways and multi-agency groups

Where next

Unpicking the content of individual intervention Safety Stabilisation Telling Relational Engagement Positive Enhancement

Challenging Language Promiscuous Manipulative Streetwise Risky choices Risky behaviour Absconder Sexually aware / experienced Aggressive Out of control Liar Boys being boys Glamour Will not engage

Challenging relocation and managed moves physical safety relational safety psychological safety (Shuker, 2013, 2015)

Consideration of cultural school environments Engagement with mainstream education Individual schools are developing more robust responses Work with external agencies, on both prevention and intervention Actively refer students to MASH when have concerns, Sharing info with other services local services Ensured training for ALL staff to manage referrals and take disclosures Fair Access Panel PRU’s that are identified as places that can hold very vulnerable young people Fair access panel referral from altered to capture contextual information Fair access panel forms analysed to identify trends and ongoing issues within schools LA and partners monitor referrals and the PRU do not accept all young people based on judgements regarding vulnerability Assessment with referral in context.

Peer group mapping and dual planning Peer Group Mapping and group (via individual) intervention (MSU Site Work) Social workers and youth offending workers identified links between their individual cases Met to map Refined assessment Designed complimentary interventions Leader Bystander Follower

Peer Network – (Firmin, 2015)

Proactive investigation and safeguarding Investment in analytical mapping and trend identification Awareness-raising with local businesses and public spaces Geo-spatial mapping and multi-issue ‘hotspot’ mapping Role of detached youth work, neighbourhood teams, housing and youth service providers Bedding and clothing seizure Situational prevention strategies Use of disruption and civil orders

Disruption through safeguarding (Firmin and Curtis, forthcoming) Consistent processes for NFA referrals Sites with majority or significant minority of MASE referrals peer-on-peer All YP featured in peer-on-peer referrals subjected to MAP meeting Twin processes run for identified suspects and complainants Review of peer connections and behaviours against Hackett spectrum Intervention designed against contextual model

Shared categories of vulnerabilities Grooming Consent Identity Inequality Belonging Agency Social

Implications for education providers (1) Creating a safe cultural environment at school Addressing harmful gendered norms and other issues of inequality through curriculum and policies Enabling safe friendships Consistent responses to bullying, abuse and violence Corridor cultures Opportunities for leadership Physical, relational and psychological safety

Implications for education providers (2) Engagement in multi-agency partnerships: Peer group assessment and mapping Detailed engagement at fair access decisions Awareness and engagement in multi-agency neighbourhood discussions Support of case management process for young people affected by the issues Investment in bystander intervention and peer support

Routes/Levers for implementation Training Supervision Evaluation and monitoring Recording and periodic review of incident management Curriculum Peer support networks Policies, procedures and strategic documents

On-going questions Achieving consistency in understanding and approach The challenge of language and understanding Capturing, monitoring and sharing impact Re-emphasising safeguarding How to achieve holistic approaches that include specialism

For more information and resources visit our website www.beds.ac.uk/ic carlene.firmin@beds.ac.uk @uniofbedscse