1. Children and Young People who Go Missing from Home or Care
This presentation is aimed at CSE champions to support you to raise awareness of “Children and Young People who go missing”, within your organisation, it is a very basic awareness package, aimed at taking no more than minutes, depending on the level of discussion and whether the optional activities throughout are used.
Children running away or going missing from home or care is a key safeguarding issue. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.
Nationally there are no exact figures for the number of children who go missing or run away, but estimates suggest that the figure is in the region of 100,000 per year..

2. What does it mean to be ‘Missing’ from Home or Care?
National Guidance for Children and Young People Missing from Home or Care (2014)
Defines children as ‘missing’ or ‘absent’
ACTIVITY ONE:
In pairs / groups discuss what the difference is between ‘missing’ and ‘absent’
The National Guidance for Children and Young People Missing from Home or Care (2014) splits the definition of Missing into two categories. These are ‘Missing’ and ‘Absent’.
It is important that we understand the difference to ensure that our responses to children and young people are proportionate to the circumstances. Most children and young people who go missing return the same day and some incidents concern children and young people who are late home and for whom there are no other concerns. These children may never had contact with anyone outside of universal services and may never do so.
Every five minutes a child in this country runs away from home or care. Some are as young as eight. Many have no choice but to go it alone, and take huge risks on the streets – begging or stealing to survive, or resorting to drugs and alcohol. Many are groomed by adults who will later exploit and harm them. This is the reality for 100,000 children who go missing every year. One in six young runaways end up sleeping rough, one in eight resort to begging or stealing to survive and one in 12 are hurt or harmed as a direct result of running away. [The Children’s Society, 2016].
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: In groups think about what might be a child ‘missing’ and what might be a child ‘absent’ – Discuss.

3. What does it mean to be ‘Missing’ from Home or Care?
The national definition of ‘missing’ is:
Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established and where the circumstances are either out of character and / or the context suggests the person may be a subject of crime or at risk to themselves or others.
The national definition of ‘absent’ is:
Anyone who is not at a place they are expected or required to be.

4. Missing or Absent? They are missing if:
A young person’s whereabouts are NOT KNOWN.
They have made contact with someone but there are concerns that they are not where they say they are.
They say that they are at a place or with people that may not be appropriate.
They have not adhered to any curfews to return home and you don’t know where they are.
They are absent if:
A young person’s whereabouts are known but are not where they are required or expected to be.
The young person is at a place or with people who are known about and accepted as safe for them to be with.
A young person has not returned at the agreed timing makes contacts to say they are running late (train, bus etc.).
However those missing children who are particularly at risk during missing episodes are:
‘Looked after’ children (Children in Care) missing from their placements (residential, foster care etc)
Children in Need (open to Family Operations)
So how do might we decide whether a young person is missing or absent?
Here are some of the questions that you might consider when trying to arrive at that decision. It is not always clear cut and you will see that sometimes, it might be difficult to answer the questions. Even though you might know where the young person is, you might have concerns about their safety at the known location – this must be reported to the police for further investigation (this could be via a welfare check at the location of concern).
If you are unsure, you are advised to always call the police. Alternatively, you might seek advice from a child or young person’s social worker if they have one, or you might call the Family Operations Hub for some professional advice.

5. Why do young people go missing?
ACTIVITY TWO:
Write down one reason why a child might go missing.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY:
Ask the group to consider one reason a child might go missing, ask them to write this on a piece of paper / post it. Collect all together and read out – are there similarities or are responses different – discuss.
There are many reasons that children and young people go missing (see next slide)

6. Why do young people go missing?
PUSH factors – to get away from something:
Poor home life
Bullying
Boredom
Things that may make them feel inadequate, self conscious or devalued
To get away from their own thoughts and feelings
PULL factors – to get to somewhere they would rather be:
To see friends
To see family
To do things they may not normally do or be allowed to do
To go somewhere or do something fun
Peer pressure
When we have asked them why they went missing, this is what they told us. We have broken this down into push and pull factors. Push factors refer to the things that young people might be ‘getting away from’ and Pull factors refer to things that might draw young people to ‘get somewhere they would rather be’.
These push and pull factors can lead to risk and vulnerability that is often not recognised by the young people themselves as they may have been groomed or coerced. So what are the risks when young people go missing from home or care? (next slide)

7. What are the risks to young people while they are missing?
Grooming –
Gangs
Child sexual exploitation
Exploitation into offending and modern day slavery
Radicalisation
Trafficking
Victim of other criminal activities
Perpetrator of criminal activities
Drug and alcohol use
Having contact with a person or persons who pose a risk to young people
Accidents or even Death
As we have said, there are many reasons why children go missing. It is important that we do not assume that every child who goes missing is being sexually exploited or involved in crime for example. However we must recognise the potential risk vulnerability & fully explore why, where and who with to build a picture of what the child is experiencing.
Grooming:
Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation. Children and young people can be groomed online or in the real world, by a stranger or by someone they know - for example a family member, friend or professional. Groomers may be male or female. They could be any age. Many children and young people don't understand that they have been groomed, or that what has happened is abuse.
Children can be groomed for the purpose of sexual abuse as well as other forms of exploitation including involvement in criminal and extremist activity. Children who are missing are more vulnerable to being groomed and may also go missing as a result of being groomed.
The links between child sexual exploitation and running away:
Running away or going missing is a key early indicator of child sexual exploitation. Recent research has found that many as 70% of children who are sexually exploited go missing. Some young people go missing as a consequence of sexual exploitation. Others are at risk of being targeted by perpetrators who groom them for sexual exploitation. [The Children’s Society, 2016]
Because there is such a strong link between children going missing and risk of sexual exploitation, professionals should always assess whether a child who has gone missing is being sexually exploited or at risk of being sexually exploited.
What is modern day slavery:
Modern slavery is when one person possesses or controls another person in such a way as to significantly deprive that person of their individual liberty, with the intention of exploiting that person through their use, profit, transfer or disposal.
Radicalisation:
Children and young people can suffer harm when exposed to extremist ideology. This harm can range from a child adopting or complying with extreme views which limit their social interaction and full engagement with their education, to children being groomed for involvement in violent attacks.
Children can by exposed to harmful, extremist ideology in the immediate or extended family, or relatives/family friends who live outside the family home but have influence over the child’s life. Older children or young people might self-radicalise over the internet or through the influence of their peer network – in this instance their parents might not know about this or feel powerless to stop their child’s radicalisation.
Going missing is a risk factor in relation to radicalisation:
A child may go missing because they have already been radicalised;
A child’s risk of being radicalised might increase because they are missing and are spending time with people who may seek to involve them in radical/extreme activities. The risk is heightened whilst they are missing, because the protective factors of family or care are not available to them.
Professionals should always assess whether a child who has gone missing is at risk of radicalisation.

8. Children Missing Education
Children and young people on reduced time tables, exclusions and not on a school role are particularly vulnerable to missing episodes.
Possible underlying causes of challenging behaviour and disengagement from education can be rooted in experience outside of the school setting.
Not being in school can increase vulnerability, boredom, isolation from the usual circle of peers and can become a push for young people to escape the problems at school or a pull for young people to seek out other relationships or experiences that may not necessarily be safe.

9. What to do if a child has gone missing?
Discuss your concerns with your manager or safeguarding lead, decide on a range of actions which could include:
speak to the child or young person involved
Share your concerns with the parents, support them to report missing episodes to the police and advice on what they can do
Informing the police if the child is missing and hasn’t been reported by their parents.
Make a referral to Family Operations if the child is at risk of harm or in need.
With the consent of the parents, initiate a multi-agency meeting, consider completing the SET CSE Risk Assessment.
When a child returns ask them if they have had a missing chat. Let them know you can request one on their behalf
The Children’s Society has created a range of resources to let you know what to do when a child goes missing and how to prevent them going missing in the first place – these can be found at:
The normal child protection processes always apply. (Follow SET Child Protection Processes – available on the ESCB website,
If you require further advice, you can call the Family Operations Hub on and request a Professional Consultation
If you have immediate concerns that a child is missing, you must contact the police. Dial 999 in an emergency situation or call your local police force immediately on 101.
Southend Essex and Thurrock Child Protection Procedures (SET Procedures) provides further information on Missing Children and how to respond.
Missing Chat – see LATER SLIDES

10. Reporting Missing to Essex Police
Persons under the age of 18 reported to the police are treated as MISSING PERSONS only.
Where the whereabouts of a child under 18 years cannot be established, they will be considered potentially at risk of harm and therefore Missing.
The purpose of the investigation is to identify the movements of the missing person in order to establish their current whereabouts and / or wellbeing
Police forces nationally respond differently to risk assessing missing children. Some forces use the National Guidance of ‘Missing’ and ‘Absent’ categories.
Since 2016, Essex Police no longer assess response by ‘Missing’ or ‘Absent’ but consider all children reported to the Police as ‘Missing Children’.
Essex Police will ensure there is a prompt and accurate assessment of risk for each missing person. The risk assessment categorised high, medium or low, will dictate the level of response to the investigation; HOWEVER a child under 18 reported as missing can not be risk assessed as low. Assessment of risk will be regularly updated throughout the investigation ensuring that Essex Police provide the right level of response to any change in circumstances.

11. Responding to a missing episode…
Within 24 hours the Police will conduct a ‘vulnerability check’.
If young people are known to social care, their social worker will have meaningful contact within 48 hours.
ALL young people returning from a missing episode are offered a Independent Return Home Interview: this is the chance to talk to someone independent.
All relevant agencies need to work together and with the young person to understand where they were and why they went and understand what happened while they were away. Planning and Prevention is key in supporting the young person to not go missing again in the future.
The vulnerability check carried out by Police is to make sure that the young person as not suffered harm (physical, emotional or sexual), and to ensure that they have not been either a perpetrator or victim of crime.
What is important is that young people get the chance to talk to someone about why they went missing.
Independent Return Home Interviews are known in Essex as ‘Missing Chat’. A return interview is an in-depth conversation
led by an independent trained professional whom the young person can trust. They can help identify the reasons for running away such as abuse or neglect, and highlight any exploitation that may have occurred while the child was away. They also allow professionals to take immediate action to prevent further risks

12. Missing Chats (Essex Independent Return Home Interviews)
Missing Chats provide an opportunity to uncover information that can help protect children from the risk of further missing episodes, from risks they may be exposed to whilst missing or from risk factors in their home or local community.
A good Missing Chat can:
Provide understanding and address the reasons why a child has run away.
Identify harm that may have occurred whilst the child was away
Allow professionals to identify actions to address and prevent further risks.
Help children feel safe.
Provide children with information on how to stay safe.
Statutory guidance requires local authorities to offer independent missing return interviews (in Essex, we call them ‘Missing Chats’) to all missing children. Missing Chats provide an opportunity to uncover information that can help protect children from the risk of further missing episodes, from risks they may be exposed to whilst missing or from risk factors in their home or local community.
A good return interview can:
Provide understanding and address the reasons why a child has run away
Identify harm that may have occurred whilst the child was away
Allow professionals to identify actions to address and prevent further risks
Help children feel safe
Provide children with information on how to stay safe.
Missing Chats are offered to EVERY child or young person in Essex who goes missing. Missing Chats are exactly what they say they are, which is an opportunity for all children and young people to have a chat with someone who is not involved in their care to talk about why they went missing, harm reduction and strategies to prevent further missing episodes.
If you know that a young person has been missing; ask them if they have had a missing chat. Let them know you can request one on their behalf, as even though they will already have been offered; sometimes young people change their mind at a later date.

13. Essex Children that Go Missing have Told Us …
Information from Missing Chats in Essex.
The Children’s Society (2011) report that:
One in five children had at least one harmful or risky experience such as begging, stealing or sexual exploitation while away from home
One in six children said that they had slept rough, or stayed with someone they just met, for at least some of the time they were away
One in nine had been hurt or harmed while away from home
Eight out of 10 do not seek help from anybody because they do not know where to turn, they do not feel there is anyone they can trust or they fear the consequences.

14. Listening to young people that go missing:
ACTIVITY THREE:
What might children want from adults when they return from missing episodes? How might they want us to respond?
What are the challenges?
Optional Activity:
Discuss in pairs / groups the question.
Think about what Children in Essex that go missing have told us to support with answers to this.
Challenges could be personal ones, organisational, wider community issues.
For example: concern, anxiety and worry can alter the way we respond; or own understanding of risks to children may not be understood or realised by the child themselves; working patterns and hours; busy lifestyles and other work obligations.

15. Make Runaways Safe Charter:
Be understanding calm and relaxed with us.
Help us trust you and don’t judge.
Be straightforward and honest with us.
Listen to us and take us seriously.
Explain things to us, give us choices and don’t force us into making decisions that we don’t understand.
Show us respect (
The Children’s Society “Make Runaways Safe Charter” was developed by young people who have run away in the past.

16. Supporting parents of children that go missing:
Offer practical advice, such as:
Check with child’s friends, school, neighbours, relatives etc; ask them to inform you immediately if they turn up.
Try to contact your child directly via mobile phone, text, or social networking sites
ask the police to carry out a welfare check on the house or location of concern if you are worried about their safety.
Report child missing to the Police on 999 straight away if you cannot find your child.
Think about what your child was wearing, have they taken extra clothes or items (bank cards, phones etc)?
Keep your phone with you at all times.
The Children’s Society provides a booklet for Parents / carers on practical advice should your child go missing. Print a copy of this booklet and pass to the parent / carer.
Other advice could be:
Keep your phone on and keep a record of any calls; this may be the only way your child can reach you
Check telephone bills for the past few months for any unfamiliar calls
Find out if any of your child’s friends are missing.
Check your home computers for any leads such as online contacts or details of planned meetings.

17. Getting Support for Young People
Missing Chats – please call or
Missing people:
Runaway Helpline: Freephone
Child line:
Police: 999 or 101 in a non emergency
Family operations hub:
Missing chats can be requested via or telephone: please call or
Missing People Helpline – Helpline number to call for advice, support and options if you, or someone you love, goes missing or runs away - it’s free, 24 hour and confidential. Young people can also call this number if they have gone missing or are thinking about going missing.
“The Runaway Helpline” is a confidential, national, 24-hour Freephone Helpline for anyone aged 17 or under who has run away or been forced to leave home.
Childline is the free helpline for children and young people in the UK. Children and young people can call on to talk about any problems.