Research and national resources
Resources have been developed and agreed for use across the four LSCP areas, these can be accessed via the HIPS Procedures site and should be used by professionals with any child who is thought to be at risk or known to be at risk of one or more forms of exploitation.
Pace have developed an information and advice centre and information library for parents whose children are at risk of, or are being, sexually exploited. This is available on their website at paceuk.info/for-parents/advice-centre/
The Pace relational safeguarding model demonstrates best practice in working with families affected by CSE and can be downloaded from the website at www.paceuk.info (PDF)
A guide to therapeutic assistance for children and young people recovering from sexual abuse can be found on the NSPCC library website at www.nspcc.org.uk/therapeutic-services (PDF).
My Dangerous Loverboy
My Dangerous Loverboy is a pioneering campaign from Eyes Open Creative aiming to raise awareness of the sexual exploitation and trafficking of young people.
Using the My Dangerous Loverboy short film alongside the Love or Lies Education Resource, this campaign aims to open up people’s eyes to the harsh realities of sexual exploitation. The resource is available on YouTube My Dangerous Loverboy
CEOP/ Thinkuknow
The CEOP (Child Exploitation & Online Protection) website at ceop.police.uk/ hosts a range of resources and links.
The Thinkuknow programme provides a range of free educational resources – films, lesson plans, presentations, practitioner guidance, games and posters – for professionals working with children and young people.
Through the use of these educational materials you can help to empower and protect young people from the harm of sexual abuse and exploitation, both online and off.
Exploited is one resource pack which aims to help prevent child sexual exploitation by educating young people about how to stay safe. It was produced by CEOP with input from a range of national partners including the NSPCC, Brook, the Sex Education Forum and Barnardo’s.
The learning is based around an 18-minute film which helps young people avoid sexual exploitation and is supported with a resource pack of adaptable session plans, photocopiable resources and advice on delivery.
Find all the resources on the Thinkuknow website at www.thinkuknow.co.uk/professionals.
Know about CSE
For resources such as awareness raising materials visit the website knowaboutcse.co.uk/
Its not ok campaign
Greater Manchester Police, the ten GM local authorities and ten GM Local Safeguarding children Boards, GMSP, Crimestoppers and third sector partners have joined forces to tackle CSE with the It’s not okay campaign – the campaign website contains information for practitioners and volunteers and the public and can be found at www.itsnotokay.co.uk
The campaign aims to educate people on the signs that someone is being exploited, and increase the number of cases that are reported.
The website contains links and information about all of the agencies taking part, and explains how to access help and support, as well as where to report CSE concerns.
The organisations will also be using social media to target young people directly, to help them recognise the signs that their friends, or indeed themselves, may be being exploited.
Campaign materials such as posters can be found on the campaigns page of the website.
NSPCC
The NSPCC has produced three short animations, available on YouTube, each of which deal with the subject of sexual exploitation in a different way. These animations attempt to clarify the complex issues involved and offer starting points for discussion with young people who might be experiencing similar problems. The animations can be found using the link below:
- ‘My story is real‘ (2 minutes)
- ‘When someone cares‘ (1 minute)
Wud U?
Wud U? is an educational tool for teachers and care professionals who interact with young people who might be at risk of sexual exploitation.
The app aims to educate young people about behaviour that could put them at risk of being sexually exploited, through illustrated, interactive stories.
Wud U? enables practitioners to present sensitive issues to a group of young people and discuss the decisions that they would make if they were in the same situation as the characters within the stories. The app also offers advice about their decisions.
Through the Wud U? app you can:
- demonstrate how young people can make safe decisions
- provide your group with more information about sexual exploitation from a trusted source
- help raise awareness of sexual exploitation by sharing the Wud U? app.
Find out more about the app and supporting information on Barnardo’s website at www.barnardos.org.uk/wud-u
The app can be downloaded from Windows Store, Windows Phone, Google Play Store or Apple Store.
Local Government Association (LGA)
The LGA resource aims to help councils raise awareness of CSE within their own organisation, with their local partners and in their communities. It brings together and shares a set of resources to provide ideas and materials that can be adapted to suit local needs; includes briefings, communications support, training materials and case studies. Find these resources on the LGA website at www.local.gov.uk
National Working Group
The NWG Network and the Children’s Society have developed a range of resources to support local safeguarding children boards and practitioners to work with retail, transport, leisure and hospitality businesses to protect children in their communities from CSE. Visit their website at www.nwgnetwork.org for more information.
The resources include posters, leaflets and training materials for staff. These will help employees to look out for signs of exploitation, grooming and trafficking and provide information on what to do if they are concerned about a child. They will also assist employers to carry out risks assessments and vetting of staff.
The Real love Rocks programme
is a key resource for use in schools and can be found on the website at www.barnardosrealloverocks.org.uk/
Are you listening
Video aimed at professionals to be more curious where a child may be a victim of child criminal exploitation.
are you listerning CCE – Google Search
Child Exploitation Appropriate Language Guide
Explains why some language is inappropriate where children are victims of Exploitation and provides suggestion to reframe language.
Child_Exploitation_Appropriate_Language_Guide_2022.pdf (childrenssociety.org.uk)
Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children – child sexual exploitation resources from the Children’s Society
As part of an initiative in West Yorkshire, the Children’s Society have been looking at how Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities can keep their young people safe from child sexual exploitation.
As a result of this, a range of resources were produced to support communities and professionals and carers working with them. These included an animation which was the idea of a group of young people working on the project; an accompanying workbook; and some posters and leaflets translated into the main community languages of Romanian and Slovak.
These resources are available on their website at www.childrenssociety.org.uk.
The NHS have produced a video series in which experts explain who is most vulnerable; typical behaviour patterns of the abusers; and how to spot the signs. You will also get advice on what you can do if someone you know is at risk or has been a victim of CSE.
Watch the video series about CSE at www.nhs.uk/cse-what-is-child-sexual-exploitation
Child sexual exploitation: learning from case reviews
The NSPCC briefing is based on learning from case reviews published between 2014 and 2023 where children experienced sexual exploitation.
Child sexual exploitation: learning from case reviews (nspcc.org.uk)
It was hard to escape
2020 recommendations from key learning on how to improve practice where children are at risk or victims of CCE.
The University of Bedfordshire has produced a number of short films as part of its CSE research programme. These 12 films are aimed at anyone who wants to access learning from the latest research on child sexual exploitation (CSE) in a short accessible form.
The films share the findings of a range of studies undertaken by researchers in the ‘International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking’ as well as drawing on wider CSE literature.
Most of the films are under two minutes long. They can be watched in the office, shared with colleagues or friends, or used in training contexts. Each film is accompanied by a short briefing document that outlines the evidence in more detail, with references and links to the original research, and questions for reflection.
The films are available from the University website at www.beds.ac.uk/ic/films.