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Child Exploitation Awareness Week 18th - 23rd March 2024

Warwickshire Safeguarding are pleased to announce the launch of Warwickshire’s Child Exploitation Awareness Week taking place between the 18th to 23rd March 2024.

Child exploitation is happening in Warwickshire. Could you spot the signs?

Warwickshire agencies including Warwickshire Police, Barnardo’s, Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and the Warwickshire Safeguarding Partnership Board are joining the national fight against child exploitation by raising awareness throughout the week that follows Child Exploitation Awareness Day on Monday 18 March.

Hanging out with older people, skipping school, and being secretive are just some of the signs of child exploitation - and we all have a responsibility to spot them as hundreds of children and young people are exploited every year.

Child exploitation can manifest itself in different ways, including child abuse, sexual exploitation, county lines drug dealing, coerced criminal activity, human trafficking and online grooming.

It is a crime that can affect any child, anywhere, anytime and regardless of their social or ethnic background or gender.

Child Exploitation Awareness Day encourages everyone to think about it so they can understand, spot and speak out against exploitation and adopt a zero tolerance to adults developing inappropriate relationships with children.

A schedule of multi-agency online and in-person training sessions  are available throughout the week following Child Exploitation Awareness Day. These sessions are for all professionals who work with children, young people and adults (where children are within the home) across Warwickshire.  For information on what the training sessions offer and to book your place on one or more of these sessions, please click here

This year, agencies in Warwickshire will be working in partnership, highlighting a different theme each day to draw attention to the various forms of, and potential settings for, child exploitation:

Monday 18 March – Transport’s role in Child Criminal Exploitation e.g. county lines, and Child Sexual Exploitation e.g. trafficking. Barnardo’s will be at Stratford Train Station (AM) and Rugby Train Station (PM) to raise awareness with rail staff and passengers. They will also be writing pledges on their hands to stop child exploitation as part of the national #HelpingHands campaign.

 

Tuesday 19 March - #HelpingHands child exploitation awareness pledges. Agencies across Warwickshire will be encouraging people to pledge to learn how to recognise the signs of exploitation and report it if they see that something’s not right

Barnardo’s will the running Child Exploitation Awareness training for NHS staff at George Elliot Hospital in Nuneaton and holding a stall there and at Warwickshire College in Moreton Morell. Drama education company Loudmouth will be raising awareness with their ‘Helping Hands’ production for primary school children and staff at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Whitnash.

 

Wednesday 20 March – Education’s role in Child Exploitation, exploring the issues of peer-on-peer children’s exploitation, school disclosures, children not in school and mental health. Highlighting the links between children being out of education/not attending and their heightened exposure to exploitation, along with exploitation/grooming in schools.

Loudmouth will continue running their ‘Helping Hands’ production for primary schools and their ‘Calling it Out’ production for secondary schools and specialist academies. The drama company have also been commissioned by WCCBarnardo’s and the Warwickshire Safeguarding Partnership Board to deliver their ‘Working for Marcus’ production for staff working in hospitality. Barnardo’s will be running their ‘Recognising and raising awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation’ for professionals in the county (AM) and Child Trafficking training for foster carers in Warwickshire (PM).    

 

Thursday 21 March – Knife Crime and Child Exploitation, with Warwickshire Police and the Safer Neighbourhood Teams raising awareness of the links, along with WCC Targeted Youth Support and community youth groups, who will be running Child Exploitation awareness activities with young people throughout the week. The NWG Network, a national charitable organisation, will be running online training sessions ‘Mind Your Language – Exploitation and Victim Blaming Training’ and ‘CSE Myth Busting’ – book online at https://nwgnetwork.org.

 

Friday 22 March – Online Child ExploitationWarwickshire Police, Cyber Safe Warwickshire and WCC will be highlighting the dangers of online child exploitation and social media e.g. the sharing of indecent images. Barnardo’s will be running their ‘Digital Dangers’ online safety training for professionals in Warwickshire. 

 

Saturday 23 March – Sports and Clubs and Child Exploitation. Focusing on the connections, by engaging with grassroots and local clubs and events. Highlighting Warwickshire Integrated Care Board’s ‘Positive Directions’, an innovative approach to tackling the physical, mental, and social challenges faced by children and young people who have experienced significant trauma, and the social prescribing of sports and clubs for their positive benefit.

 

To learn more about child exploitation and the support available, visit www.somethingsnotright.co.uk.

If you would like to raise awareness of child exploitation in Warwickshire on social media, use #WarwickshireCE and #CEADay24.

A Spot the Signs Poster and Banner are free to download.

 

Where to go for help and support

  • For information on how to spot the signs of child exploitation, visit https://www.somethingsnotright.co.uk/spot-the-signs/
  • For information and advice go to www.somethingsnotright.co.uk
  • If you are worried about a child or young person, contact the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, on 01926 414144
  • You can also make a report to Warwickshire Police via their website or by calling 101, or you can contact your local Children and Family Centre.
  • Contact Crimestoppers confidentially and anonymously on 0800 555 111.
  • Talk to trained counsellors on the 24-hour helplines run by ChildLine on 0800 11 11 and the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000
  • If someone is in immediate danger, call the police on 999

WS Children Missing from Home & Care Protocol

Warwickshire Safeguarding has now concluded an extensive review of its existing 'Children Missing from Home & Care Protocol'.  This has been updated to be more reflective of current day expectations and required practice standards when dealing with missing children across Warwickshire. 

NEW - Alternative Learning Review Published September 2023 - 'Anna'

Anna had been known to Children’s Services throughout her life from being a year old and had experience of being in Foster Care. Her childhood had been marked by poor home conditions, the suicide of her sibling, the problematic drinking of her parents and domestic abuse. In addition, her mother suffered from emotional ill health and made multiple suicide attempts. Anna as a child was referred to at points as her ‘carer’.

NEW - Child Safeguarding Practice Review Published September 2023 - 'Simon'

Simon came from a family where English was not their first language, however Simon was fluent in English and was sometimes relied upon by professionals to translate information for his parents. At the age of 15, Simon suffered a brain injury, which is said to have affected his behaviour and he struggled with his mental health. The following year, Simon made a significant attempted to end his life and was treated in hospital. Simon became an inpatient in hospital under section 2 and 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and Simon and his family were supported by a child in need (CiN) plan.

Child Safety Week 2023

Child Safety Week is the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s (CAPT) annual campaign which acts as a catalyst for thousands of safety conversations and activities UK wide. 

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