WSCB Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Handbook 2014
Wednesday 24th September 2014
The WSCB Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Handbook 2014, with a covering letter, can now be found on Wisenet (for Wiltshire schools) in the Wiltshire Safeguarding Children's Board (WSCB) folder.
It is everyones responsibility to be able to identify and act on concerns that a child is being exploited or abused. The recent Independent Report highlights the important role that some Rotherham schools played in identifying that children were being abused and bringing this to the attention of Children's Social Care and the Police which in Wiltshire is via the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
This Handbook to provide guidance and information to support professionals to better understand CSE, what makes children and young people vulnerable; the different forms that CSE can take and the process for identifying, assessing and responding to children who are at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation. It also contains a comprehensive list of resources for use in many contexts.
In addition to the Guidance the WSCB has produced a toolkit which includes a screening tool and risk matrix to help identify those at risk and the level of risk. This toolkit is only available to professionals who attend the WSCB 1 day CSE course to support staff to use it confidently and safely. We would encourage the Designated Safeguarding Lead and Head Teacher to attend this course. For further information regarding applications and course dates please go to www.wiltshirepathways.org. An online course is also available, which you may want other members of staff within your school to complete to ensure they understand signs and symptoms of this abuse. Again this is available on Wiltshire Pathways.
Teaching effective Sex and Relationships Education can help keep children safe from abuse and exploitation and a variety of local support, including from external agencies including ChildLine, is available to help Wiltshire schools adress this issue through PSHE education.
