A pilot scheme to help young people who are at risk of becoming victims of exploitation or harm outside of the home is being trialled in Wiltshire.
Wiltshire Council has worked with 10 schools including four in Wiltshire to identify and respond to harm young people experience both within education environments but also within their communities. The scheme called Safer Young People has been trialled in a number of schools and is having a positive impact.
The work involves supporting schools to evaluate how they respond to child exploitation or peer on peer abuse. This includes directly supporting schools, with face to face meetings, reviewing policies and providing a toolkit to assess their responses to harm outside of the home. This builds on previous work where there has been meetings with schools and young people to talk through potential issues.
This has involved mapping out support and a way to move young people away from factors that may cause harm outside the home. The work is carried out alongside partners including police, children’s services, health and community organisations. It also helps schools to evaluate their responses to young people experiencing these issues.
Andy Bazen of St Joseph’s School in Salisbury, said, “We were delighted to be selected to be a part of this pilot. We have already found that it has increased staff understanding, vigilance and reporting. Being a part of the pilot has highlighted to all of us the severity and serious nature of Extra Familial Harm.
“The benefits of professionals working together to share good practice, as well as build a far greater context about individuals and their circumstances, is vital to prevent harm or harm escalating. Developing future practices and networking will further embed that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we look forward to seeing this having a positive impact on the safeguarding of young people.”
Tom Phillips of Matravers School in Westbury, said, “We’re delighted with the progress being made to embed practice that safeguards children in all aspects of their life. In today’s society it is never ok for any child to suffer adverse experiences.
“As a collective of professionals dedicated to child welfare, we’re all committed to establishing replicable framework which will prevent children from harm and support those who have experienced any form of abuse.”
Dan Holley of Kingsbury Green Academy in Calne, added, “At KGA, we are always committed to the safeguarding of our children and addressing the issues around extra-familial harm and peer on peer abuse. These issues have been magnified by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns so we are thrilled to be part of the pilot with Wiltshire Council that will look to help resolve some of these issues.”
Dave Tregilgas of Abbeyfield School in Chippenham, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be part of the DfE Contextual Safeguarding Pilot. With support from Helena Wykes-Dart and opportunity to share best practice at regular meetings, we have reviewed, adapted and improved our safeguarding policies, updated our safeguarding system and are in the process of raising the awareness of our staff, students and their parents carers about the signs and impact of extra-familial harm. Thanks to being involved in this pilot, our networking and lines of communication in regards to all aspects of contextual safeguarding have never been so strong.”
Detective Superintendent Ben Mant, Head of Public Protection at Wiltshire Police, said, “We, along with our partners like Wiltshire Council, are committed to tackling Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and the wider issue of Child Exploitation (CE).
“This crime is not something that just happens in the home – it can take place anywhere in our society – both in our physical world and the virtual cyber one. This is why a pilot scheme like this one is very welcome.
“It also helps our police work, as part of our zero-tolerance approach to exploitation, urging members of the public to be aware of the potential signs of CE or CSE and to report any issues to us.
“If you have any concerns about a child or group of children that is at immediate risk of exploitation please ring Wiltshire Police on 999. Otherwise call 101 or report via our website wiltshire.police.uk.”