Child Exploitation Practice Guidance

This document is intended to be used by practitioners and managers across Leeds who work with children and families. This can include but is not limited to: Children’s Social Work staff, Family Practitioners, Early Help, Youth Justice Service, the Youth Service, the Police, Education, Third Sector agencies and Health workers.

This guidance has been completed following a working group led by the Safe Project Team Manager Rebecca Mauganai. The group included representatives from: Health (LTHT), Police (CVET), Youth Justice Service, Basis, St Giles Trust, The A&E Navigator Service, The Youth Service, Hazlehurst SARC, Barnardo’s Child Trafficking Service (ICTG), The Safe Project, Education Safeguarding and Children’s Social Work service.

This guidance aims to support practitioners and managers through information and upskilling in relation to contextual harm; thereby achieving consistent practice across Leeds. This aims to help children who are at risk of exploitation receive the right support at the right time. The guidance is an overview of good practice and information. It is not intended to replace procedures or internal processes. For specific safeguarding concerns please follow your internal process and/or contact the duty and advice service.

This guidance should also be read in conjunction with:

• One minute guide: Child criminal exploitation (leeds.gov.uk)
• One minute guide: child sexual exploitation (CSE) (leeds.gov.uk)
• One minute guide: Child trafficking (leeds.gov.uk)
• Multi-Agency Child Exploitation Framework (leeds.gov.uk)
• The Safe Project (leeds.gov.uk)
• One minute guide: Return Interview Service (leeds.gov.uk)
• Practice standards
• practitioner-guide-to-risk-outside-the-home-child-protection-process.pdf (trixonline.co.uk)
• West Yorkshire Consortium Child Exploitation: Policy, Principals and Guidance (trixonline.co.uk)

Working with children who may be being exploited is a challenging task for any practitioner. We know that children are unlikely to see themselves as victims of exploitation and may be resistant to working openly with professionals. We also recognise the complexity of the work in that children can be victims of exploitation but also present a risk to themselves or others. At times, the work can feel crisis led and without a clear solution. Conversely, we know that children often need consistent and tenacious workers who will build their trust through relationship-based work, therefore allowing them to feel able to talk openly.  Again, this can be challenging in the context of caseloads and timescales. This guidance hopes to support workers who may feel unsure about processes or best practice. It also aims to provide links to relevant research and guidance.

This guidance acknowledges the fluidity of change within services and processes. Consequently, this guidance reflects the context of Leeds at the time it is written and appreciates that this may alter over time.

Throughout this document the term child/ren will be used for all children and young people under the age of 18. 

A pdf version of the Child Exploitation Practice Guidance can be found on West Yorkshire Consortium Inter Agency Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures.