Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) and Contextual Safeguarding Level 2

Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) and Contextual Safeguarding Level 2

The Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) level 2 meeting draws on information from our Multi Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) and Contextual Safeguarding Strategy. The strategy aims to build on existing structures in place across North Yorkshire to bring together expertise, knowledge, and skills to deliver services in a co-ordinated way across the following strands of exploitation:

• Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE),
• Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) including County Lines,
• Children Missing from Home (MFH),
• Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB),
• Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking (MSHT),
• Online Child Exploitation,
• Wider Contextual Safeguarding

Extra-familial harm refers to abuse and exploitation that occurs outside of a child’s family environment. This harm may occur within peer groups, schools and education settings, community spaces, public locations and online environments.

Practitioners should recognise that while harm may occur outside the home, the impact on the child and family can be significant. Effective safeguarding responses require both individual child protection planning and interventions that address the contexts in which the harm is occurring.

The partnership recognises that vulnerability to exploitation may continue beyond a child’s 18th birthday. Where appropriate, transition planning should support young people up to the age of 25, ensuring effective links into adult safeguarding, community safety and specialist support services.  

What is Contextual Safeguarding?

Contextual Safeguarding is an approach to understanding and responding to harm that occurs beyond a child’s family home. It recognises that young people’s experiences are influenced by their peer groups, schools, neighbourhoods, community spaces and online environments.

A contextual safeguarding approach seeks not only to safeguard individual children, but also to identify and disrupt harmful environments, locations, groups and social conditions that create opportunities for exploitation and abuse.

This approach requires multi-agency partners to consider:

• Who is causing harm?
• Where is the harm occurring?
• What environmental factors are increasing risk?
• What protective factors can be strengthened within the context?

This ensures that intervention is aimed not only at the child but also at the location, peer group, network or environment where the harm is occurring.

Online Contexts

Multi-agency partners should recognise that online environments may present the same safeguarding concerns as physical locations. Social media platforms, gaming platforms, messaging applications and livestreaming services can facilitate grooming, exploitation, coercion and harmful peer group activity.

Information regarding online risks and emerging digital trends should be routinely considered within MACE discussions and disruption activity.

Child-Centred Approach

Children who are subjected to criminal exploitation, sexual exploitation, trafficking or other forms of extra-familial harm should be recognised primarily as victims of abuse.

Professionals should avoid language that places responsibility on the child for the harm they have experienced and instead seek to understand the contextual factors, vulnerabilities and coercive behaviours influencing the child’s situation.

How often does the MACE and CS Level 2 meet?

The meetings are held monthly, virtually in Scarborough, Ryedale, Craven, Richmondshire, Hambleton, Harrogate and Selby to discuss local issues and concerns regarding child exploitation and contextual safeguarding concerns in the locality.

What happens at the Level 2 meeting?

The purpose of the Level 2 meeting is to facilitate the sharing of information and identify action regarding:

• The places and spaces where children and young people may be at risk of exploitation,
• Locations that could pose a risk of exploitation to children and young people,
• The review of community intelligence and emerging themes, trends, and links in local areas,
• The identification of potential perpetrators and the coordination of partner intervention and disruption.

This may also include information sharing with partners in neighbouring police force and local authority areas to identify where children may be at risk of being trafficked within and out of our towns and villages and/or subject to exploitation through county lines.

The emphasis of the meeting is around facilitating early identification and setting of actions to prevent, intervene and robustly tackle early signs of exploitation.

Due to the nature of the MACE and Contextual Safeguarding Level 2 meetings, sensitive information may be shared and relevant details of specific children who have been identified as at risk of exploitation through the MACE Level 1 meeting will be shared along with details of their allocated social worker or early help worker. 

How are cases referred to the MACE and CS Level 2?

Referrals are received via the agreed referral pathway ,this includes intelligence information relevant to the concern submitted through the Partnership Intelligence Sharing form. Partners can email the MACE business coordinator with additional times to be added to agenda prior to the meeting.  Agendas will be shared 5 working days prior to the meeting; however, partners are encouraged to access the most current form of the agenda which is added to drive at 9am of the day of the meeting.

If at any point it is considered that a child or young person is thought to be at risk of or suffering significant harm this will trigger an immediate referral to NYC Children’s Social Care.

How are actions agreed?

Actions are agreed by the MACE chair in consultation with partners.  The professional responsible for the action will be recorded along with the expected timescale for completion with updates reported back at the following meeting.

Disruption and Prevention

Alongside safeguarding individual children, the MACE process aims to identify opportunities to disrupt perpetrators, locations, networks and activities associated with exploitation.

Disruption activity may include:

• Targeted enforcement action.
• Licensing interventions.
• Environmental audits.
• Community intelligence gathering.
• Partnership work with businesses, transport providers and educational settings.
• Online safeguarding interventions.

The aim is to reduce opportunities for exploitation whilst increasing safety within communities and identified locations.

What are the responsibilities of group members?

Group members are expected to feed into the group contextual safeguarding concerns regarding links between children, potential perpetrators and locations that may pose a risk to young people. The meeting provides an opportunity for each agency SPOC to provide an update of any issues not specifically related to individual children, potential perpetrators or locations, but may inform the wider exploitation and contextual safeguarding picture.

Further information about all MACE procedures and exploitation, including practice guidance and resources can be found on the NYSCP Be Aware knowledge Hub

Page reviewed: November 2026