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Welcome to the NYSCP March 2025 edition of our e-bulletin
This month we are proud to support the National Working Group in highlighting the National Child Exploitation Awareness Raising Day on 18th March 2025.
Child Exploitation is a form of child abuse that involves the manipulation and/or coercion of young people under the age of 18. On 18th March, we want to highlight the issues surrounding CSE In Communities; for 2025 we are encouraging everyone to think, spot, and speak out against abuse and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to child exploitation.
In this month’s bulletin, we will share lots of useful information about Child Exploitation and the harm that children can experience outside the home; from resources and training for professionals to key links you can share with parents/carers, children and young people and wider communities.
Let’s use this opportunity to get talking about Child Exploitation across all communities in North Yorkshire! Let’s make sure everyone knows the signs and how to share concerns so we can all work in partnership to stop it from happening.
Don’t forget if you see something in your community that you feel is not right, share the information you have at the earliest opportunity. Your intelligence could be the vital missing piece of the puzzle to tackle the abuse that may be happening. Find out more about how to share intelligence here: NYSCP
In March we also want to raise awareness of Safer Sleep Week which runs from 10 – 16th March. You can find out more about the campaign by the Lullaby Trust here: Safer Sleep Week | The Lullaby Trust as well as our local resources and campaigns #AskMe and Day or Night, Sleep Right.
Kathryn Morrison, Policy and Development Officer (NYSCP) Kathryn.morrison@northyorks.gov.uk
Jump to…
- Do your PART
- Practice Guidance of the Month
- NYSCP Website updates
- Child Exploitation Resources
- Child criminal exploitation and cuckooing to be criminal offences
- Faith and Communities
- Childline Campaign: Behind the Screen
- Artificial Intelligence safety tips for parents
- Building Connections
- The Big Conversation
- Growing up in North Yorkshire 2024 Survey results
- Sling Safety Advice
- Partnership Training
- Child Exploitation for sports clubs and organisations
Get involved with Child Exploitation Day 2025!
There’s a lot you can do to get involved in CEADay25. A national campaign pack has been released by the National Working Group can be accessed here National Child Exploitation Awareness Day 2025 #CEADay25, with the aim to raise awareness of exploitation and get as many people talking about it as possible.
In North Yorkshire, we will be releasing a communications and information pack looking at how we will be promoting the day in early March (keep an eye on the website for updates), including a very exciting announcement of something happening in Summer 2025 – watch this space for more details!
Practice Guidance of the Month
Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) and Contextual Safeguarding Strategy sets out the partnership vision for disrupting and tackling child exploitation in North Yorkshire. Its vision is that:
“All children in North Yorkshire who are being exploited and are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse are effectively identified and protected by services which are delivered in a coordinated and informed way that consistently responds to the harm and risks and improves the outcomes for our children, their families and the wider community”.
The Strategy has identified four key priorities across the partnership. These four priorities will be underpinned by a detailed action plan that holds partners to account for their plans to fulfil the actions set out across our priority areas.
- Prepare: Prepare the partnership and wider community in understanding the scope and complexity of child exploitation and risk outside the home
- Prevent: Commit to a whole partnership and wider community approach to prevention, contextual safeguarding and keeping children safe from exploitation
- Protect: To protect and support children at risk of or experiencing exploitation that does not label or blame them for the abuse they are experiencing.
- Pursue: Actively pursue, disrupt and respond to perpetrators of exploitation, and work collectively as a partnership to disrupt the exploitation of children in the contextual spaces they are spending their time.
NYSCP Website updates
Following feedback from our Practitioner Forum, we will now share a regular update on our e-bulletin of any changes or updates that have been made to the NYSCP website.
This month our newest addition has been our National Learning and Reports page which is dedicated to sharing key learning and summaries from National Reports.
Did you know that NYSCP also has an accessibility page? We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website and this page highlights how information can be made more accessible. For example:
- How to translate information to other languages
- How you can contact us if you would like the information in another format.
We want to make the NYSCP website accessible for everyone, if you feel there is more, we can be doing to support you, with your use of the site please contact the team at nyscp@northyorks.gov.uk
Child Exploitation Resources
As part of the Be Aware knowledge Hub, NYSCP have developed and hosts a series of North Yorkshire Centric and appropriate national resources to provide information, raise awareness and develop knowledge across all areas of child exploitation. The page also includes:
- Information and guides on all MACE processes: NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
- Information and guide on the sharing if intelligence to police via the professional online portal: Partner services | North Yorkshire Police
- Additional resources for schools NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
- Let’s talk about language: Tools for prompting discussion about our use of language around child exploitation. NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
Resources for parents and carers:
The BeAware Hub has a section designed with parents and carers to share information and resources for them around child exploitation and keeping children safe. From understanding what exploitation is, to spotting the signs and knowing where to go for help. We’ve also added useful section with guides and information for parents and carers to have conversations about exploitation and keeping safe – which can be such a vital tool in prevention. NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
Resources for children and young people:
The Young people’s page was designed with young to focus on the key information they wanted to know about exploitation. There’s lots of useful information about keeping safe, knowing the signs and who they can go to for help NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
Resources for communities and local businesses:
Communities are often the eyes and ears of what is happening locally, and its vital that they are aware of what exploitation is, what the signs are and how they can report concerns. There is lots of information aimed at specific business sectors, as well as what you can do if you think a young person has run away. NYSCP (safeguardingchildren.co.uk)
Child criminal exploitation and cuckooing to be criminal offences
Two new offences in the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill will make child criminal exploitation and ‘cuckooing’ illegal.
Children and vulnerable people who are exploited by gangs for criminal purposes will receive greater protection, with two new criminal offences set to be introduced by the government next week.
Landmark legislation will be brought forward to ban cuckooing, a highly exploitative practice where criminals seize control of a vulnerable person’s home without consent to conduct illegal activities like drug dealing.
Another new offence will be created against adults who use a child to commit criminal activity. Both of these measures will be part of the government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill, which is set to be introduced in Parliament next week and forms a key part of the government’s Plan for Change.
More information can be found here; Child criminal exploitation and cuckooing to be criminal offences – GOV.UK
Faith and Communities
NWG Faith resource:
Faith leaders have a significant influence within their communities, raising awareness and working together in partnership with statutory services can better support our children and young people.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility; we know our communities are our “eyes and ears”.
National Working Group are encouraging partners to awareness within our worship places, and community centres and remove the taboo of speaking up.
They have developed information, resources and toolkits that have been shared by other organisations as well as helpful documents on how to engage with communities on our knowledge hub faith tile.
They have a set of posters that have been designed specifically for the faith sector to help raise awareness of abuse and help those in faith and community settings to respond. The posters have been designed for professionals and volunteers in the faith community, to help them understand what to look out for, know how to respond to concerns of abuse and ensure the right safeguarding training and policies are in place.
A NEW animation below has been specifically designed for the faith sector to help individuals within these communities – whether parents, community members, faith leaders or volunteers, to understand how to recognise signs of abuse and respond effectively to concerns. Visit https://stop-ce.org/cse-faith-guidance/
Please join us and help to raise awareness of exploitation in faith by downloading and displaying our posters in your faith settings – together we can raise awareness and deter the exploitation of children.
Operation MakeSafe:
Operation Makesafe works to prevent child sexual exploitation, specifically incidents which take place in hotels and other forms of accommodation within the hospitality industry.
The work, being overseen by the CSE Taskforce is important for several reasons:
· It highlights the issue of hotels being used as locations to abuse and exploit children,
· Raises awareness of the positive work being undertaken to prevent this,
· Support the public in helping them better understand the purpose of hotel staff interventions to safeguard children and young people.
Download Operation MakeSafe posters
Download the Operation MakeSafe business card
Download Operation Makesafe guidance for hotel staff
Childline Campaign: Behind the Screen
A new Childline campaign has launched this week called “Behind the screen”, to raise awareness of the sexually coerced extortion of boys and young men, also known as ‘sextortion’. With this campaign we specifically want boys and young men to know that it’s okay to reach out and that Childline is a place for them. There is a guide for professionals online here: Childline Reach: Behind the Screen
Artificial Intelligence safety tips for parents
NSPCC has produced a guide to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI) contents and tools and discover ways to help your children stay safe.
Artificial intelligence safety tips for parents | NSPCC
Building Connections
Building Connections is an online support service where young people aged 9-19 can receive direct support to manage and overcome feelings of loneliness. Young people are provided with 11 sessions, completely free of charge. The only thing young people will need is access to the internet via any device and an email address.
Here you will find our website, where you can find further information as well as the links to our consent and request for service forms. You will also find our video adverts, posters and leaflets for those interested in sharing with parents, carers and young people.
The Big Conversation
Over the last three years, the Children’s Commissioner has heard from more than one million children about their interests, fears and ambitions. They want to hear the voices and views of even more children and young people and will share what they think with politicians and decision-makers so they can listen and then act.
Find out more about how you can take part here: The Big Conversation | Children’s Commissioner for England
Growing up in North Yorkshire 2024 Survey results
Nearly a quarter of the way through this century, I am delighted that over 15,000 children have again participated in our biennial ‘Growing Up in North Yorkshire’ survey 2024. We now have over a decade’s worth of data on what really matters to the children and young people in our county, and it is more important than ever that they know we are listening to them and acting on their opinions, experiences and needs. Our ‘Being Young in North Yorkshire’ strategy and vision stating that “All children and young people are safe, happy, healthy and able to achieve in North Yorkshire” is as true today as when it was first envisaged in 2021. The survey therefore provides us with that all-important insight into the lives of children and young people and is used by an array of professionals to focus support where it is needed the most in order to reduce health inequalities and maximise the health and wellbeing of the next generation in our society.”
See the results report here:
Resources for Schools – Growing up in North Yorkshire Survey > Healthy Schools North Yorkshire
Sling Safety Advice
Following a recent ‘Prevention of Future Deaths’ report by the coroner, guidance has been shared in relation to the safe use of slings. The acronym TICKS can be used when discussing sling safety with parents:
- Tight
- In view at all times
- Close enough to kiss
- Keep chin off the chest
- Supported back
Further details can be found here: Slings and baby carrier safety | The Lullaby Trust
Partnership Training
Take a look at our NYSCP training page NYSCP to see some of the free online learning events we have coming up in 2025. Don’t forget you can access recordings from previous sessions on the same page or via our YouTube channel NYSCP – YouTube
Keep an eye out in next month’s e-bulletin where there will be an update on June 2025’s safeguarding week!
Child Exploitation for sports clubs and organisations with the Children’s Society and Ivison Trust 6th March 6:30 – 8:30pm
This virtual event is for anyone involved in a sports club or organisation (including volunteers and parents/carers) and will be particularly useful for club welfare officers. The session will include:
- What child exploitation is
- How to spot signs of child exploitation
- How to report it
- Support for children and families affected by exploitation.
This is a FREE virtual event – tickets can be booked on the following link Select tickets – Child Exploitation for sports clubs and organisations with the Children’s Society and Ivison Trust – Microsoft Teams
Useful Links
- Worried about a child?
- NYSCP Website, including
- NSPCC – CASPAR Weekly updated
- CEOP – Think U Know
- CYPS info
Did you know you can sign up to receive this bulletin directly into your inbox at NYSCP e-Bulletin (mailchi.mp)
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