Agenda item

To inform the Members of the Executive of the response from the Executive Member for Children, Young People & Learning to the Overview and Scrutiny report on child sexual exploitation.

RESOLVED that the following recommendations of the Working Group “Safeguarding is everyone’s business:  A Review of Child Sexual Exploitation” be noted:

i)              Children and Families

Working Group Recommendation 1

Closer work with parents be undertaken to raise their awareness of CSE, to educate them to manage their children’s use of the on-line world and to maintain an open dialogue and set boundaries with their children. Also, consideration be given to having a CSE parenting worker, or some form of direct delivery parenting, to enable work to be carried out simultaneously with the child and his / her parents, such as that offered by Dr Barnardo’s.

ii)             Working Group Recommendation 2

The awareness and use of the CSE screening tool and prevention work with children and young people identified as having Level 1 vulnerabilities (see Appendix 2) be promoted across partners.

iii)            Working Group Recommendation 3 

The monitoring and management of unauthorised school absences and fixed term exclusions be strengthened, with a particular emphasis on undertaking return interviews.

iv)           Training

Working Group Recommendation 4

A fluid rolling programme of incremental and age appropriate prevention be pursued to raise awareness levels and provide children with the resilience and knowledge to identify grooming and make safe decisions around internet use and relationships. This should include the production of a suitable primary school poster. In addition to identifying and protecting victims of CSE of both genders, a stronger emphasis be placed on raising boys’ and young men’s awareness of the possible consequences for them of having sex with underage girls.

v)            Working Group Recommendation 5

All existing and new taxi drivers in Bracknell Forest receive safeguarding / CSE training during the next twelve months and training be rolled out to neighbouring authorities.

vi)           Working Group Recommendation 6

Bespoke training be provided for Attendance Officers to highlight the links between missing pupils and CSE.

vii)          Local Safeguarding Children Board

Working Group Recommendation 7

The LSCB Strategic Sub Group be requested to undertake a stocktake of all CSE school training delivered during the last two years in order to identify and remedy any gaps. A central depositary be developed to capture all the education and training sessions being delivered in schools to children, to avoid duplication and identify gaps.

viii)         Working Group Recommendation 8

The LSCB be requested to evaluate how CSE is incorporated into the Council-wide training programmes, stating who is able to access this training, ensuring outcomes are measured and changes made as a result.

ix)           Working Group Recommendation 9

The police be requested to provide an intelligence briefing to the Sexual Health Service to establish closer liaison and two way information sharing with that service.

x)            Working Group Recommendation 10

Regulatory Services continue to work with the police to rollout the Hotel Watch Scheme across the Borough.

xi)           Working Group Recommendation 11

The Designated Doctor for Safeguarding be requested to include the use of Summary Care Records in the next mandatory training session for GPs in order to identify, and improve the care for, exploited children and young people through the storing and sharing of patient records.

xii)          Working Group Recommendation 12

The Clinical Commissioning Group be requested to provide a stakeholder map of who in the organisation is responsible for CSE in Bracknell Forest, the roles of the representatives that attend SEMRAC and who in Health Services they report back to so that information is cascaded through all organisations.

xiii)         Working Group Recommendation 13

The membership of SEMRAC and the CSE Strategic Group be expanded to include a primary school lead and representatives of CAMHS and the Sexual Health Service to enable relevant reports to be received from all involved organisations.

xiv)        Working Group Recommendation 14

The Pan Berkshire SEMRAC chairs add to their agenda the reporting of the top level of ‘persons of interest’ across Berkshire as a means to compare and monitor possible CSE perpetrators.