Agenda item

Nick Young, Exploitation Prevention Manager at Bracknell Forest Council attended the meeting to present the Children Missing, CSE and SEMRAC report. 

It was noted that the format of SEMRAC meeting was changing. The service was down on referrals from 176 in the previous year to 151 in this annual report, it was thought this could be attributed to Operation Orcus which was an operational police led response to high risk children.

The cohort were separated by risk level, with Levels 1 and 2 being discussed at fortnightly meetings. Action plans for individuals would be merged with existing Child Protection plans.

It was noted that now there was one screening tool for all exploitation cases, individuals would not be distinguished by criminal or sexual exploitation.

BME referrals continued to grow over the year, from 3% in 16-17 to 15% in 17-18. Partners welcomed this increase as it demonstrated confidence in reporting. 

Most referrals to SEMRAC were open to the Duty Team or MASH at time of referral, which was hoped to move towards a preventative approach.

Children Missing

The Exploitation team conducted Return Home Interviews with each child who went missing within the specified guideline of 72 hours. The team conducted 377 Return Home Interviews, 92% of which were held within 72 hours of the return. It was stressed that the independence of professionals was key to these interviews, but key information shared during them was shared with Police or the local authority in which the child went missing (if placed out of area). It was noted that while there had been a rise in the number of Missing numbers, there had been a smaller cohort of children. The team had held Missing prevention meetings with a few young people, which were held in a relaxed environment and were proving to have an impact.

The Children Specialist Support Team undertake all interviews for children subject to any involvement with Children Social Care, and those who are not were undertaken by Youth Services.

There had been more males than females involved in missing episodes. The Board discussed the process for those who became adults, and how this transition period was managed.

The Board recognised an increase in boys aged 13-16 in all areas of Missing and Exploitation. It was suggested that prevention and early intervention needed to be key in these cases. The team also faced challenges due to the primarily female workforce working with these young men.

In response to questions, the following points were noted:

• The Exploitation team had been looking to commission work from the St Giles Trust to work in the Pupil Referral Unit.
• The Board recognised how much more effective proactive work was than reactive work.
• The Board commented on the learning established within its primary schools exclusion audit and the challenge to ensure effective early help to reduce children’s vulnerability to poor outcomes including forms of exploitation.
• Nick shared Bracknell Forest data with the wider Berkshire Exploitation sub group to examine key themes.

·         The LSCB recognised the positive practice demonstrated in Bracknell to respond to children missing and at risk of exploitation.