Practice Leads Programme – Child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation

We have developed a Practice Leads Programme focussed on child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation to drive and support broad system change in organisational response to child sexual abuse, focusing specifically on child sexual exploitation.

It is an acclaimed training programme involving structured reflective learning sessions, and on occasion, presentations by guest speakers, combined with unique access to the latest research and resources.

This 5-day programme aims to build the confidence and competence of staff working in organisations working with children and young people in identifying and responding to cases where young people are or have been victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The course will do this by developing the knowledge and skills of individual practitioners who will become the organisational leads for child sexual exploitation.

Benefits for the organisation

The benefits of the programme for organisations working with children and young people include:

• The preparation of practitioners to disseminate knowledge and best practice about child sexual abuse and exploitation throughout their teams/organisation
• Provision of a foundation to develop internal cultures/systems of learning and development within current structures to drive best practice in child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation
• Improvement in cross-department and/or cross-agency understanding and communication in relation to child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation.

This rigorous 5-session programme (with an additional introductory session including managers) will involve one days’ learning per month. Each day comprises a half-day of formal teaching and a half-day of reflective case discussion which connect evidence to ‘on the ground’ practice experiences. The sessions use research, evidence and practice expertise to explore key areas for understanding and addressing child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation.

The programme will be led by expert trainers with experience of working with child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation across multi-agency safeguarding partnerships.

What participants can expect to learn

Following this in-depth course, participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate increased knowledge about child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation, including prevalence, different types of child sexual abuse, and the impact of child sexual abuse and exploitation
• Identify the signs and indicators of child sexual abuse and exploitation and understand how to manage risk
• Respond to child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation and have confidence in talking to young people about sexual abuse
• Talk confidently about child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation with other professionals
• Work competently with cases of child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation, including working with specialist support agencies
• Support others in the team and across the organisation with cases of child sexual abuse in the context of exploitation through training and supervision.

How the sessions will be run

This programme is delivered through a range of methods, including:

• Interactive small and large group discussions
• Guest experts (either from the CSA Centre or within the local area)
• PowerPoint presentations
• A variety of multimedia – videos, podcasts, audio etc.
• Reflective case discussions
• Dedicated skills practice
• Booklists and references to explore and learn further on child sexual abuse.

How is this programme priced?

£7,500 + VAT for up to 12 participants

£10,000 + VAT for 13 to 25 participants