Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is when an adult coerces or gives a child something in exchange for allowing sexual acts to be performed by or on them. This could be in person, online or on camera.

CSE can be very hard to spot. Sometimes young people themselves don’t realise what is happening. They may believe they are in a loving relationship. They may believe what they’re being asked to do is ‘normal’. If they do realise they are being abused, they may feel trapped. They may feel unable to tell anyone what is going on.

Every 3 minutes a child runs away from home or care and each year 100,000 children go missing in the UK. These children are at risk of sexual exploitation, involvement in crime, substance misuse and homelessness. But many children show signs long before they leave, and it is possible to spot these signs and act.

We have attached useful awareness posters of CSE, published by Catch 22 that we would like to share with you which include:

• Prevent a young person going missing – spot the signs
• CSE – Think boys! 1 in 3 victims of CSE is a boy
• Positive relationships break – the CSE cycle
• Child Criminal Exploitation – How gangs recruit and coerce young people
• Push and pull factors – What causes a child to go missing
• Different dangers, same signs

For the first time, the National Crime Agency is engaging with children as young as four in a bid to help protect them online as the number of global child sexual abuse referrals has rocketed.

Parents, carers and teachers can use Jessie & Friends – a fun, friendly and age-appropriate education resource based on a three-episode series of animations – to help to keep 4-7 year olds safe online.

The aim of Jessie and Friends is to provide protective education to children before they begin to encounter such risks online, making children less likely to become victims and less likely to be targeted by high-risk offenders. Engaging activities, designed for classroom use, support children to recognise manipulative strategies in online chat – just like those typically used by offenders to groom children. Crucially, Jessie & Friends helps children learn to ask a trusted adult for help whenever they feel worried.

The Jessie & Friends resources can be accessed via: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/jessie-and-friends

Did you know?

According to a recent Ofcom report, 19% of 3-4 year olds and 43% of 5-7 year olds have access to their own tablets, and 52% of 3-4 year olds and 82% of 5-7 year olds go online for an average of nine hours or more each week. Therefore, experts at the National Crime Agency are encouraging adults to start the dialogue about online safety with children as young as 4.

By registering for an Attention card, your details are red flagged to say that you have a person with you with autism, which means that if you are in a difficult situation or an accident, responding officers will know that appropriate support will need to be put in place for that individual. The card is incredibly beneficial to children, teenagers and adults and is completely free.

The Attention Card confirms ‘The person you have with you will have a medical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition’. They should be treated as a vulnerable person and PACE 1984 guidelines should be followed. When you apply for an Attention Card you are given the option for the applicant’s difficulties to be recorded onto Cheshire or Merseyside Police’s intelligence system. This means that in an emergency, irrespective of whether they are carrying the card or Autism Code Keyring, the issues they have will be acknowledged, and appropriate support given.

For more information about the Attention Card, and access to the application forms, please follow the link below: https://www.cheshireautism.org.uk/news/attention-card/

Change 4 Life Campaign was launched earlier this year, as new figures show that children have already exceeded the maximum recommended sugar intake for an 18 year old, by the time they have reached their 10th birthday.

To help parents/carers and young people manage this, Change4Life is encouraging them to ‘Make a swap when you next shop’. Making simple everyday swaps can reduce children’s sugar intake from some products such as: yoghurts; drinks; breakfast cereals, by half- whilst giving them healthier versions of the foods and drinks they enjoy.

Please access the following link for more information: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts/sugar/sugar-swaps-for-kids

You can find and download a copy of our complaints procedure by clicking the button below.