CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ‘MAKING A …

1 The impact of the multi-agency approach to tackling CSE in oxfordshire MAGGIE BLYTH June 2015 oxfordshire safeguarding children board CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION making A DIFFERENCE 2 | P a g e oxfordshire safeguarding children board June 2015 CONTENTS Foreword 3 Background and methodology 6 What happened in oxfordshire 8 How oxfordshire responded: 1. Has our culture changed? 10 2. Has our attitude changed towards vulnerable children and parents? 18 3. Has our response changed and are we keeping vulnerable children safe? 24 4. Are strategic leaders working to safeguard children from CSE?

2 32 5. What are our risks and gaps? 38 Appendices: Appendix 1 -Sources of information/evidence Appendix 2 - Summary Risks and Gaps Appendix 3 Letter from Ministers dated 40 42 44 3 | P a g e oxfordshire safeguarding children board June 2015 FOREWORD This report pulls together collective work by oxfordshire agencies to tackle the perpetrators of CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION (CSE) and protect children . It headlines the progress that has been made since 2011 when Operation Bullfinch commenced, in the identification and analysis of CSE and in the provision of clear pathways for children at risk through the Kingfisher team and the work of the CSE sub-group of the oxfordshire safeguarding children board (OSCB).

3 The report concludes that services and interventions across all agencies in oxfordshire are making a difference to children because of changes made since 2011. The overall conclusion is that there has been good progress in setting up specialist interventions for children at risk of CSE and robust measures used to identify perpetrators and bring them to justice. A parent of a CHILD victim of Operation Bullfinch told me in April 2015; The partnership in oxfordshire has moved a long way together to address the problem of CSE, identify collective solutions and produce some tangible evidence of impact.

4 This has led to other improvements to help children , such as tackling self-harm, neglect within families, and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). There is much stronger engagement from NHS organisations, schools and the faith, community and voluntary sectors working with parents and children and with district authorities and the county council to provide solutions. This report outlines the impact of these changes and describes a professional culture that has adapted and is changing. While this is positive the findings also show the continuing need for strategic co-ordination of activity across organisations.

5 It is vital that the county council s children s services department, the body tasked with lead statutory oversight responds to safeguarding concerns swiftly, and is also perceived by all to be in that leadership role for safeguarding . Changing the culture of how all professionals work together takes time and this report concludes that while agencies know where the gaps remain, there can be no room for complacency. There are two areas in particular that require further work involving the regulation and use of taxi drivers and the commissioning of services to provide help and I have no doubt the Kingfisher team would have been very helpful to us if they had existed 12 years ago.

6 4 | P a g e oxfordshire safeguarding children board June 2015 therapy for children into adulthood. oxfordshire county council has set a high bar for ensuring the children it is responsible for are transported safely, but maintaining such standards requires robust strategic co-ordination across different departments within the county council. oxfordshire licensing authorities (district councils) need to improve how they share information about drivers, delegate enforcement powers and require taxi drivers to complete safeguarding training as part of any knowledge test.

7 Overall this report demonstrates that while positive progress has been made in oxfordshire since Operation Bullfinch, strategic drive is required in the areas outlined below. The partnership must also remain vigilant about where the next pressure points could appear. The role of the Director of children s Services (DCS), the statutory position empowered with operational lead responsibility for education and children s social care, continues to be vital in this regard. safeguarding concerns must be routinely escalated to the OSCB to provide challenge and solution. Organisations have to work together to keep children safe not just from CSE but from all forms of abuse and neglect.

8 The report makes five important observations about where oxfordshire agencies must focus: A) Tackling CSE means getting the basics of frontline CHILD protection right and relies on strong and persistent leadership that can change culture and attitudes towards the most vulnerable children . Chief officers, with an example set by the DCS, must take responsibility to ensure that all serious safeguarding matters are escalated to the board for challenge by the partnership. B) The perpetrators of CSE in all its forms, like other forms of CHILD abuse are very clever at targeting vulnerable children and in disguising their activity.

9 More understanding is needed of perpetrator profiles. C) The success of oxfordshire s work with CSE has been the impact of specialist services for CHILD victims of CSE through its Kingfisher team. Similar specialist interventions are needed for those adults who may only disclose the abuse they experienced as children some years later. D) The regulation of the contracts to transport vulnerable children across oxfordshire and the licensing of taxi drivers should be more robust. 5 | P a g e oxfordshire safeguarding children board June 2015 E) Working with and engaging communities is key to effectively tackling CSE.

10 The CSE sub-group of the OSCB must hold to account the co-ordination of district council community safety partnerships in this area. To conclude, oxfordshire organisations have identified what is working well and where more needs to be done there is a clear and coherent strategy in place. In keeping up the pace of change required, the OSCB will continue to hold services to account to make sure that the impact of the investment over the last three years continues to lead to positive outcomes for children . Maggie Blyth Independent Chair oxfordshire safeguarding children board 6 | P a g e oxfordshire safeguarding children board June 2015 BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY On the 3rd March 2015 the Independent Chair of the oxfordshire safeguarding children board (OSCB) received a letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for children and Families, the Minister of State for Crime and Prevention and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health.