Safeguarding update - May 24

Financially motivated sexual extortion: an alert for education settings

There has been an increase in reporting of children and young people, particularly teenage males, being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand after an adult offender has threatened to release nudes or semi-nudes of them. This is financially motivated sexual extortion, sometimes referred to as 'sextortion', and is a form of child sexual abuse.

The National Crime Agency has issued an alert to education settings that provides advice on how to:

• recognise the signs of financially motivated sexual extortion
•  raise awareness and support children to seek help
• support victims

Visit the CEOP Education's website to download the alert and a template letter for parents and carers with advice on how to talk to their child about financially motivated sexual extortion, and how to support them if they become a victim.

Multi-agency chronologies for child protection conferences

The message below is from Abigail McGarry, Head of NSCP Business Delivery, Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership

As you are all aware, the NSCP undertook a pilot to develop the use of multi-agency chronologies in the child protection conference arena in the summer/autumn 2023.  The evaluation resulted in a few recommendations which we have now actioned.  I am pleased to attach the final practice guidance and some exemplars for you to cascade within your agencies.  This is a really exciting development as it will enable the professional networks and the families they are working with to be really clear about the key practice episodes, and the risks and impact on the child/ren they are worried about. 

This is innovative practice and based on what works well as identified by Research in Practice.  Norfolk is ahead of the game now and the aim is to ensure that these chronologies are used at all different stages in the child's journey as the practice becomes embedded.  This will not only enable us to maintain oversight of the child's lived experience over time but should also reduce the amount of time required in writing lengthy and potentially siloed reports.

The guidance will be published on the NSCP website and plans are in place to promote at the neglect champion workshops in June and July this year.  We would encourage any champions in your agencies to sign up for the workshops.  For more information please see the flyer below:

• Neglect Workshops Flyer 2024 (PDF) [112KB]

The NSCP has a task & finish group working on monitoring the use of MA Chronologies and are committed to promoting this way of working through clear comms.  We will be filming some webinars over the summer with frontline staff and senior leaders to further support these messages.  Watch this space!

The guidance document and chronology examples can be found below:

• Practice Guidance - Multi-Agency Chronologies (Word doc) [70KB]
• App 3a.i Education_primary school case information example for ICPC report (Word doc) [34KB]
• App 3a.ii Education_primary school chronology example (Word doc) [169KB]
• App 3b.i Education_secondary school case information example for ICPC report (Word doc) [34KB]
• App 3b.ii Education_secondary school chronology example (Word doc) [161KB]

ACT for Education E-learning Guidance

Information for all education settings: launch of the ACT for Education e-learning and the Protective Security and Preparedness guidance

The Department for Education has launched the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) for Education e-Learning course and the Protective Security and Preparedness for education settings guidance, developed in collaboration with the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office and sector partners.

The e-learning course is aimed at those working in education settings focusing on embedding a security minded culture, identifying security vulnerabilities and suspicious activity and responding to incidents. To access this course, users will need to create a free account with ProtectUK.

The non-statutory guidance includes advice on developing response plans, testing and exercising and communications, and is aimed at all those who have responsibilities for keeping learners safe and security leads.

Child and Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse (CAPVA)

The Office for the Police & Crime Commissioner would like to hear from schools and colleges about their experiences of CAPVA to help understand the prevalence across Norfolk. The results will be processed by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk (OPCCN) and used to improve Norfolk's response to CAPVA.

The UK-based charity Respect uses the term Child and Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse (CAPVA) to describe the dynamic where a young person (8 years -18 years) engages in repeated abusive behaviour towards a parent or adult carer.

Abusive behaviour can include:

• physical violence e.g. hitting, kicking
• emotional abuse e.g. making a parent feel scared or threatening them
• economic abuse e.g. stealing or pressuring parents to give them money
• sexual abuse e.g. unwanted touching
• coercive control e.g. controlling where they go and what they do.
• breaking or damaging things in the home.

It may also include abuse towards other family members, particularly siblings.

If you would like to participate in this 5-minute survey, please click this link.

The survey will close on 27^th May 2024.