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Child sexual exploitation (CSE) can have huge impacts on a child’s physical and emotional wellbeing and have long-term consequences. Literature has found that professionals can have negative perceptions of children who are being sexually exploited, and this can affect the support they receive. To date, there has been little research exploring the education and support within educational provisions for children and young people experiencing sexual exploitation, suggesting the need for further research. This research aimed to fill this gap by exploring the perspectives from both school staff and from survivors of CSE. The following research questions were addressed; 1) what are Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo) and Designated Safeguarding Leads’ (DSL) abilities to respond to the needs of children who have experienced CSE whilst in secondary schools in the South West of England (including knowledge, perceptions, practical support, and challenges), 2) what are adult survivors of CSE’s experiences of support within their secondary educational provision in the UK?
This research consisted of two phases. Phase one took the form of an online questionnaire which was completed by 30 SENCos and DSLs across the South West of England. This used vignettes to explore the school staff’s perceptions, and open ended and closed questions to provide a mix of quantitative and qualitative results. Data have been analysed and is displayed in frequency tables and descriptive statistics. In phase two, four semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult survivors of CSE in the UK. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Phase 1 findings revealed that the staff have a good level of training in CSE, they have positive perceptions of the victims and have good systems of support in place within their schools. It was felt that pastoral support and supportive relationships, multi-agency working, and systemic level approaches (including parental engagement and training), were the main strategies to help support a child or young person experiencing CSE. Barriers included working with the parents, engagement difficulties with the young person, difficulties in accessing services, the demands of school, and negative attitudes of the staff. It was felt that to achieve this, schools needed further training, funding and access to resources and the staff needed more support for their health and wellbeing when working within these populations.
Phase 2 findings revealed eight main themes. The findings showed that the survivors had many difficulties whilst being at school and there was a lack of support. Negative attitudes and unhelpful stereotypes were prominent from professionals, which led to their abuse being minimised, or them feeling blamed. There was a lack of education around sex and healthy relationships, and staff did not have adequate understanding of CSE and abuse. This meant that signs of CSE went unnoticed and the adults were out of their depth or limited in the support they offered. There were difficulties in communication, and the survivors felt a lack of agency and control. The importance of a supportive positive relationship within school was highlighted, as well as holistic support, with an emphasis on supporting the child’s emotional wellbeing.
This research is relevant for schools in understanding how to support victims of CSE, including addressing negative attitudes from professionals, promoting child and family engagement, providing holistic support with a focus on wellbeing, having a multi-agency approach and ensuring there is a high level of training for professionals working with children. Implications for educational psychology practice are explored at various levels of working, and future research directions proposed. |
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