NSPCC Plymouth

Together for Childhood

The NSPCC are leading an innovative project across Plymouth called Together for Childhood. The project is focused on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The project involves lots of other agencies along with community members and children and young people.

Within the project, a range of activities are developed, based on evidence of needs. The activities are tested and evaluated and where proven to have an impact, the partners plan how to reach more people in Plymouth with the activity.

There are 4 work streams in Together for Childhood

1. Healthy Relationships for Life - this includes working with early years providers, schools, parents and carers to understand and have confidence to routinely share information about healthy relationships
2. Community Engagement - this includes some focused work in Ernesettle to learn from community members how we can best work together to keep children safe. This work includes supporting community leaders to understand child sexual abuse and know how to respond if they receive disclosures
3. Trauma Informed System - this includes workforce development and sharing information about the impact of being sexually abused and the provision of therapeutic support for children who have been abused. There are a range of services available for children after abuse, including 'Letting the Future In' which is described below
4. Preventing Sexual Harm - this includes raising awareness about harmful sexual behaviour and providing support for children who display these behaviours. Information about the offer from the NSPCC is detailed below. This work also includes promoting support for people who may sexually harm to help prevent abuse from happening.

Letting the Future In

Letting the Future In (LTFI) is designed to help children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse rebuild their lives.

We support children and young people aged between 4-to 17-years-old so that they can recover from the impact abuse has had on their lives. Referrals can also be made for children or young people with learning disabilities up until the age of 19.

Parents and carers are critical to the child or young person's recovery, so we work with them to help them support their child throughout the therapeutic process. Siblings who require support may also be provided with a service.

This service is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (NICE, 2017) and was showcased as an example of commissioning practice in the Home Office's commissioning framework for support services for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in England (Home Office, 2019).

How Letting the Future In works

The programme begins with three or four weekly sessions for practitioners to assess the child's needs and select appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Children and young people are invited into safe therapeutic spaces where they can meet with a trained practitioner and engage in activities like messy play, writing, storytelling and art. This aims to help them express feelings that they can't put into words. Some children and young people may be able to talk about the impact of abuse and work with the practitioner to resolve any ongoing issues.

Our work is child-centred and children and young people are given the time and space to help them recover from the impact of abuse, and strengthen supportive relationships with their siblings and carers.

Safe Carer intervention is also offered for non-abusing parents / carers of the young person so that they too can talk about the impact of abuse and work with the practitioner to resolve any ongoing issues.

Services for Children and Young People presenting with Harmful Sexual Behaviour.

To access intervention services at the NSPCC, a child or young person who is presenting with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) needs an assessment. This is called an AIM3 assessment and there is a separate assessment for those over 12 and under 12 years of age. AIM3 assessments are now accessed through a single point of entry within Children's Services and includes referrals for Technology Assisted Harmful Sexual Behaviour (TA-HSB) assessment.

It is likely that a child displaying HSB will have a Social Worker. In this case the Social Worker will make the Referral for an AIM3. A Panel will decide which service (Children's Services, Youth Offending Team or NSPCC) will undertake the AIM3 and what you need to do next.

If the AIM3 assessment determines that the child or young person would benefit from intervention, then a service could be offered by the NSPCC.

Please refer to 'A Professionals Guide to Supporting Children and Young People who present with Harmful Sexual Behaviour.' This guide includes both the Brook Traffic Light Tool and Hackett Continuum to aid your decision making with respect to whether a behaviour is sexually harmful.

A Professionals Guide to Supporting Children and Young People who present with Harmful Sexual Behaviour.

Intervention services for HSB

• Change for Good - An intervention service for young people 12-18 with harmful sexual behaviour (HSB)
• The Good Way model - A strength-based intervention for young people (12-18) with learning difficulties who have presented with harmful sexual behaviour
• Under 12s intervention - we can offer intervention to children under 12 who have presented with HSB.
• Safe Home - is an intervention for parents or carers of the young person. It is psychoeducational and therapeutic in nature. It is designed primarily to be delivered as part of a wider piece of parallel treatment work to parents and carers alongside the young person's individual treatment.

Child Sexual Abuse Hub

We can offer advice and guidance to anyone on all aspects of child sexual abuse.

For example, help to interpret whether sexual behaviours being reported are problematic or harmful sexual and what response is needed; help with Safety Planning.