Chapter contents
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage
What is Child Abuse?
There are four main forms of abuse:
1. Physical Abuse
This is a form of abuse that causes physical harm to a child. Examples include hitting, shaking and burning, as well as harm caused when a parent fabricates or induces illness in a child.
2. Neglect
This is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic needs and often leads to health problems and delayed development. It can include failing to provide adequate food, clothing or supervision and failing to access medical care or treatment.
3. Sexual abuse
This involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities with adults or other young people. These activities may involve assault by penetration (e.g. rape), non-penetrative acts such as masturbation and non-contact activities such as involving young people in the making of sexual images and online grooming.
4. Emotional Abuse
This is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child. It can include:
- Conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved.
- Controlling how, when and with whom a child can communicate.
- Mocking and humiliating a child
- Forcing a child to watch or hear the mistreatment of another person.
All types of maltreatment of children involve some level of emotional abuse, but it can also occur alone.
You can find full definitions in Appendix A of Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)
Complete the required training course at Core grade: Managing Disclosures.
Additional training opportunity: Child Sexual Abuse – book on ‘Learnative’
Peer on Peer Abuse
The term ‘peer on peer abuse’ relates to various forms of abuse, where all parties involved are under the age of 18 years. The abuse can include:
- violence and criminal activity
- harmful sexual behaviour
- sexual exploitation
- relationship abuse and
- bullying (including cyberbullying)
This type of abuse is harmful to both the victim and the perpetrator due to their status as children. Young people who are particularly vulnerable include those with disabilities, those who represent minority groups (based on sexuality, race or religion), and young people drawn to gangs.
Please be alert to the signs of peer on peer abuse and be familiar with our policies to ensure a swift and appropriate response. Young people’s risk assessments should identify key concerns and safeguarding measures for use within the home and community.
Staff and foster parents who are in positions of trust
It is a criminal offence for adults who are in positions of trust to engage in sexual activity (including inappropriate touching), or have sexual relationships, with young people in their care. This applies even if the young person is over 16 and initiates or consents to the sexual activity. It also applies to the care of vulnerable young adults.
A position of trust can be broadly defined as a relationship in which one party is in a position of power or influence over the other by virtue of their work or nature of their activity. Social workers and foster parents are defined within the legislation as being positions of trust. Your family members and friends would also be in a position of trust if they help with the care of the fostered child. Adult members of your household, including sons and daughters, may also be seen to hold positions of trust in some circumstances.
Allegations or complaints would be subject to the procedures defined in the Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018). Conviction of criminal charges under this legislation may lead to a custodial sentence and a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Contact your supervising social worker if:
- You think a young person might be being abused or
- You feel sexually attracted to a young person in your care
Your supervising social worker will inform the registered manager and they will take the necessary action to safeguard the young person concerned.
For more information, see our safeguarding policies:
Complete the mandatory training for foster parents: Safeguarding (foundation)
Additional training opportunities: Child on Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Gangs and Knife Crime and Adult Safegurding – book on ‘Learnative’
DBS Checks
We ask all applicants to foster and all people aged 18 or over living or regularly visiting their household to complete the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) disclosure forms and produce the necessary identification. We will manage this process for you. DBS checks are not transferable, so we cannot accept copies of checks carried out by other agencies or for other posts. We will need you to update your DBS check at least every three years.
Children must not be left in the sole care of any adult within the home overnight, unless they have been DBS checked. You must inform us if there will be any additional adults staying overnight in your home, even if it is just for one night. We have a duty to ensure that any adult staying at your home is ‘safe’ and ‘suitable’.
We will only consider adults joining fostering households who are relatives or close friends. This excludes such people as lodgers (including foreign students), due to the difficulty in undertaking a meaningful assessment and vetting process and the likely temporary nature of such arrangements.
For more information, see our DBS Procedure
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Child sexual exploitation involves a relationship with an imbalance of power; a relationship in which the child victim is manipulated, coerced, intimidated or forced into sexual activity. Both boys and girls can become victims of CSE and offenders often use technology (mobile phones, social media) to groom young people and establish control over them. Young people can be drawn into sexually exploitative relationships in the following ways:
- As a way of obtaining drugs, alcohol and money.
- In exchange for somewhere to live. Homeless young people are vulnerable as they depend on others for shelter.
- Through bullying, blackmail or threats of violence.
Some young people in foster care will have experienced sexual exploitation, while others will currently be vulnerable. It is important that young people in your care feel comfortable talking with you about sex and relationships and that you create an environment in which they feel safe to disclose concerns.
Signs that a young person might be experiencing CSE include (but are not limited to):
- Physical injury, e.g. unexplained bruising
- Recurring or multiple sexually transmitted infections
- Evidence of substance misuse
- Frequently being missing from placement, or truanting from school
- Involvement in ‘petty crime’ e.g. shoplifting
- Entering or leaving vehicles driven by unknown adults
- Mobile phones from unknown sources
- Low self-esteem, self-harm, eating disorders
- Hostility in relationships
- Secrecy about friends and internet activity
For more information, see our Safeguarding Children at Risk of Exploitation policy:
Training opportunity: Child Exploitation and Modern Slavery (book on ‘Learnative’)
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a collective term for procedures which include the removal of part or all of the external female genitalia for cultural or other non-medical reasons. Communities that perform FGM can be found in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. There are immediate and long-term health consequences of the practice, which is medically unnecessary and extremely painful. Children aged 4-13 years are most at risk, but there have been cases involving newborn babies or young women before marriage.
FGM is illegal in the UK. It is also an offence for a UK national or UK resident to carry out FGM abroad or to in any way enable the procedure to be carried out abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. The United Nations and the World Health Organisation have declared FGM to be a violation of women’s human rights.
If you have concerns about the welfare and safety of a child or young person in relation to Female Genital Mutilation you should immediately inform your supervising social worker who will consult with ISP’s safeguarding lead.
For more information, see our Safeguarding Against Female Genital Mutilation Procedure.
Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage
Honour-based abuse is a crime or an incident that may have been committed against somebody to defend the honour of the family or community. It is a cultural, not a religious practice.
it is often committed by family members or acquaintances who believe someone has brought shame to their family or community by doing something that is not in-keeping with the traditional beliefs of their culture. For example, it might be committed against people who:
- Become involved with a boyfriend or girlfriend from a different culture or religion.
- Want to get out of an arranged marriage or do not want to enter into an arranged marriage.
- Do not wish to be entered into a forced marriage.
- Want to get out of a forced marriage.
- Wear clothes or take part in activities that might not be considered traditional within a particular culture.
- Behave in a way that is viewed to be untraditional or shameful.
A forced marriage is where one or both people do not consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used to make the marriage take place or to force it to continue against the wishes of one or both partners. Forced marriage is against the law and a violation of human rights.
Women and girls are the most common victims of honour based abuse. Crimes of ‘honour’ do not always include violence, which is why it is referred to as honour-based abuse. Some people consider the concept of ‘honour’ to be extremely important. To compromise a family’s ‘honour’ is to bring dishonour or shame and this can have severe consequences. The punishment for bringing dishonour can be emotional abuse, physical abuse, family disownment and in some cases even murder.
When honour-based crimes involve a child, they will also constitute child abuse.
Action
If you are concerned that a child or young person is at risk of honour based abuse or forced marriage, act immediately and inform your supervising social worker, who will initiate safeguarding procedures. It is important to maintain confidentiality about your concerns to ensure the child’s safety.
For more information, see our Safeguarding against Honour Based Abuse and Forced Marriage Procedure.
Training opportunity: FGM, Forced Marriage and Honour Based Abuse – book on ‘Learnative’
Trafficked Children
Who are trafficked children?
Trafficked children are those who have been brought into the country for the purposes of exploitation. This can include:
- sexual abuse and/or prostitution
- forced and/or cheap labour
- slavery or servitude
- financial or benefit fraud
- importation and sale of drugs
These children will often arrive in the country as unaccompanied minors or asylum seekers. They may be unaware that people have brought them into the country for these reasons. Those who are aware may be compliant or too frightened to tell.
Identifying trafficked children
The immigration authorities screen unaccompanied children arriving in the country, at the point of entry. Some might not have much information about who is going to look after them, or the immigration authorities may have concerns about the adults who have been identified as their future carers. These children will usually be placed in foster care for at least a short time, while their situation is explored. They are at particular risk of adult exploitation, but will rarely tell a foster parent about it. They might, however, show patterns of behaviour and activity that indicate possible exploitation. These include:
- Not having money or possessions on arrival, except a mobile phone.
- Receiving unidentified/unexplained phone calls.
- Possessing unexplained money/goods.
- Having a prepared story – appears to have been coached in explaining how they arrived in the country.
- Showing signs of physical or sexual abuse or sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy.
- Having unexplained absences from the carer’s home or going missing.
- Unidentified adults loitering outside or near carer’s home.
- Acquiring expensive clothes, mobile phones etc. without plausible explanation.
- Possessing keys to unidentified premises.
- Entering or leaving cars driven by unknown adults.
- Inappropriate use of internet and forming on line relationships with adults.
These indicators are not a definitive list but possible signs of trafficking and/or child sexual exploitation (CSE).
Safeguarding children at risk of being trafficked
When unaccompanied children are first placed with foster parents, the local authority should undertake a risk assessment and consider the possibility that the child may have been trafficked. If you have concerns, talk to your supervising social worker who will report to the local authority social worker. The local authority will decide whether to launch formal child protection procedures.
Radicalisation and Extremism
Radicalisation is a process through which a person comes to support or be involved in extremist ideologies. It can result in a person becoming drawn into terrorism and is in itself a form of harm.
Extremism is vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. It includes calls for the death of members of the British armed forces. (source: NSPCC)
Young people, especially teenagers, will come into contact with new people at school or college, youth clubs, religious organisations and online. Meeting new people, and exploring new ideas could lead to them adopting views that you consider extreme, and there is the risk that they could become radicalised through these extreme views.
Some possible signs to be alert to:
- Believing that their religion, culture or beliefs are under threat or being treated unfairly
- The need for identity and belonging
- Being secretive about their social networks, both in real life and online
- Becoming emotionally volatile
If you are concerned that a young person might be danger of radicalisation, speak immediately with your supervising social worker or manager who will liaise with the local authority about the appropriate course of action.
For more information, see our Extremism & Radicalisation Practice Guidance and Procedure
Training opportunity: Extremism and Radicalisation – book on ‘Learnative’
Read the Government’s Prevent Strategy
Children Missing from Care
Children at risk of going missing
Every young person in placement has a safeguarding risk assessment. This should identify any existing risks of the young person going missing and any specific factors that may increase the likelihood of the child going missing in the future.
Where there are known risks, the multi-disciplinary team will devise a plan to reduce the likelihood of the child going missing. For example, clear arrangements for contact between a fostered child and their birth family may reduce their anxiety about when they will see their family and in turn reduce their likelihood of running away.
There are many reasons why young people go missing from care placements. We sometimes refer to these reasons as “push and pull factors”. “Push factors” would be any aspects of the care placement that the young person is seeking to avoid or escape from, while “pull” factors are those which are drawing a young person away. Over time, as your relationship develops, you will come to learn what motivates the young person to run away, be able to recognise the early warning signs, and hopefully be able to intervene to prevent them from going.
If a young person is intent on leaving, you should try to persuade them to stay, but should not use physical restraint should solely to prevent them leaving. Only use physical restraint when necessary to prevent injury to the child or others, or serious damage to property. No physical intervention may be excessive or unreasonable.
What to do when a child or young person is missing
If a child is missing, you need to report this to ISP. Contact your supervising social worker or manager during normal working hours, or the out-of-hours service at evenings or weekends.
Your supervising social worker will help you to try and locate them. If they’re not answering their phone, you might be asked to try and call their friends or family, or visit an address where they claim to be (subject to any safety issues). This can be a powerful demonstration to the young person that you are available to them and that they belong with you and your family.
Is this an Unauthorised Absence or Missing Child?
If the child is missing without your permission but you know where they are, we will treat this as an ‘unauthorised absence’. You should act as a responsible parent would and take all practical steps to identify their whereabouts and try to ensure that they return home straight away. If they do not return within a reasonable period of time, and we believe they are vulnerable and at risk of harm, we will report them as a missing child.
If the child is missing from placement, you do not know where they are, and cannot find them within a reasonable period of time, then we will report them as a missing child.
Reporting the child as missing
If a child is absent without permission, whether or not you know their whereabouts, you must notify ISP without delay.
We will report all ‘unauthorised absences’ to the young person’s local authority. They might ask us to report the child missing to the police.
If the child is missing, and you don’t know where they are, your supervising social worker/out-of-hours worker will ask you to call the police and report them as missing, while they let the local authority know. The child’s local authority might notify the child’s birth family.
When you report a child as missing to the police, always emphasise that they might not be safe, even if you know their whereabouts. The police will visit you to gather information about the child and their possible location. Have a current photo available to give to the police. Depending on the circumstances, the police might search your home and garden to ensure the child is not hiding on the premises.
Most missing children are found quickly, but some children may be missing for longer periods of time, or may go missing regularly. Systems are in place to ensure that the police, local authority and ISP remain proactive in locating the child and ensuring they return home safely.
When a Missing Child is found
The Police are the people most likely to find a Missing Child and may return the child directly to your home or take them to a local Police Station to wait until you or a social worker can collect them.
If the police believe a child has been involved in criminal activity while missing, they may take them to a police station for questioning. The age of criminal responsibility in the UK is 10 years.
The police should inform you or the child’s social worker immediately if they detain a child for questioning. If the young person is under the age of 17, the police must follow a number of procedures defined in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984). These include the child’s right to consult with a solicitor and that children should only be formally interviewed in the presence of an ‘appropriate adult’.
An ‘appropriate adult’ could be a social worker from the local authority or ISP, or a foster parent. If the police contact you and tell you that your foster child has been arrested, they will give you the reason for the arrest and the address and phone number of the police station in which the child has been detained. You should phone your local ISP centre or the out-of-hours service, to decide who should act as the ‘appropriate adult’.
For more information, see our Appropriate Adult Procedure:
Training opportunity: Criminal Justice System and the Role of Appropriate Adult – book on ‘Learnative’.
When a missing child returns
When a young person returns, the local authority will arrange a ‘return interview’ to try and find out why they went missing. An professional who is independent of the placement should conduct this interview. This might be the young person’s local authority social worker, an advocate or another independent adult. The interview should take place, if possible, before the child actually returns to your home, but certainly within 72 hours of returning.
Children run away for a variety of reasons, but often because they are confused or unhappy about something. Though the reason may sometimes seem very trivial, at the time the child ran away it was the only way they felt they could deal with their confusion or unhappiness. They may not have got very far away, before they realised that there were other ways of dealing with the problem. They may feel very embarrassed and so coming home may be difficult and they will need an understanding welcome.
Whilst the child is missing, it is an emotionally challenging time for foster parents, and if the child frequently goes missing, you and your family can feel physically tired from lack of sleep and worry, dispirited and resentful at the child’s apparent disregard of your needs and feelings. When the child returns, you might experience a mixture of relief and anger. You should expect help and support from your supervising social worker with your feelings so that you will be in a position to be helpful to the child, when they return.
If a young person goes missing for a long period of time, or on a regular basis, their social worker will call a meeting with you, ISP and the young person to see what further action can we can take to help and protect them.
Payments to foster parents when a child is missing
Payments may continue while a child is missing, but this will not continue indefinitely and they are subject to monitoring and review. The local authority might decide to terminate a placement if the child is missing for more than a few days.
For more information, read our Children Missing From Care Policy and Procedures
Bullying
We try to ensure a culture in ISP that regards any form of bullying as totally unacceptable. We want our foster parents and staff to be able to recognise and deal with any indications or incidents of bullying. It is important that we support young people who are being bullied, while also helping and guiding those who bully to prevent them continuing to do so.
What is bullying and how to respond?
Bullying can include the following types of behaviour:
- Name calling and teasing, including taunts about sexual orientation and race.
- Gestures, taunting and mocking.
- Making offensive comments.
- Malicious gossip.
- Stealing from the victim.
- Extortion of money, food or homework.
- Physical violence, such as pushing, punching or pulling hair.
- Coercion.
- Isolation from groups.
Bullying is deliberately hurtful and difficult for victims to defend themselves against.
Children are the most likely group in the population to experience bullying, especially in a school environment, though it can take place in any setting, including home.
Bullying at School
Every school has an anti-bullying policy, and they should share this with parents and carers. The policy will outline the school’s procedure for responding to allegations of bullying. Encourage and support your young people to report any experiences of bullying at school.
If you think your child is being bullied, you should:
- Talk to the child about their experiences. Let them know that there are things you can do to stop it.
- Keep a record of what the child says, especially of the incidents of bullying.
- Reassure the child that they are right to tell you about the bullying.
- Advise the child that they should report any further incidents at school to a teacher straight away.
- Discuss how to resolve the situation with your supervising social worker and the child’s social worker.
- Make an appointment to meet with the child’s teacher – explain the problem and agree on what the school will do to stop any further bullying.
- Keep a record of what has been agreed and make a time to meet the teacher again to discuss what progress has been made.
- If little progress has been made, discuss with your supervising social worker and the child’s social worker whether to request a meeting with the head teacher or register a formal complaint.
Bullying in the Community
If you suspect bullying in the community, formulate a plan with your supervising social worker to address the concerns. This should include:
- Who should talk to the child or young person.
- Who else needs to be notified (e.g. schools, birth parents).
- Any immediate action needed to safeguard the child/young person.
The plan should involve any relevant others, including:
- The foster child or young person.
- Other children or young people in the household.
- The foster child’s birth parents.
- The bully.
- The social workers and parents of other children in the foster home.
- Other relevant professionals such as teachers and therapists.
After your concerns have been discussed with the child or young person, and bullying is confirmed or continues to be suspected then a protection plan should be drawn up to attempt to ensure the bullying ceases and does not re-occur.
If the bullying is being done by someone outside the foster home, then attempts should be made to engage the bully’s parents or carers in helping to put an end to the bullying. The social worker for the child or young person, rather than the foster carer, would normally undertake any contact with parents or carers in such circumstances.
Bullying behaviours by a child
Foster parents who are concerned a foster child is bullying others should:
- Challenge the young person’s behaviour as unacceptable and explain why.
- Ask what the young person can and will do to change such behaviour.
- Try to find out what has led to the child’s behaviour.
- Seek a meeting with the young person’s school to discuss how other professionals can work together to stop a young person’s bullying behaviours.
- If the bullying behaviour doesn’t stop, talk to your supervising social worker about the use of sanctions.
Bullying against foster parents
If you believe you have been subjected to bullying by an ISP employee, you should follow our Complaints and Representations Procedure.
For more information, read our Anti-Bullying procedure.
Risk Assessments
Ensuring the safety of foster children and all members of their foster family is our primary concern. Our matching process therefore considers any potential risks to the safety of individuals. The Placements Team undertakes an initial risk assessment within the matching form. This will help identify any known risks that a child may present – either to themselves or to others.
The initial risk assessment will be based on the information that local authority has shared with us, and this might not be complete. It is quite possible that a child will show behaviours that can be identified as risks, only after a placement has taken place. Where there is cause for concern, ISP will request copies of any existing up-to-date written risk assessments or start a new safeguarding risk assessment within five working days of placement. Our risk assessment for children up to 3 years of age includes compliance with safer sleeping guidance. See Health and Safety for more information about safer sleeping.
Risk factors
Every child’s situation and needs are different. Their risk assessment therefore needs to be flexible and adaptable. However, some core factors are always considered:
- Are there any suicidal/serious self-harming issues?
- Have they experienced bullying, or do they bully others?
- Do they present a risk to other children in terms of abuse?
- Do they have particularly challenging behaviour?
- Is there a likelihood they will go missing?
- Are they at risk of sexual exploitation? (This may trigger completion of a Child Sexual Exploitation Risk Assessment)
- Do substance and/or alcohol abuse create any vulnerability?
- Does online behaviour indicate a vulnerability to grooming/grooming others or accessing unsuitable sites/posting inappropriate images?
- Any risk from birth family or others, including abduction, honour based violence or radicalisation?
- Are there any specific health issues?
- Is there concern that they may be a trafficked child?
- Is there any threat of violence to carers?
- Any risk of allegations against carers?
Review of risk assessments
We review children’s risk assessments at least every six months and more often if there are new concerns – or if significant incidents occur. We also share new concerns and significant events with the child’s social worker and sometimes with Ofsted/other agencies. When we review and update the risk assessment we send a copy to the child’s social worker.
Your supervising social workers will discuss the child’s risk assessment with you in supervision. Through regular discussion, subtle changes or concerns can be picked up early. It is also an opportunity to ensure that new information is shared and that the current assessment of risk remains accurate.
Household Safer Caring Plans
Every ISP foster family creates a Household Safer Caring Plan. This helps you to record how you behave towards each other and what family rules are in place, especially in the area of safer caring.
Children who have experienced abusive relationships within their own family may think all families function in the same way. Your Plan can help children understand healthier family relationships.
All families have rules, some of which are set by parents and some which are negotiated between family members. Usually, everybody knows what the rules are even though they may not be spoken about very often. For a young person, joining a foster family can be bewildering and the Family Safer Caring Plan helps them understand the rules of the foster family they are joining.
Ideally, the plan will be shared with fostered children before they join your family, as this will help them to understand the essential rules the home, what is expected of them and what they can expect of you. Review the plan annually or whenever there is any change in the household membership.
Foster parents are expected to take individual responsibility for safe care in the household, and all adult members of the household are personally accountable for their actions and decisions. Foster parents will support each other, share consistent boundaries and work together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all members of the household. This is particularly important when caring for a child/young person who may have suffered sexual harm and presents with sexualised behaviour or over-familiar behaviour. In such circumstances, specific consideration will be given to how the safe care practices are agreed, implemented and overseen to ensure that the care of the child meets their needs and maintains a safe environment for the child and all family members.
Support
Your local team is available to provide support, advice and guidance and you may also use the Out-of-Hours service for safer caring guidance and support if needed on evenings, weekends and public holidays.
Comprehensive safer caring guidance can be found in Chapter 11a.
For more information, see our Risk Asssessment and Safer Care Policy and read our Monitoring & Surveillance of Children and Young People Policy
