Schools need better training in identifying signs of abuse

Ofsted has joined with government watchdogs HMI Probation, Care Quality Commission and HMI Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service to provide a “multi agency response” to child sexual abuse in the family environment.

The findings in the report consider the extent to which children’s social care, education and health professionals, youth offending services, the police and probation officers effectively work together to safeguard children who are subject to, or at risk of, sexual abuse in the family environment.

The report said that a lack of school nurses meant "that there was less involvement and knowledge about children who might be at risk of, or subject to, child sexual abuse in the family environment."

The report calls on professionals to give sexual abuse a higher priority in local areas, through improved training and awareness-raising of the problem. More needs to be done to prevent the sexual abuse of children in the family environment and when it does happen, agencies must work better to protect and support victims and families.

The report says that increasing the child’s knowledge around sexual abuse is key to prevention. These programmes are usually carried out in schools, which can reach a large number of children without stigmatising a particular population. In the UK, the NSPCC introduced the PANTS Campaign (the ‘underwear rule’) to help encourage and support parents to talk to children aged four to 11 about staying safe from sexual abuse. The campaign also includes teaching resources for schools and early years settings.

The report found four areas of practice that could be improved to aid the identification of sexual abuse of a child earlier. These areas are ensuring that professionals in all agencies recognise the signs of abuse in the family and that they feel comfortable talking about it with children and families.

Other areas that could be improved include strong multi-agency information-sharing protocols in place across the local area and equipping adults to see what is happening, as they cannot rely on children to disclose.