Little Lever School

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or a group of individuals takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity.

This can be:

in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or
for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator

Child Sexual Exploitation can happen in person or online. You can find more information about Online Safety here

What signs should I look out for?

Children involved in CSE may:

appear with unexplained gifts, money or new possessions
suffer from changes in emotional well-being
go missing for periods of time or regularly come home late
having hotel cards or keys to unknown places
unexplained absences from school
having a second phone or hide their activity on their phone
significantly change their clothing style or appearance
increasingly disruptive or aggressive behaviour

What should I do?

Members of staff will report this as a child protection issue to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Parents/carers can also raise this with our safeguarding team [link to webpage] and we will be able to offer advice, support or refer to the appropriate specialists.

You should also raise CSE concerns to the Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers

Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)

If you are concerned a child is in immediate danger you should phone 999

Further Information

Parents Protect

Protecting children from sexual exploitation | NSPCC Learning

Grooming: recognising the signs | NSPCC Learning