# data[].attributes.body
The Education, Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing (ESHAW) Hub are always looking for feedback about how the Team has supported schools and partners so far, and how we can continue to support schools and partners in the future.

We have created a variety of online Padlets to help colleagues from our schools and partners find relevant and reliable information and quality resources for a range of different topics and themes from our team's remits.

We would appreciate it if you could complete this short evaluation form, please, so that we can understand whether the Padlets have been helpful for you and so we can understand whether there is anything that we can do differently to further improve the Padlets in the future. It would be helpful to know which Padlets you've accessed, what you've used them for and if there's anything you feel is missing.

The form should only take a few minutes to complete but will provide valuable feedback to our Team and our managers.
Your feedback will be anonymous, unless you choose to enter your name/email address.

Thank you.

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Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) 

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Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) 

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KCSiE 2026 states that: All staff should be aware of systems within their school or college which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of a staff induction.

This includes:

child protection policy - inlcuding procedures to deal with child-on-child abuse.

behaviour policy - including measures to prevent bullying of all kinds.

staff behaviour policy, sometimes called a code of conduct.

safeguarding response to children who are absent from education, particularly on repeat occasions and/or prolonged periods'.

All staff should know what to do if a child tells them they are being abused, exploited or neglected'.

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Statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment.

Details

This guidance applies to all schools and colleges and is for:

headteachers, teachers and staff

governing bodies, proprietors and management committees

It sets out the legal duties you must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.

All school and college staff should read part 1 of this guidance. Part 1 of the guidance is also available as a standalone document.

Statutory guidance sets out what schools must do to comply with the law.

Where the guidance states schools and colleges should do something, you should follow this unless you have a good reason not to.

'Regulated activity in relation to children: scope' describes work that a barred person must not do. We have also published guidance on disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006.

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Statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment.

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Working Together to Safeguard Children is a key document, that all professionals with a responsibility to protect and promote the welfare of children.

This guidance outlines the importance of identifying emerging problems and potential unmet needs of individual children and families.

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Cookies on GOV.UK

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We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

Details

This guidance is for:

local authority chief executives

directors of children's services

safeguarding partners

teachers and education staff

social workers

health service professionals

adult services

police officers

voluntary and community sector workers in contact with children and families

It applies to:

A version of the guidance for young people and a separate version suitable for younger children are also available for practitioners to share.

Statutory guidance is issued by law - you must follow it unless there's a good reason not to.

Working together to safeguard children 2018

This is a factual update to Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 to reflect recent changes to legislation, including:

Integrated Care Boards: from 1 July 2022, integrated care boards have replaced clinical commissioning groups as a result of the Health and Care Act 2022

Public Health England: has now been replaced by the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), which is part of the Department of Health and Social Care, and by the UK Health Security Agency. The Chief Public Health Nurse role has transferred to OHID

Domestic Abuse Act 2021: references to the Domestic Abuse Bill should be read as the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

UK GDPR: references to the GDPR should be read as the UK GDPR. The UK GDPR is the retained EU law version of the GDPR. The UK GDPR sits alongside the Data Protection Act 2018

Statutory framework

The updated statutory framework sets out the legislation relevant to safeguarding and it should be read alongside the statutory guidance.

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Statutory guidance on inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

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Please register via Notts Police Intelligence Portal - Op.Striver

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Please register via Notts Police Intelligence Portal - Op.Striver

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This system has been built by Notts Police to enable selective partners and organisations to submit intelligence to Notts Police in a structured way.

This is not for general public use.

You will need to register in order to access this portal.

If you want to report a crime or need urgent action please use another channel of communication - such as 999, 101 or Crime Stoppers.

What information are we seeking?

What criminal activity is taking place?

Who is committing the crime?

Who are they targeting?

Information about protecting the vulnerable.

How are they commintting their crimes?

When submitting inforamtion into the portal that fall under CCE or CSE please ensure you select OP STRIVER when choosing your submission category on the second page.

If the information is not primarily regarding this but it is featured within the report then our Real Time Intelligence Unit will pick this up and ensure that it is sent through to the Intelligence Support Unit as a high priority to be processed.

If the submissions do not meet the criteria they may be rejected and a notification will be sent to you stating the reasons why.

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Notts Police Intelligence Portal - Op.Striver

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Notts Police Intelligence Portal - Op.Striver

# data[].attributes.body
This system has been built by Notts Police to enable selective partners and organisations to submit intelligence to Notts Police in a structured way.

This is not for general public use.

You will need to register in order to access this portal.

If you want to report a crime or need urgent action please use another channel of communication - such as 999, 101 or Crime Stoppers.

What information are we seeking?

What criminal activity is taking place?

Who is committing the crime?

Who are they targeting?

Information about protecting the vulnerable.

How are they commintting their crimes?

When submitting inforamtion into the portal that fall under CCE or CSE please ensure you select OP STRIVER when choosing your submission category on the second page.

If the information is not primarily regarding this but it is featured within the report then our Real Time Intelligence Unit will pick this up and ensure that it is sent through to the Intelligence Support Unit as a high priority to be processed.

If the submissions do not meet the criteria they may be rejected and a notification will be sent to you stating the reasons why.

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This page is for parents - if you are a teacher, click here

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Three different scenarios which can be used with staff training, RSHE lessons or to share with parents.

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Three different scenarios which can be used with staff training, RSHE lessons or to share with parents.

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Please only share if you feel appropriate depending on the context and relationship you have with the parents and/or children.

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University of Hull - Research and Enterprise

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Anti-Fraud Lesson Plans (financial crime) KS3&4

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Anti-Fraud Lesson Plans (financial crime) KS3&4

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Together with PSHE Association, the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Cifas has created four Anti-Fraud Education lesson plans with accompanying resources. The lesson plans are targeted at 11-16 year olds and cover Key Stage 3 and 4.

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Working together to teach young people about fraud

Research conducted at Cifas has shown that increasing numbers of young people are affected by fraud, either being targeted by online fraudsters or unwittingly engaging in fraudulent acts themselves.

Together with PSHE Association, the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Cifas has created four Anti-Fraud Education lesson plans with accompanying resources. The lesson plans are targeted at 11-16 year olds and cover Key Stage 3 and 4.

Helping young people understand the effects of financial crime

The lessons aim to help students:

Recognise what fraud is, why they may be targeted and how to seek support;

Explain the consequences of committing fraud;

Develop skills to protect their online information and personal data; and

Develop skills to critically evaluate the reliability of online content in relation to scams.

The two lesson plans for Key Stage 3 introduce students to the concept of fraud and the importance of digital literacy and data protection within the context of financial risk. For Key Stage 4, the two lessons build on this learning by encouraging students to think about their responsibility for financial information in more independent contexts.

Informed and up-to-date fraud education for your students

You can download the plans and resources for each lesson from this page.

You may also wish to use these awareness videos, created by Cifas, as extra resources:

- Created in partnership with BBH London, this 'hidden camera' film highlights just how easy it is for criminals to get your personal information from the Internet.

Sponsor a Child Trafficker -Also created in partnership with BBH London, this film looks at the devastating consequences that money mules (people who allow their bank accounts to be used to launder money) enable.

Further information

To find out more about the work at Cifas to deliver anti-fraud education to schools, please contact communications@cifas.org.uk

The lesson plans can also be found on the PSHE quality assured resource site.

For further anti-fraud education material, teachers may wish to make use of the resources from MoneySense.

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Anti-Fraud Lesson Plans | Fraud Resources for Teachers | Cifas

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Research conducted at Cifas has shown that increasing numbers of young people are affected by fraud, either being targeted by online fraudsters or unwittingly engaging in fraudulent acts themselves. Together with PSHE Association, the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Cifas has created four Anti-Fraud Education lesson plans with accompanying resources.

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This video, rated 12A, covers themes such as grooming, child criminal exploitation, intimidation, drugs, sexual abuse and control. Please review all resources attached here to check that they are appropriate to share with the intended audience.

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LGfL - How are young people being targeted to be money mules (video)

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LGfL - How are young people being targeted to be money mules (video)

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DC Dawn Wood from the Metropolitan Police's Cyber Crime Unit talks about the issue of young people being used as 'money mules' - a form of money laundering which can put children and young people at serious risk of criminalisation, frozen bank accounts and even violence. There's no such thing as free money!

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How are young people targeted to be a money mule? - LGfL TV - Powered by eStream

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How are young people targeted to be a money mule?

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Crimestoppers - Classroom Resource (Videos) - Running the Lines

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Crimestoppers - Classroom Resource (Videos) - Running the Lines

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Here you will find 2 short videos which have been created by Fearless. They raise awareness of how ‘County Lines’ drug gangs exploit young people to sell drugs.

The story follows Evan who is groomed, exploited and threatened into becoming a drug runner for a London-based organised crime group.

Whilst Running the Lines is fiction, what happens to Evan is happening to other young people up and down the UK. Learn more about County Lines and speak up if you’re worried your friends may be involved.

The second video is Sophies story, which is the follow up film to Running the Lines.

Sophie, who features in the running the lines film, tells her story and discusses the impact of exploitation, not just on her but on her relationships with friends and family too.

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LGfL - Spotlight on Safeguarding - Chicken Shop Grooming

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LGfL - Spotlight on Safeguarding - Chicken Shop Grooming

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This is the first in a series of 5-minute safeguarding CPD sessions to use at the start of a staff briefing or inset session. This topic is chicken-shop grooming, with a quick scenario and 4 minutes for discussion time.

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Spotlight on Safeguarding - Chicken-Shop Grooming - LGfL TV - Powered by eStream

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Spotlight on Safeguarding - Chicken-Shop Grooming

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This video, rated 12A, covers themes such as grooming, child criminal exploitation, intimidation, drugs, sexual abuse and control. Please review all resources attached here to check that they are appropriate to share with the intended audience.

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Not In Our Community is developed and continually improved with young people, including survivors, to help us protect ourselves and friends from grooming and sexual or criminal exploitation.

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Not In Our Community is developed and continually improved with young people, including survivors, to help us protect ourselves and friends from grooming and sexual or criminal exploitation.

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Now in our seventh year, we co-produce resources and stories based on real life events for use on social media and in schools / other groups where young people hang out. Our approach telling it like it really is helps thousands of young people understand how grooming and exploitation works so that they can better protect themselves, spot the warning signs amongst friends and know who they can go to for help.

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Year 6 – Not In Our Community – Protection against exploitation

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Child financial exploitation: a guide for parents, carers and professionals

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Child financial exploitation: a guide for parents, carers and professionals

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Child financial exploitation: a guide for parents, carers and professionals | Catch22

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Across our child exploitation services, we are increasingly aware of children being financially exploited alongside other forms of exploitation such as child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE). Using our expertise, we have created a poster for parents, carers, and professionals to explain what child financial exploitation is, what the signs are, and […]

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The Children's Society - What is Financial Exploitation (Bank Accounts)

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The Children's Society - What is Financial Exploitation (Bank Accounts)

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Financial exploitation can take many forms, but this page focusses on the practice of using a child’s bank accounts (or online wallets) to hold, transfer, or hide funds or assets for the purpose of exploitation.

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Financial exploitation can happen to any child, from any background. It takes many forms, including exploitation within families and care placements as well as outside the home. A growing concern across the country involves criminals approaching children and young people online through gaming and social media platforms, and in places like shops and cashpoints with offers of quick cash and fake job opportunities, only to use and control their bank accounts to commit fraud and launder money from organised crime.

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Criminals are approaching young people on and offline to use them to control their bank accounts to commit fraud and launder money from organised crime.

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This report presents the findings of our research to better understand child financial exploitation. Through our interviews with frontline professionals it is clear that this emerging issue is still poorly understood and that there is an urgent need to both address this gap and for greater collaboration between agencies in order to effectively safeguard children from harm.

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This study explored how frontline professionals understand child financial exploitation based on their experiences of working with children and their families.

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Crime Stoppers - Understanding Child Financial Exploitation (CFE)

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Crime Stoppers - Understanding Child Financial Exploitation (CFE)

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Here you will find information about spotting the signs of CFE and how children can report this anonymously if they feel they have been affected.

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What is Child Financial Exploitation?

Child Financial Exploitation, sometimes referred to as 'money muling', is the term used to describe the action of using a young person's bank account to move money obtained from illegal sources.

Through the process of money laundering, criminals will introduce the proceeds of their crimes into the banking system as a way of attempting to disguise its origin, making it appear as though it has come from a legitimate source.

Laundering the proceeds of crime is a criminal offence under The Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) and carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Spot the Signs

Watch Gabi's story below to find out about the signs to spot:

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Explore our comprehensive guide on Child Financial Exploitation (CFE) to safeguard children's financial well-being. Gain insights, resources, and expert knowledge on identifying, preventing, and addressing CFE. Empower yourself to protect children's financial security with Crimestoppers UK.

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Free Online financial harms lesson materials and CPD for teachers (PSHE Association)

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Free Online financial harms lesson materials and CPD for teachers (PSHE Association)

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Online financial harms are increasingly complex. And the overlap with other safeguarding concerns increasingly evident.

With such harms linking to online safety, toxic influences, safe relationships, mental health, digital/media literacy and more, the PSHE education curriculum is uniquely suited to protecting children and young people.

The PSHE Association's new lesson plans start at key stage 2 then build in complexity as students progress to secondary school and post-16/key stage 5 (see full lesson summary below and watch trailers).

There are also dedicated materials for pupils with SEND, and an accompanying on-demand CPD course for PSHE leads and teachers, which includes practical steps for embedding learning on financial harms within your PSHE curriculum.

This is all part of PSHE Association's work as a partner on the Child Financial Harms programme — a Nominet-funded, Parent Zone led consortium bringing together leading organisations involved in researching and providing solutions to financial harms.

Primary lessons include a focus on understanding the fundamentals of what influences our spending decisions and how spending money online can affect mental health and wellbeing.

Secondary lessons include lessons that will help students to identify, assess and minimise financial harms posed by phone use and different online contexts, including how the internet can amplify risks relating to money, data and privacy. Other key stage 3 lessons explore how gaming, social media, algorithms, advertising and peer influence can all increase pressure to spend.

At key stage 4, lessons dig deeper into the complexities of making and spending money online – exploring the rights and risks around cryptocurrencies, as well as the difference between controlled and uncontrolled spending, including on gambling. Other lessons will help young people recognise, avoid and challenge financial exploitation and seek help if necessary.

The second of two key stage 5/post-16 lessons explores the overlap with PSHE content on relationships, by helping students to identify signs of manipulation, persuasion and abuse in online relationships that could lead to financial exploitation or extortion.

In addition to this, free on-demand training for teachers includes practical steps for embedding learning on financial harms within their PSHE curricula.

Click here to explore the free resources and on-demand training

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This page content is for registered users only

Create a free account to:

Access free PSHE Association resources and guidance

Get regular updates on the latest PSHE education news and views, directly to your inbox

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Lesson materials and on-demand CPD for teachers. Protect pupils from a range of online financial harms that pose safeguarding as well as financial risks.

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The financial exploitation of children and adults at risk can have life-changing impacts on victims and their families. However, it is often not recognised, and many victims go without the support they need, including where the exploitation is linked to money laundering.

This guidance is aimed at frontline professionals and organisations who work with children and adults at risk. The guidance is intended to enable practitioners to recognise and respond to financial exploitation linked to money laundering so that victims, and potential victims, can get the protection and support they need.

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LGfL - Safeguarding from Child Criminal Exploitation - Dates for 2026

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LGfL - Safeguarding from Child Criminal Exploitation - Dates for 2026

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By the end of the session you will be familiarised with:

Definitions and types of CCE linking to relevant legislation and guidance (eg. County lines, gangs, knife crime/serious youth violence and money mules)

The grooming process - signs and indicators of exploitation

Professional curiosity - How to make the judgement call

How schools can avoid victim blaming

Addressing taboos - 'it wouldn’t happen here’ attitudes

Examples of what schools can do to effectively prevent and respond to exploitation – linking to relational practice and trauma informed practice

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This series of expert insight films helps those working and volunteering with children and young people to understand what child criminal exploitation is, recognise the signs and respond effectively.

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This series of expert insight films helps those working and volunteering with children and young people to understand what child criminal exploitation is, recognise the signs and respond effectively.

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The five videos have been developed to complement our resources on county lines and child criminal exploitation.

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Child criminal exploitation: expert insight videos | NSPCC Learning

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This series of expert insight films helps those working and volunteering with children and young people to understand what child criminal exploitation is, recognise the signs and respond effectively.

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'Sextortion' - sexually coerced extortion

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'Sextortion' - sexually coerced extortion

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Why language matters:

‘Sextortion’ refers to a form of blackmail that involves the threat to distribute intimate, sexual images of someone unless that person meets certain demands.¹ Demands might include paying money, sending more images or videos, performing sexual acts or staying in a relationship

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Why language matters: why we should rethink our use of the term ‘sextortion’ | NSPCC Learning

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Using the term ‘sextortion’ risks minimising the harm caused and doesn’t reflect the complexity and variety of the issues experienced.

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National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) - County Lines Awareness Video

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National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) - County Lines Awareness Video

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A 10 minute video created in partnership with Sketchups discussing the County Lines methodology and how this is impacting Children and Vulnerable adults, Partners, Law Enforcement and society.

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National County Lines Coordination Centre

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This video created by Fearless (10:34 mins)

Please be aware that this video contains knife imagery. This fictional film/character story explores how county lines drug gangs can exploit young people to run drugs. Beginning with just a simple text message, this video shows how quickly children can go from receiving gifts of new trainers and watches, to being forced to work in trap houses.

Please note: Suitable for 11 years and over; however, this film contains references to drug dealing and threats of violence that younger viewers might find upsetting

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Running the Lines - Evans Story (video 2)

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Running the Lines - Evans Story (video 2)

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This video (4:30 mins), created by Fearless, shows an interview with 'Evan' one year after the police raid we see at the end of the first video. 'Evan' speaks openly about why he made the choices he did and how afraid he was.

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This web site includes useful information retained from the previous local safeguarding children board and updated content will be added as it becomes available.

From this site, you can access training, policies and guidance, resources, learning from practice, news and useful contacts.

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The Nottinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership provides the safeguarding arrangements under which the safeguarding partners and relevant agencies work together to coordinate their safeguarding services. The partnership is responsible for identifying and responding to the needs of children in Nottinghamshire, commissioning and publishing local child safeguarding practice reviews and providing scrutiny to ensure the effectiveness of the safeguarding arrangements.

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Child criminal exploitation: expert insight videos | NSPCC Learning

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This series of expert insight films helps those working and volunteering with children and young people to understand what child criminal exploitation is, recognise the signs and respond effectively.

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ESHAW Hub Padlet Evaluation - 2025-2026 

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ESHAW Hub Padlet Evaluation - 2025-2026 

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The Education, Safeguarding, Health and Wellbeing (ESHAW) Hub are always looking for feedback about how the Team has supported schools and partners so far, and how we can continue to support schools and partners in the future.

We have created a variety of online Padlets to help colleagues from our schools and partners find relevant and reliable information and quality resources for a range of different topics and themes from our team's remits.

We would appreciate it if you could complete this short evaluation form, please, so that we can understand whether the Padlets have been helpful for you and so we can understand whether there is anything that we can do differently to further improve the Padlets in the future. It would be helpful to know which Padlets you've accessed, what you've used them for and if there's anything you feel is missing.

The form should only take a few minutes to complete but will provide valuable feedback to our Team and our managers.
Your feedback will be anonymous, unless you choose to enter your name/email address.

Thank you.

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YJS work with children aged between 10-18 with the aim of preventing offending and re-offending. As well as those children instructed by the court to work with YJS, they offer support to children on a voluntary basis. Interventions are delivered on a one-to-one, or as part of a group. Interventions are varied and tailored to meet the individual needs of the child; the aim is to steer children away from crime and anti-social behaviour, helping them make the most of their lives.

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As part of the 'My Futures' programme we work with children and young people aged 10-18 years on a voluntary basis. The aim of the programme is to steer children and young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour, helping them make the most of their lives.

Workers offer support to children and young people that is individual to them, and what they think they need. This could be on their own or as part of a group. We can also provide mentoring support for young people who need additional support to help them make better choices for them and their future.

We work closely with other agencies such as schools, children's social care, health, police and the youth service to make sure that we are working together to support children and young people in their community.

Our work

Our work is varied and intervention is tailored to the needs of the child or young person and what they need to help them stay out of trouble. This could be working with children and young people to develop a skill, helping to get them back into education, training or employment, working through a problem, or just being there as someone to listen.

Over a five-week period, 12 young people attended the Mill Adventure base, taking part in activities such as; abseiling, outdoor climbing, tunnelling, Jacob's ladder, free fall and zip wire. Whilst they had fun, they were also developing essential skills in communication and team-work, in addition to doing something constructive and building positive relationships.
What children and young people told us...
"I learned more about myself, comparing other skills, confidence, trying new things that I wouldn't have done on my own or with family, friends, opportunity because of money."

"I enjoyed it because of the group all working together and supporting each other no matter where someone was from."

"I was anxious, nervous but after I got to know them it was ok."

"I enjoyed doing the activities and its better than just talking with people all the time."

Who is suitable for the My Futures youth support programme

It is for children and young people aged 10-18, who are wanting help and support to make better decisions and make the most of their lives.

Referrals are considered for children and young people based on the following areas of concern;

The young person is engaging in, or at risk of engaging in, anti-social behaviour or behaviour which could lead to police involvement.

There are concerns relating to the young person being involved in, or at risk of being involved in, acts of aggression/violent behaviour and/or using knives/weapons.

There are concerns about their use of social media which places either themselves or others at a risk of harm.

There are concerns about the young person's thinking and behaviour which harmfully impact on their relationships (e.g. discriminatory attitudes and beliefs).

Concerns are being raised in relation to the young person's risk of being or becoming involved in serious youth violence (SYV) or / and child criminal exploitation (CCE)

There exists other concerning or worrying behaviour which, unaddressed, may lead to police involvement.

If you are unsure about whether a referral is appropriate, please contact the early help unit for advice and guidance.

How to make a referral to the programme

We welcome referrals from across all partner agencies and can be made by calling the youth justice service duty officer on 0115 804 2888.

If you are a parent or guardian and have concerns about a child or young person and want to discuss making a referral, please contact the early help unit for advice and guidance:

If you are a young person and are wanting support please contact the Early Help Unit or access Notts Help Yourself which may provide you with some important information and advice.

If a young person is in immediate danger or at risk of harm a safeguarding referral should be made to the multi agency safeguarding hub ( MASH).

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As part of the 'My Futures' programme we work with children and young people aged 10-18 years on a voluntary basis. The aim of the programme is to steer children and young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour, helping them make the most of their lives.

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YJS work with children aged between 10-18 with the aim of preventing offending and re-offending. As well as those children instructed by the court to work with YJS, they offer support to children on a voluntary basis. Interventions are delivered on a one-to-one, or as part of a group. Interventions are varied and tailored to meet the individual needs of the child; the aim is to steer children away from crime and anti-social behaviour, helping them make the most of their lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As part of the 'My Futures' programme we work with children and young people aged 10-18 years on a voluntary basis. The aim of the programme is to steer children and young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour, helping them make the most of their lives.

Workers offer support to children and young people that is individual to them, and what they think they need. This could be on their own or as part of a group. We can also provide mentoring support for young people who need additional support to help them make better choices for them and their future.

We work closely with other agencies such as schools, children's social care, health, police and the youth service to make sure that we are working together to support children and young people in their community.

Our work

Our work is varied and intervention is tailored to the needs of the child or young person and what they need to help them stay out of trouble. This could be working with children and young people to develop a skill, helping to get them back into education, training or employment, working through a problem, or just being there as someone to listen.

Over a five-week period, 12 young people attended the Mill Adventure base, taking part in activities such as; abseiling, outdoor climbing, tunnelling, Jacob's ladder, free fall and zip wire. Whilst they had fun, they were also developing essential skills in communication and team-work, in addition to doing something constructive and building positive relationships.
What children and young people told us...
"I learned more about myself, comparing other skills, confidence, trying new things that I wouldn't have done on my own or with family, friends, opportunity because of money."

"I enjoyed it because of the group all working together and supporting each other no matter where someone was from."

"I was anxious, nervous but after I got to know them it was ok."

"I enjoyed doing the activities and its better than just talking with people all the time."

Who is suitable for the My Futures youth support programme

It is for children and young people aged 10-18, who are wanting help and support to make better decisions and make the most of their lives.

Referrals are considered for children and young people based on the following areas of concern;

The young person is engaging in, or at risk of engaging in, anti-social behaviour or behaviour which could lead to police involvement.

There are concerns relating to the young person being involved in, or at risk of being involved in, acts of aggression/violent behaviour and/or using knives/weapons.

There are concerns about their use of social media which places either themselves or others at a risk of harm.

There are concerns about the young person's thinking and behaviour which harmfully impact on their relationships (e.g. discriminatory attitudes and beliefs).

Concerns are being raised in relation to the young person's risk of being or becoming involved in serious youth violence (SYV) or / and child criminal exploitation (CCE)

There exists other concerning or worrying behaviour which, unaddressed, may lead to police involvement.

If you are unsure about whether a referral is appropriate, please contact the early help unit for advice and guidance.

How to make a referral to the programme

We welcome referrals from across all partner agencies and can be made by calling the youth justice service duty officer on 0115 804 2888.

If you are a parent or guardian and have concerns about a child or young person and want to discuss making a referral, please contact the early help unit for advice and guidance:

If you are a young person and are wanting support please contact the Early Help Unit or access Notts Help Yourself which may provide you with some important information and advice.

If a young person is in immediate danger or at risk of harm a safeguarding referral should be made to the multi agency safeguarding hub ( MASH).

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As part of the 'My Futures' programme we work with children and young people aged 10-18 years on a voluntary basis. The aim of the programme is to steer children and young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour, helping them make the most of their lives.

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Online grooming crimes against children increase by 89% in six years.

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Online grooming crimes against children increase by 89% in six years.

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More than 7,000 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded by police last year (2023/24) – up 89% since 2017/18 when the offence first came into force.

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Online grooming crimes against children increase by 89% in six years

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As online grooming crimes rise to record levels, we’re calling for toughened rules from Ofcom and stricter laws from the UK government.

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Amanda Radley -Blog - Beyond the victim/offender binary.

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Amanda Radley -Blog - Beyond the victim/offender binary.

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Amanda contributed to a TCE learning event centred on exploring the tension around classifying young people as either victims or offenders. An interesting read.

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Beyond the victim/offender binary - Tackling Child Exploitation

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‘Beyond the victim/offender binary’ is an asset related to Programme Blogs on the Tackling Child Exploitation website.

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Access resources, lesson plans, videos and teacher guidance - please review prior to deciding what to share with your children - context of your provision and setting is important.

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Access resources, lesson plans, videos and teacher guidance - please review prior to deciding what to share with your children - context of your provision and setting is important.

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All Lesson Resources – Not In Our Community – Protection against exploitation

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It's Not OK: teaching resources about positive relationships

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It's Not OK: teaching resources about positive relationships

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It's Not OK helps children and young people recognise concerning behaviour and identify characteristics of positive relationships. The lesson plans, films and accompanying activities cover what behaviour to look out for and how to respond to it.

It's Not OK reinforces the importance of building and maintaining positive relationships and recognising and responding to behaviour relating to:

online safety

grooming

sexting

harmful sexual behaviour

child sexual abuse

child sexual exploitation.

The films have a suggested lesson plan with activities for young people to complete to help them understand the issues that are raised.

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It's Not OK: online teaching resources | NSPCC Learning

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Videos and lesson plans for children and young people aged 11+ covering positive relationships, how to recognise concerning or abusive behaviour and what to do.

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Access resources, lesson plans, videos and teacher guidance - please review prior to deciding what to share with your children - context of your provision and setting is important.

# data[].attributes.subject
Access resources, lesson plans, videos and teacher guidance - please review prior to deciding what to share with your children - context of your provision and setting is important.

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All Lesson Resources – Not In Our Community – Protection against exploitation

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We are the only UK charity providing a lifeline to those affected by a disappearance or thinking of going missing. For support call or text 116 000

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Missing People offers a lifeline for the 170,000 people who run away and go missing each year. We also provide support for family and friends.

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The NSPCC is a 'go to' website for all aspects of child safeguarding. This particular link takes readers to further information, advice and support on aspects of child exploitation.

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"The Lighthouse has been a little bit of refuge."
Parent in London

W hen a child has experienced sexual abuse , they and their family are often left to navigate finding the right support for their child alone. From health care professionals, social workers, therapists and the police - this frequently means the child has to re-tell and re-live their experience with each agency or professional, risking being re-traumatised by the process .

The Lighthouse is based on the international Child House ( Barnahus ) model, established in Reykjavik in 1998. This model is child-centred, allowing medical and sexual health professionals, counsellors, therapists, and the police to work together under one roof - guiding children, young people and their families through their journey of recovery, helping them access the support they need at every step, including the court process.

"I only have to tell the story once."
Child using The Lighthouse in London

In London, where The Lighthouse is based, research has identified a "significant unmet need" for emotional and health support for children who have experienced sexual abuse. Those who do sometimes have to wait months to receive therapy and the support they need. One study found that 8 in 10 adolescents who experienced sexual abuse had mental health problems 4-5 months after the assault. That is why it is so important children get the help they need when they need it.

In 2019/20, The Lighthouse received 321 referrals, meaning approximately 1 in 2 children in North Central London who reported sexual offences were referred there for support. The Lighthouse team were able to accept 258 of those through this difficult time.

"I like the way I can talk and be advised and listened to. I can also talk about what I'd like to talk about."
Child using The Lighthouse in London

"I don't know how my family would have got through this trauma without this service. Truly amazing."
Parent in London

The Mayor of London's Office for Policing and Crime is evaluating t he Lighthouse and has published 3 reports to date, with a final report due in S ummer 2021.

We believe every child should have the support they need after facing sexual abuse. Being a partner in The Lighthouse has shown us the difference a Child House can make for young people who've experienced abuse and we're pleased that funding for The Lighthouse in London has been extended to March 2022.

"Think it's a great service dedicated to young people and their families. Should have more around the UK"
Parent in London

Given the success of The Lighthouse in London, we'll advocate nationally for the benefits of this model and campaign to have new sites funded and built across the UK.

With support from government and commissioners, we can make the Child Houses model an integral part of the support and services available to children who've experienced abuse.

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If you're worried about sexual exploitation, we have information and advice to protect and help children and young people.

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Barnardos support thousands of children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse. They also provide support to their families, and to people working with children, such as social workers and teachers, through consultation and training. Learn more about child sexual abuse (CSA) and child sexual exploitation (CSE) from their experts who work in this area.

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It's important that all adults know how to spot the signs of child abuse and exploitation, and how to do something about it. Understandably children can find it very difficult to talk to adults about the harm they are experiencing and may not even recognise that what's happening to them is abuse or exploitation. They may not always show any outward physical signs of abuse, but there are some things to look out for, including emotional or behavioural signs.

Some things you may notice in your child are:

physical signs, such as unexplained injuries, sexually transmitted infections or urinary tract infections

changes in emotion, such as increased fear, anxiety or anger or being less able to regulate their emotions

issues with their mental health, emotional wellbeing or self-esteem

changes in behaviour, such as suddenly becoming withdrawn or isolated, or distrusting others

changes in their usual habits such as eating, use of internet/ gaming, phones or friendships

having more sexual knowledge or displaying more sexualised behaviour than is developmentally appropriate for their age

discomfort with sex and their body

having things such as money, phones, expensive clothes or other items, when you don't know how they have bought them

being away from home or school where you don't know where they are

This is not an exhaustive list of the signs of abuse and exploitation. Abuse can also be indicated by the inappropriate and controlling behaviour of the person abusing. Environmental factors, such as the child having more needs that are going unmet, should also be considered as it may make them more at risk of abuse. If you have any concerns about your child, speak to them about their safety and wellbeing or to a professional who can support you.

Read our advice about talking to your child about their safety and wellbeing.

Barnardo's hosts the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre) which has produced a template to support professionals working with children to identify the signs and indicators of sexual abuse and build a picture of their concerns.

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Learn more about child sexual abuse (CSA) and child sexual exploitation (CSE) from our specialists.

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Supporting and working alongside those who spend most time with children and young people is key to the safeguarding process. It is important to consider how, as professionals, we ensure that parents, carers and professionals feel appropriately supported in order to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.

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Supporting and working alongside those who spend most time with children and young people is key to the safeguarding process. It is important to consider how, as professionals, we ensure that parents, carers and professionals feel appropriately supported in order to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.

19 pages

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Supporting and working alongside those who spend most time with children and young people is key to the safeguarding process. It is important to consider how, as professionals, we ensure that parents, carers and professionals feel appropriately supported in order to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people.

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Ivison Trust (formerly Pace) is here to support families affected by criminal and sexual exploitation.

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We work with parents and carers of children who are at risk of being exploited by perpetrators. We offer guidance and training to professionals.

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Helping parents and carers protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

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Parents Protect helps parents and carers protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation by providing child safety resources.

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Support for survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

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Support for survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

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Maggie Oliver Foundation provide emotional and legal support through a person-centred approach to survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Foundation also provides support for men (18+) who have experienced any form of sexual violence in their past or as an adult. We understand that men who have been sexually assaulted may experience some of the same effects of sexual assault as women, but they may face other challenges that are more unique to their experience.

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The Maggie Oliver Foundation - Helping Surivors of Abuse

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The Maggie Oliver Foundation is a UK-based charity, set up with the focus of helping survivors of abuse transform their pain into power, and fighting for justive.

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  - Referral process for modern slavery

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  - Referral process for modern slavery

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.

Modern slavery is a complex crime and may involve multiple forms of exploitation. It encompasses:

human trafficking

slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour

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In this section you will find information on the Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City Child Exploitation Strategy 2024 - 2026.

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In this section you will find information on the Nottinghamshire County and Nottingham City Child Exploitation Strategy 2024 - 2026.

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This form does not replace your safeguarding procedures. Op Striver form should be completed if you have concerns regarding a young person at risk of exploitation.

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  - Referral process for modern slavery

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  - Referral process for modern slavery

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.

Modern slavery is a complex crime and may involve multiple forms of exploitation. It encompasses:

human trafficking

slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour

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Cookies are required to use this service – GOV.UK

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We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

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Police CaRE team ppt - click on the image to access the ppt.

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Police CaRE team ppt - click on the image to access the ppt.

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This ppt provides information on the structure of the new CaRE team within Nottinghamshire Police, as well as details of the process when information from Op. Striver forms are received.

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in this section you will find information in relation to:

Nottinghamshire Police CARE team (Children At Risk of Exploitation) the team structure and their aims and objectives underpinned by the 4 ‘P’ framework.

Nottinghamshire Police Partnership Portal - this portal is for school staff and partners to report intelligence via a portal, this is not for urgent help or to report a crime. This is the route to submit intelligence that previously would have been reported via Operation Striver. The portal requires you to register your email address. Further information on how to submit information can be found in the post below.

Operation Striver - a route to submit soft intelligence about people, places and activities in relation to exploitation - this is not a replacement for safeguarding policies and procedures. Please note that if a child is at risk of immediate harm contact the Police on 999 and report to MASH without delay.

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In this section you will find links to useful toolkits, some of which have bee produced in partnership with other team across NCC. They include:

Harms Outside the Home - a tool for schools and settings - understanding and mitigating potential harms outside of the home.

Foundations of Identity - a tool for schools and settings - understanding and supporting the ongoing positive development of a young person's identity.

Understanding Behaviour in Schools - a relationship based approach to inclusion.

CSE disruption toolkit - Disruption tactics for those working to safeguard children and young people under the age of 18 from sexual and criminal exploitation.

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The Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Taskforce has created guidance on appropriate language for multi-agency professionals to use when talking about child exploitation and abuse.

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The Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Taskforce has created guidance on appropriate language for multi-agency professionals to use when talking about child exploitation and abuse.

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The guide sets out: the impact of victim blaming language; key considerations when speaking with people who have experienced exploitation and abuse; and terms that should be avoided

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Appropriate Language Guide | The Hydrant Programme

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Child-on-Child Abuse - the nature and prevalence of abuse between children clearly remains of serious concern and preventing and tackling it must continue to be a key priority for schools and colleges.

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Child-on-Child Abuse - the nature and prevalence of abuse between children clearly remains of serious concern and preventing and tackling it must continue to be a key priority for schools and colleges.

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Please note - This document was drafted to align with KCSIE 2023. Since there were no material changes in KCSIE 2024 it remains as published but has been reviewed for compliance. The next review will accommodate the changes due in KCSIE 2025.

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A different approach to supporting students who might otherwise be excluded.

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Report: 'When no one's interested in us, the gangs take their chance'

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Report: 'When no one's interested in us, the gangs take their chance'

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Children across Wales are being left vulnerable to exploitation by gangs, according to a Senedd report.

The Children, Young People and Education Committee lists a number of missed opportunities to stop organised crime groups taking advantage of children.

The inquiry heard from young people who had been criminally exploited, who shared their experiences of inconsistent support in schools, and broken promises from overworked professionals.

The Children on the Margins report published today makes 23 recommendations that can begin to fix these problems immediately.

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‘When no one’s interested in us, the gangs take their chance’

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This section contains further information and research in the field of criminal exploitation, including any podcasts, webinars etc

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This section contains resources providing parents/carers and the wider family with the key information and will enable them to have the conversations at home and know the facts for themselves so they can also make informed decisions. Providing families with the details of services to contact if they worried about their child and exploitation

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This section contains websites and resources for professionals to use when working with children with special educational needs and disabilities. Prior viewing of videos to ascertain the suitability of the content for your child or particular cohort is recommended. Some resources may have a financial cost attached. You may also find appropriate resources in the 'Primary' and 'Secondary' areas of this padlet which can be used or adapted.

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This section contains websites and resources for professionals to use when working with secondary age children. Prior viewing of videos to ascertain the suitability of the content for your child or particular cohort is recommended. Some resources may have a financial cost attached.

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This section contains websites and resources for professionals to use when working with primary age children. Prior viewing of videos to ascertain the suitability of the content for your child or particular cohort is recommended. Some resources may have a financial cost attached.

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This section provides you with information which you will find helpful in understanding what county lines is- including definitions, how you can support children. You will also find information about the NRM reporting mechanism.

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The Education, Safeguarding, Health & Wellbeing Hub (ESHAWH) have created an A-Z directory of support services, safeguarding information tools and prevention guidance including RSHE resource recommendations.

This Padlet is for school professionals, early years and childcare providers.

The Padlet can be accessed here: NCC ESHAW Hub Directory (padlet.com)

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This section will show links to statutory guidance, definitions and toolkits linked to Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE). Included is guidance on Modern Day Slavery and Trafficking, which are often the laws used to prosecute those involved in moving children for the purpose of county lines.

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Exploited - resource for supporting children 14+

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Exploited - resource for supporting children 14+

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Please note in order to download this resource you will need to create an account with CEOP which is free to access.

The Exploited film and accompanying lessons aim to help young people understand healthy and mutually respectful relationships; including what healthy and unhealthy features look like in both online and offline contexts and how to report concerns of abuse.

This resource is an update to one of our most utilised and popular resources, with a new film and lesson plans. The updated resource features three lessons centred on a situational film following teenage characters and explores abusive relationships including blackmail, coercion and sexual exploitation in parallel with two characters depicting the qualities of a healthy relationship.

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Exploited resource from NCA’s CEOP Education features three lessons for KS4, centered on a situational film following teenage characters and explores abusive relationships including blackmail, coercion and sexual exploitation in parallel with two characters depicting the qualities of building a healthy relationship.

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The Children's Society - County Lines and Criminal Exploitation Toolkit

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The Children's Society - County Lines and Criminal Exploitation Toolkit

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This toolkit hopes to address some gaps in knowledge and offer suggestions for supporting young people who are at risk of, or being trafficked for the purpose of criminal exploitation.

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There is currently no legal definition of 'county lines' or 'criminal exploitation', and very little guidance. Currently, the criminal exploitation of children and young people is often not fully understood by services working with them, which can impact on the response that a child or young person receives.

Trafficking and criminal exploitation are forms of abuse and therefore should be afforded a safeguarding response. Often the visible symptoms of this abuse are responded to, meaning that many children and young people receive a criminal justice response, while their safeguarding needs are overlooked.

According to the recent National Crime Agency briefing on County Lines Violence, Exploitation and Drug Supply, two in three police forces reported that the exploitation of children and young people was identified in relation to county lines activity. One in four police forces reported that children and young people involved in county lines were experiencing sexual abuse. However the latest report also acknowledged that, although the exploitation of children and young people continues to be reported, the true scale of abuse remains an intelligence gap in many parts of the country.

Criminal exploitation interlinks with a number of multiple vulnerabilities and offences, including the child or young person being exposed to, and/or being victim of, physical and emotional violence, neglect, sexual abuse and exploitation, modern day slavery and human trafficking, domestic abuse and missing episodes.

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County lines and criminal exploitation toolkit

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This toolkit hopes to address some gaps in knowledge and offer suggestions for supporting young people who are at risk of, or being trafficked for the purpose of criminal exploitation.

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Brings together documents and promotional material related to the government’s work to end modern slavery.

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Brings together documents and promotional material related to the government's work to end modern slavery.

National referral mechanism

The national referral mechanism is used to identify and refer potential victims of modern slavery and make sure they receive appropriate support.

Duty to notify

Specific public authorities have a duty to notify the Secretary of State of any person identified in England and Wales as a suspected victim of slavery or human trafficking.

Transparency in supply chains

Certain commercial organisations must publish an annual statement setting out the steps they take to prevent modern slavery in their business and their supply chains. This is a requirement under Section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Research and publications

On 31 July 2014, the Home Office launched a modern slavery marketing campaign to raise awareness that slavery exists in the UK.

This modern slavery campaign material has been developed in collaboration with partners (such as charities, the police and frontline staff) to support the nationwide campaign to end modern slavery.

Independent child trafficking advocates

Interim statutory guidance for early adopter sites where Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) will be implemented.

Training

Government modern slavery statements

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Brings together documents and promotional material related to the government's work to end modern slavery.

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  - Referral process for modern slavery

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The National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  - Referral process for modern slavery

# data[].attributes.body
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.

Modern slavery is a complex crime and may involve multiple forms of exploitation. It encompasses:

human trafficking

slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour

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Cookies are required to use this service – GOV.UK

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We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

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To address the criminal exploitation central to county lines, government responses have come to rely on modern slavery policies, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which sets out both a defence for those who have committed offences (including for drugs) while enslaved, and a prosecution tool for individuals accused of human trafficking, slavery and servitude.

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This section will help you to understand more about grooming including what it is and how you can support children.

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This resource has been developed by a SEND practitioner at Newark Orchard Special School

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Listen to the blog

Read the blog
From the NSPCC'S Library and Information Service specialists
When you hear the words 'recruited' or 'working' you probably think about legal, safe employment. However, these terms are used by those who groom and coerce children and young people into criminal activity such as moving money and drugs. When these terms are also used by the wider public and by safeguarding professionals it can reinforce this idea of 'working' and legitimise child criminal exploitation (CCE).

Terms like 'recruited' and 'working' also mask the harm caused by child criminal exploitation. They imply that the child or young person is responsible for, and in control of, the situation they are in. These perceptions can then prevent children and young people from receiving the protection, help and support they need.

The language doesn't reflect the harm caused

Learning from case reviews shows that professionals don't always recognise safeguarding concerns when working with young people who are experiencing criminal exploitation. In some cases, this was exacerbated by the language professionals used to discuss and record information about young people's lives.
> Learn more about the impact of victim-blaming in our Child sexual exploitation: learning from case reviews briefing
Those seeking to exploit children often do so through a process of grooming. This involves perpetrators gaining a child or young person's trust in order to control and force them to take part in criminal activity. This can happen in person and online, including through 'professional' adverts designed to appeal to young people on social media platforms. Children and young people are also sometimes coerced into encouraging their friends or peers to take part in criminal activity.

This process of grooming is sometimes called being 'recruited.' However, the term 'recruited' fails to reflect the premeditated manipulation involved. It also masks the power and control that perpetrators seek to exert over children and young people.
> Learn more about recognising the signs of grooming
Not all children experiencing child criminal exploitation are groomed and some children experience being trafficked or forced into modern slavery. Children experiencing child criminal exploitation are often described as 'working', however in reality, children and young people are forced to undertake activity that is criminal.
> Find out more about protecting children from trafficking and modern slavery
Children involved in criminal activity are at risk of, and potentially experience, abuse and other harms. This can include being made to sleep in residences taken over for drug distribution, being threatened with or actually experiencing violence, being at risk of arrest and having the safety of friends and family threatened.

The language reinforces the idea that the child or young person has chosen to be involved in criminal activity

Terms like 'working' focus solely on the actions of the young person, suggesting that they are freely choosing to be involved in criminal activity. They adultify the child, feeding into the perception of them as 'streetwise' and 'grown up' rather than as a child who needs a safeguarding response. 'Working' and similar language fails to reflect the manipulation, pressure and coercion used by perpetrators of child criminal exploitation. For example, some children who have been exploited experience high levels of threat and blackmail.

Victim-blaming language that focuses solely on a young person's actions and involvement in criminal activity can also lead professionals to perceive the young person first and foremost as a perpetrator of crime. Criminalising rather than protecting young people can result in opportunities for support and intervention being missed.,

Use language that children are comfortable with and that helps them talk about their experiences

Children and young people often aren't aware that they are being exploited. They may not relate to language like 'being groomed' or 'targeted' as they think it is their choice to be 'working'. They may also be distressed by language like 'criminal exploitation'. This can be because they are afraid that by acknowledging that a crime has been committed against them, they will be responsible for getting other people in trouble. They might also be scared that they will be seen as a 'snitch'.,

Young people have their own terms to describe their lives and experiences of criminal exploitation. It's useful to be aware of and curious about the language young people use. This can create opportunities for discussion, giving children and young people the space to explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences of child criminal exploitation.

Using child-centred language, validating children and young people's experiences and building relationships with them can help you identify other potential risks. However, it's still important to clearly communicate your concerns and talk about the characteristics of exploitation and the different ways it can occur.

Use language that clearly describes the safeguarding concerns the child is experiencing

When a child or young person has experienced criminal exploitation, many different agencies, such as the police, education and children's services, may be involved. Agencies should focus on a safeguarding response rather than a criminal justice response.

In written and verbal communications, it's important to use common terms and language that clearly describes what has happened. For example, instead of saying the child 'has been recruited by' or 'is working for a gang,' say 'the child has experienced criminal exploitation' or 'been groomed' or 'been targeted to distribute drugs'.

It's also important that professionals from different agencies understand the level of risk surrounding a child and the type of intervention required. Using terms like 'working' and 'recruited' in professional practice doesn't communicate the level of risk or harm a child is experiencing.

By using clear language when talking about child criminal exploitation, professionals working with a child can build an accurate picture of their experience and identify support that meets their needs. Avoiding terms like 'recruited' and 'working' and re-framing how we talk about child criminal exploitation can help professionals recognise the exploitation and help young people better understand what has happened to them.
References

Taylor, D. (2023) Children's Commissioner for England (2019) Ofsted (2018) Jay, A. et al. (2024) Barnardo's (2022) Children's Commissioner for England (2019) Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) (2020) Brodie, I. (2022) Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) (2020) Jay, A. et al. (2024) Maxwell, N. et al (2019) Brodie, I. (2022) Maxwell, N. et al (2019) Brodie, I. (2022) Barnardo's (2022) Havard, T. (2022) 'Professional adverts' for county lines ensnaring children on Instagram and Snapchat The Guardian, 28 February. [Accessed 31/05/2024].
Keeping kids safe: improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation (PDF). London: Children's Commissioner for England.
Protecting children from criminal exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery: an addendum (PDF). London: Ofsted.
Shattered lives, stolen futures: the Jay review of criminally exploited children (PDF). Watford: Action for Children.
Language matters: use of language in child sexual abuse and exploitation practice (PDF). [London]: Barnardo's.
Keeping kids safe: improving safeguarding responses to gang violence and criminal exploitation (PDF). London: Children's Commissioner for England.
Rescue and response county lines project supporting young Londoners affected by county lines exploitation (PDF). London: Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
Tackling child exploitation support programme: child exploitation: definition and language (PDF). Totnes: Research in Practice.
Rescue and response county lines project supporting young Londoners affected by county lines exploitation (PDF). London: Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
Shattered lives, stolen futures: the Jay review of criminally exploited children (PDF). Watford: Action for Children.
A systematic map and synthesis review of child criminal exploitation (PDF). [Cardiff]: Cardiff University.
Tackling child exploitation support programme: child exploitation: definition and language (PDF). Totnes: Research in Practice.
A systematic map and synthesis review of child criminal exploitation (PDF). [Cardiff]: Cardiff University.
Tackling child exploitation support programme: child exploitation: definition and language (PDF). Totnes: Research in Practice.
Language matters: use of language in child sexual abuse and exploitation practice (PDF). [London]: Barnardo's.
Serious youth violence: county lines drug dealing and the Government response (PDF). London: House of Commons Library.

Key points

Terms like 'working' and 'recruited' can minimise the exploitation a child or young person is experiencing and hide the true nature of the abuse and harm.

Children may not be aware that they are experiencing criminal exploitation and may not relate to or engage with the language professionals use. Use language that children are comfortable with. This can help them to talk about their experiences and help you clearly communicate concerns.

Move away from terminology used by people who exploit children and use language that focuses on the harm the child has experienced. This can help everyone working with the child discuss and identify the right level of support needed.

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Why language matters: how using terms like 'recruited' and 'working' minimise children's experiences of criminal exploitation | NSPCC Learning

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By using clear language when talking about child criminal exploitation, professionals working with a child can build an accurate picture of their experience and identify support that meets their needs.

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Please note -

BLUE posts signify Government guidance

This padlet is intended for use by professionals working with children, young people and their families within Nottinghamshire. Some information may still be of relevance to professionals who work outside of this area.

Each column is titled for ease of search

Click on the website link or photograph to open the web page/document

Use the search bar at the top right corner of the page or scroll right to see all topics.

Scroll down each column to find additional links/information, some of which may be useful to share with others as guided by the intended audience in the column titles and descriptions.

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Here you will find the Knives and Weapons, Reducing Drug and Alcohol Use, HOTH and Gang & Gang Associated Violence Padlets.

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This section includes further resources and information which may be helpful in supporting you to identify and respond to children who are being criminally exploited

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Barnardo's Real Love Rocks - updated resources for Primary, Secondary and SEND

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Barnardo's Real Love Rocks - updated resources for Primary, Secondary and SEND

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Real Love Rocks is a ground-breaking education and awareness raising programme developed by Barnardo’s Safer Futures Trauma Services. Promoting children and young people’s rights to healthy, consensual and safe relationships with peers, partner, their family and across their community is at the heart of this.

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Healthy Relationships & Exploitation

Educational Resources

We are extremely excited to share with you that the Safer Futures CSE team has been working hard updating and refreshing both the Primary and Secondary Real Love Rocks Healthy Relationships and Exploitation Education Resources: with new trauma informed content covering Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), Radicalisation and the world online, in addition to an update of existing content, making it more relevant to our children and young people of today.

We know that you were keen to see us produce a SEN resource - we listened closely to your feedback and are pleased to announce this is now in development too!

​

We are very thrilled to announce that the new Primary, Secondary, and SEN Real Love Rocks Resources will be available in late Summer 2021, pre-order your copies now!!

Our resources have been developed with young people - making our resources current, relevant, and engaging... by young people for young people. We have also been liaising with trauma specialists, frontline practitioners, SEN leads, teachers, schools, colleges and universities and have included up-to date guidance and legislation in all our resources.

We are also currently re-developing our website...watch this space!

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We are extremely excited to share with you that the Safer Futures CSE team has been working hard updating and refreshing both the Primary and Secondary Real Love Rocks Healthy Relationships and Exploitation Education Resources: with new trauma informed content covering Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), Radicalisation and the world online, in addition to an update of existing content, making it more relevant to our children and young people of today.

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a new and exciting resource around the issues of exploitation ...

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a new and exciting resource around the issues of exploitation ...

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Lawrence is a college student with dreams of becoming a rapper. Struggling with financial hardships, he contemplates a path of crime. He quickly learns that every choice carries its own weighty consequences. As Lawrence delves deeper into the underworld, he discovers that certain actions have far-reaching implications.

​

With each twist and turn, navigate Lawrence through increasingly perilous situations, plunging deeper into a world of danger and uncertainty. As the drama unfolds and the dangers intensify, your decision can change his life forever

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Free child exploitation educational resource (Year 7 & 8)

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Free child exploitation educational resource (Year 7 & 8)

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The Catch On resources support the Child Exploitation (CE) Lesson for KS3 with links to curriculum outcomes from the PSHE Association Programme of Study for PSHE Education (Key Stages 1–5).

Catch On contains a suite of options for a single lesson or series of lessons exploring the topic of grooming and exploitation.

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This guidance provides you with an introduction into contextual safeguarding and child exploitation, the definitions of child criminal exploitation, indicators and the closely linked issues. You will also understand the children social care protocols

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Click here to view Child Criminal Exploitation: Nottinghamshire County Council Guidance and Procedures (April 2020). See Local Resources for the...

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What Parents Need to Know About Grooming | NSPCC

These pages, created by the NSPCC, provide information on what the different types of grooming there are - including the signs and effects. It provides details on how to prevent and report grooming, and what support there is for parents, children and young people.

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Children and young people can be groomed online or in the real world, by a stranger or by someone they know. If you’re worried about a child, we have advice to help.

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Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion - info for parents/carers (CEOP Education)

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Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion - info for parents/carers (CEOP Education)

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The criminal practice of extorting individuals on the pain of releasing self-explicit material is commonly known as ‘sextortion’. The practice’s technical name ‘Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion’ or FMSE, is an increasingly prevalent form of child sexual abuse. What started as simple money exchanges, now include cryptocurrency seizures and pre-paid gift cards as forms of criminal redemption.

Males aged 14 to 17 are overwhelmingly represented in cases of this nature. Often they’ll be enticed by the promise of seeing sexually explicit images, before the rug is pulled and the scam put into operation. As a result the victims have been tricked or groomed over a period of time. With the rise of AI this practice is becoming more complex with false explicit images actually changing hands, in exchange for a real image of the target. CEOP is highly concerned with this practice and has authored a guide page on what to do. If interested, please follow the link below:

https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/articles/FMSE

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You may have recently heard of Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion (FMSE), sometimes referred to as ‘sextortion’. This is when an offender threatens to release nude or semi-nude images and/or videos of a victim, unless they pay money or meet another financial demand, such as buying a pre-paid gift card. It is a form of child sexual abuse.

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Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines - gov.uk

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Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines - gov.uk

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Guidance for frontline professionals on dealing with county lines, part of the government’s approach to ending gang violence and exploitation.

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Who's this guidance for?

Criminal exploitation of children, young people and vulnerable adults for the supply of drugs, and transportation of the associated money and weapons, has a devastating impact on victims, families and local communities but is often not recognised by those who are best placed to spot it. This guidance is intended to explain the nature of this harm to enable practitioners to recognise its signs and respond appropriately so that victims and potential victims get the protection and support they need.

This guidance is primarily aimed at frontline staff in England and Wales who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults. This includes professionals working in:

adult social care, children's social care and early help/family support

the benefits system

prisons, probation and youth justice

multi-agency partnerships

related partner organisations, for example in the voluntary sector.

The signs and vulnerabilities associated with county lines exploitation may present differently to different professionals and safeguarding processes will vary depending on local contexts. However, the information provided here is intended to be useful to all. This document provides links to other resources to assist professionals to consider in further detail how this guidance relates to their role and responsibilities. It may also be helpful for carers, parents and others in the community, although they are not the primary audience.

This guidance does not attempt to provide information about the entirety of the county lines issue or the UK Government's response.

It has been produced by the Home Office in co-operation with other government departments, the Welsh Government, statutory agencies and voluntary sector partners.

A number of real-life case studies are provided to illustrate some of the ways exploitation can take place and professionals have identified victims and to demonstrate some of the good practices in responding.

What is county lines exploitation?

"County lines" is a violent and exploitative form of drug distribution. A common feature of county lines is the exploitation of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are instructed to deliver and/or store drugs, and associated money or weapons, to dealers or drug users, locally or in other counties.

The UK Government defines county lines as:

"County lines is a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas within the UK, using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of "deal line". They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move and store the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons." ( Serious Violence Strategy)

While county lines victims are not limited to under 18 year olds, where a child is exploited, it is often described as child criminal exploitation.

The UK Government defines child criminal exploitation as:

"Child criminal exploitation is common in county lines and occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. Child criminal exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology." ( Serious Violence Strategy)

Criminal exploitation of children is broader than just county lines and includes, for instance, children forced to work on cannabis farms or to commit theft. However, many of the characteristics of county lines exploitation will be present in other forms of child criminal exploitation. Likewise, victims of county lines may also experience other overlapping forms of exploitation, such as sexual, in addition to criminal.

Forms and methods of exploitation

County lines exploitation can be perpetrated by individuals or groups of any gender or nationality and can appear unsophisticated or organised. It is typified by some form of power imbalance, which perpetrators use to force, coerce, groom and/or entice victims into county lines activity. They can employ several methods to do so, such as:

offering an exchange - carrying drugs in return for something, such as money, clothes, drugs, status, protection or perceived friendship, a sense of belonging or identity, or affection;

physical violence or threats of violence - used to intimidate and punish victims and their families and can involve weapons, including knives and firearms;

abduction or kidnapping - sometimes victims are forcibly moved and held in a location away from home;

emotional abuse or psychological coercive control - by manipulating, threatening, controlling or monitoring the movements of the victim;

sexual abuse and exploitation - this can be experienced by all genders;

blackmail - by forcing victims to commit a crime so they can hold it over them and threaten to report it if they do not comply;

the use of social media, messaging apps, gaming sites and other online platforms - including marketplace websites and smart TVs to target and communicate with victims. These modes are used by exploiters to falsely build online trusted relationships, or to post fraudulent job adverts which seem legitimate, or to cyberstalk victims in order to groom, entrap and coerce them into county lines activity;

"cuckooing" (also known as "forced home invasion") - a tactic used by criminals, typically drug dealers, to take over the homes of vulnerable individuals, such as care leavers or those with addiction, physical or mental health issues, and use the property as a base for criminal activity. This is a common characteristic of the county lines business model and can occur in a range of settings such as rental and private properties, student accommodation, prisons, and commercial properties;

coerced internal concealment (also known as "plugging") - the practice whereby a child or vulnerable adult is controlled or coerced into concealing drugs internally as a method of transportation to avoid detection. Drugs or sim cards are usually concealed within a condom or similar packaging and inserted into a bodily orifice (rectum or vagina) using lubricant, or swallowed;

debt bondage - a form of entrapment when a victim owes money to their exploiters and is made to repay their debt, either financially or through another means such as transporting drugs. The exploiter may groom the victim by initially providing money or goods which the victim will then be made to pay back. The exploiter may also deliberately manufacture a debt, for example by staging a robbery of drugs or cash in the victim's possession in order to extort money from families or to ensure the victim will continue to perform tasks for them. The debt may also be inherited from parents and siblings; and

financial exploitation - financial exploitation can take many forms. In this context, we use the term to describe exploitation which takes place for the purpose of money laundering. This is when criminals target children and adults at risk and take advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate, or deceive them into facilitating the movement of illicit funds. This can include physical cash and/or payments through financial products, such as bank and cryptocurrency accounts.

Case study (British Transport Police)

Who is vulnerable to county lines exploitation?

Any child, young person or vulnerable adult could be a victim of county lines exploitation as exploiters continue to adapt who they target to avoid detection.

age: 15-17 year olds make up the majority of the vulnerable people involved in county lines but children of primary school age and adults are also known to be targeted (National County Lines Coordination Centre).

sex/gender: people of all genders can be exploited. Women and girls may be exploited to perform different roles and may experience other forms of harm alongside and so are often under-identified as victims of criminal exploitation - professionals should not make assumptions when working with a girl or young woman about the intervention required.

ethnicity: people from all ethnicities and nationalities are targeted and the demographics of victims of exploitation vary across England and Wales. In some areas, there is an over-representation of people from black and mixed ethnic groups, while in others, victims are mainly white.

location: county lines are widespread nationally, in rural and urban areas, and while they can involve the movement of drugs across county borders from one area of the UK to another, some lines supply the drugs market locally, within the same town, city or county in which they originate. County lines grooming can take place in a range of settings, including in homes, public spaces, schools and universities, prisons and youth offender institutions as well as online.

Some of the factors that may heighten a person's vulnerability include:

having contact with the criminal justice system - even for minor offences that do not appear to be related to county lines;

having experience of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse/exploitation or a lack of a safe/stable home environment, now or in the past (including domestic abuse, parental substance misuse or parental criminal involvement) - trauma, including adverse childhood experiences, can negatively impact on an individual's ability to develop trusted relationships or access support services;

social isolation or social difficulties - the lack of a support network can mean someone is less able to get help;

economic vulnerability - offers of material possessions or money for victims or their family may be more readily accepted out of a feeling of necessity and lack of legitimate financial alternatives;

homelessness or insecure accommodation status - there is a lack of a safe environment to provide security and privacy;

connections with other people in gangs - some individuals are targeted through family or friends who are already involved in criminal activity themselves and sometimes a drug debt owed by them is passed on to peers or family members;

having a physical or learning disability, or being neurodivergent - victims may be less able to recognise they are being exploited, or less able to communicate it or access support;

having mental health issues - exploiters may target poor emotional wellbeing or low self-esteem;

having substance misuse issues - victims are sometimes given substances in lieu of payment;

being in or leaving care - the context behind why a person is brought into care can heighten a person's vulnerability in itself, while those in semi- independent/independent accommodation, placed out-of-area or leaving care may have less access to support networks;

being excluded from mainstream education, and/or a pupil at an alternative provision such as a pupil referral unit - factors influencing a child's exclusion may indicate they are exposed to exploitation, while being disengaged from meaningful activity and peers can evoke feelings of disenfranchisement and, for those with a reduced timetable or not attending school at all, time spent unsupervised can offer opportunities for exploitation; and

insecure immigration status - for example, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and refugees may have a number of vulnerability factors that can increase their exposure to exploitation, including social/cultural isolation on arrival to the country and potentially links to organised crime from their journey.

It is important to remember that risk factors such as these are never the cause of a vulnerable person's exploitation into county lines activity; rather, they give rise to the imbalance of power which perpetrators often seek to abuse.

Moreover, there are recorded cases of exploitation of individuals with no known risk factors and who were not previously known to services (sometimes referred to as "clean skins" by exploiters), as they were deemed less likely to attract attention from authorities.

Signs to look out for

Professionals should not expect victims to report their exploitation as they may not identify or be able to express that they are being exploited. They may also be too afraid to tell professionals what is happening for fear of retaliation by their exploiter.

However, their exploitation through county lines often leaves signs. Any sudden changes in a person's lifestyle should be discussed with them.

Some potential signs of county lines exploitation include, but are not limited to:

Behaviours

Possessions

unexplained acquisition of money, clothes, or mobile phones;

excessive receipt of texts/phone calls and/or having multiple sim cards or handsets - this could be a 'burner phone', often an older model which uses an unregistered sim card, but it may also be a smart phone which can utilise web-based apps without a phone number;

carrying or storing weapons;

misuse of substances or possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia such as discarded needles, scales, small snappy bags or cling film;

possession of train tickets for unusual train journeys; and

possession of a rucksack or a bag that they are very attached to or will not put down.

Relationships

Appearance

suspicion of physical assault/unexplained injuries - these tend to be visible but minor injuries which are issued as a threat, such as cigarette burns or small cuts, but can also be much more serious life-threatening injuries, such as stab wounds.

Signs to look out for online include:

Signs of a cuckooed property include:

Signs of coerced internal concealment include:

refusing to consume food or drink;

being in possession of lubricants, condoms or similar packaging;

a dishevelled appearance with stained clothing; and

being physically unwell.

Signs of financial exploitation or a debt bondage include:

What to do if you are concerned

Safeguarding

Any child, young person or vulnerable adult who you think may be at risk of county lines exploitation requires a safeguarding response.

The statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children sets out what professionals and organisations in England need to do, individually and in partnership with other agencies, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.

Working Together highlights that everyone who works with children has a responsibility for keeping them safe and that multi-agency working and information sharing is essential to ensure that children and families receive the right help at the right time. Working Together makes clear that in all welfare and safeguarding enquiries, a child-centred approach should be adopted by practitioners to ensure that the best interests of the child are considered at all times.

Working Together also sets out further information about the equal and shared duty on the three safeguarding partners (the local authority, health and police) to make arrangements to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in a local area.

Working Together provides further information about the referral process for reporting concerns about the safety or welfare of a child and the steps that practitioners should take when working together to assess and provide services for children who may be in need, including those suffering harm. Working Together makes clear that all local areas should have a local protocol in place that sets out how a case will be managed once a child is referred to children's social care.

If you believe a person is at immediate risk of harm:

Contact the police. Call 999 now.

If a person is not at immediate risk of harm:

Follow your local safeguarding guidance and ensure this information is shared with local authority social services and the police. Police involvement should not be limited to instances of immediate risk of harm.

The first step is usually to contact your designated safeguarding lead within your organisation who should complete a safeguarding referral to the local authority responsible for a child or vulnerable adult. If you do not know who this is, refer to your manager. Your designated safeguarding lead has the responsibility for linking in with your local authority's social services, but you should follow up to ensure action is taken. You should not assume a colleague, or another professional will take action that might be critical in keeping a vulnerable person safe.

Your local authority's social services will then consider with safeguarding partner agencies whether any further actions are necessary to protect the vulnerable person.

If you are not satisfied with the local authority's response, you should follow up on your concerns by discussing these with your safeguarding lead or escalating them via the local escalation procedure.

Further information on safeguarding can be found in the further resources section of this guidance.

Modern slavery and human trafficking

Criminal exploitation is a form of modern slavery and as such, if you are a designated First Responder for the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), you must also refer any child you suspect of being a potential victim of modern slavery to the NRM using the online referral form. In cases involving adults you must refer them where they provide informed consent for you to do so. Where an adult does not consent, statutory First Responders still have a 'Duty to Notify' the Home Office that they have encountered a potential victim. In all cases, First Responders should consider whether it is appropriate to also refer the potential adult victim to local authority adult safeguarding services. The NRM is a framework for identifying potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. Any referral should be after appropriate safeguarding steps have been taken and in light of any required multi-agency discussions. If you are not a designated First Responder for the NRM you should work with a designated First Responder who may make such a referral where deemed appropriate.

Following referral, a Competent Authority decision maker will consider the case and make a Reasonable Grounds decision. The Reasonable Grounds threshold is an objective one. The decision maker must agree with the statement that there are "reasonable grounds to believe that a person is a victim of modern slavery (human trafficking or slavery, servitude, or forced or compulsory labour)". A decision maker should take into account all of the information available, including the victim's account and any other relevant information that supports or undermines it, but should also consider whether, in the circumstances of the case, it is reasonable to expect supporting evidence or corroborating information to be available. Therefore, when a referral is made the first responder should consider what supporting evidence or corroborating information can be provided with it to support a decision.

Organisations in Wales should follow the Wales Modern Slavery Safeguarding Pathway.

Victims of modern slavery are also provided a statutory defence for certain criminal offences under Section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Further information on the NRM, including referral and decision-making processes for adults and children, available support and the Section 45 defence can be found in the further resources section of this guidance.

In custody

If an individual in custody is suspected to have experienced exploitation, police officers must use their local safeguarding arrangements to respond to safety and welfare concerns. Being arrested can be a key reachable moment and so a joined-up multi-agency approach should be used to prevent further exploitation.

Additional information on responsibilities towards children in custody can be found in the further resources section of this guidance.

Coerced internal concealment

A victim who has been coerced into internally concealing drugs may have suffered serious physical harm as a result of the insertion or forced removal of items and so may require immediate medical treatment. In addition, they may require ongoing support to address their emotional and psychological needs.

Additional information on responsibilities where there is suspected coerced internal concealment, including on intimate searches, can be found in the further resources section of this guidance.

Debt bondage and financial exploitation

Responding to debt bondage and financial exploitation is complex. The confiscation of money or drugs from victims can unintentionally create a debt that they will be forced to pay off and supporting attempts to make payments are unlikely to result in debts being written off. It is therefore important that professionals provide support and open dialogue to discuss risks with victims, including to their families, and consider safety plans and disruption interventions to break the cycle of exploitation.

Additional guidance can be found in the further resources section of this document.

Disruption

Targeting and disrupting the perpetrators of county lines exploitation is an integral part of protecting victims. Likewise, reporting safeguarding concerns can support disruption activity and investigations.

There is a range of drugs, modern slavery, weapons, violence and sexual offences that can be charged against county lines perpetrators on a case-by-case basis.

There is also a range of civil orders which can be applied for to disrupt perpetrators, including but not limited to: Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders and Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders; Anti-Social Behaviour Civil Injunctions; and Drug Dealing Telecommunication Restriction Orders. Non-statutory tools are also available such as Child Abduction Warning Notices (CAWNS).

Cuckooing

In cases of cuckooing, the police, local authorities and housing associations can take action to evict the offenders and support the victim to regain control of their property through the application of civil orders such as Closure Orders and Community Protection Notices which can be used to close down premises that are being used for criminal activities. You should consider how the use of any order will impact on the victim's safety.

Additional information on disruption tools and tactics can be found in the further resources section of this guidance.

Case study (North Wales Police)

Ways of working

Putting the victim first

When working with an individual suspected of being exploited by county lines, their activity may appear consensual, they may not recognise that they are being exploited and the distinction between victim and perpetrator may appear unclear. This may be the case especially for those transitioning into adulthood.

However, individuals who have been groomed and exploited into criminal activity have not freely chosen to be involved, cannot consent to being exploited and so should be seen as victims first and foremost.

It is also important to recognise that they are likely to have had traumatic experiences which they may have begun to normalise. You should consider responses from a trauma- informed perspective and take an approach that puts the child, young person or vulnerable adult first, including involving them in the safeguarding process and discussing next steps with them to build their trust.

Case study (Catch22)

Understanding the risks

When working with a suspected victim of county lines, have professional curiosity, keep a log of activity and save any evidence related to the exploitation, including items like train tickets and receipts from out of the area, as well as messages, images or videos online. Use reachable moments to connect with the vulnerable person and actively seek inputs from different professional perspectives to build a picture of the whole story.

Partnerships and multi-agency working

Effective collaboration and information sharing between agencies is essential to protecting victims and disrupting offenders. It is therefore important to provide as much information as possible as part of the safeguarding referral process. This will allow any assessment to consider all the available evidence to address harm.

If you are aware that a potential victim may have come from / travelled to another area as part of their involvement in county lines, you should include this information to enable liaison between safeguarding agencies in the different areas. However, remember that this cross-county travel is not necessary - where you have concerns about criminal exploitation for the supply of drugs locally, victims will need safeguarding in the same way. Likewise, the absence of a phone line for supply of the drugs should not prevent you from making a safeguarding referral as county lines activity can be conducted online. The type of technology used should not determine whether action is taken to safeguard victims.

Proactive sharing of other contextual information, such as assessments that have been undertaken, referrals for support or other measures that are in place for a vulnerable person will help partners act more effectively.

You should understand the multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and groups you can report information into locally which can enable this collaboration, including but not limited to: child protection strategy meetings, Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs, Multi-Agency Child Exploitation panels (or equivalent), Community Safety Partnerships, Combating Drugs Partnerships, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

In addition, be aware of Violence Reduction Units and other commissioned services available locally and nationally provided by other sectors which can deliver specialist support interventions to vulnerable people of concern.

Parents and families should also be considered safeguarding partners. Listen to their concerns seriously and discuss solutions with them as they could help practitioners recognise what will work best for their child.

Other useful resources

County lines and Child Criminal Exploitation

National County Lines Coordination Centre, County Lines Awareness Video - a 10 minute video created in partnership with Sketchups, discussing the county lines methodology and how this is impacting children, young people and vulnerable adults, partners, law enforcement and society.

The Children's Society, #LookCLoser exploitation awareness campaign - funded by the Home Office and run in partnership with the National County Lines Coordination Centre and British Transport Police, which asks everyone to play a role in spotting the signs of county lines and other forms of child exploitation and taking action to ensure these children get help.

The Children's Society, County lines and criminal exploitation toolkit - toolkit for supporting young people who are at risk of or being trafficked for the purpose of criminal exploitation.

Sexual abuse and exploitation

Debt bondage and financial exploitation

Coerced internal concealment

Safeguarding

Modern slavery and human trafficking

Disruption

Home Office, Child exploitation disruption toolkit - disruption tactics for those working to safeguard children and young people under the age of 18 from sexual and criminal exploitation.

Ways of working

Language

Police and CPS

Crown Prosecution Service, CPS county lines offending guidance - sets out the approach of the police and the CPS to county lines offending, including the safeguarding of vulnerable persons, and the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences.

Home Office, Concordat on children in custody - statutory guidance for police forces and local authorities in England on their responsibilities towards children in custody.

College of Policing, Risk and associated investigations - authorised professional practice for policing on county lines and child criminal exploitation.

College of Policing, Children and young persons - authorised professionals practice for policing on children and young people.

College of Policing, Adults at risk - authorised professional practice for policing on adults at risk.

Education

Department for Education, Keeping children safe in education - statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England on the legal duties that must be followed to safeguard children.

Health

Prisons, probation and youth justice

Local government

Wales

Support for victims

Professionals can refer victims and families to the following Home Office-funded specialist support services:

Catch22 County Lines Support and Rescue - a specialist support and rescue service in London, West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester for young people up to the age of 25 and their families who are criminally exploited through county lines.

Missing People's SafeCall - a confidential and anonymous helpline and support service for young people and family members in England and Wales that are affected by county lines and criminal exploitation. The service also provides confidential support and advice for professionals in relation to their work with an exploited young person or family. Call or text 116000 for free, 9am to 11pm, 7 days a week.

Barnardo's - runs the specialist Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship Service (ICTGS) in 17 sites in England and Wales, providing an independent source of advice and advocacy for children who have been trafficked and somebody who can speak up on their behalf. ICTGs are provided in addition to the statutory support provided by local authorities to all children in their area.

Other organisations that offer further information, advice or direct support in some areas of the county include (this is not an exhaustive list):

Report a concern

Police - call 999 in an emergency, call 101 for non-emergency enquiries.

British Transport Police - text 61016 or use the Railway Guardian app.

Action Fraud - call 0300 123 2040 or visit the website.

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Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines

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Criminal exploitation of children, young people and vulnerable adults for the supply of drugs, and transportation of the associated money and weapons, has a devastating impact on victims, families and local communities but is often not recognised by those who are best placed to spot it.

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The national referral mechanism is used to identify and refer potential victims of modern slavery and make sure they receive appropriate support.

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Specific public authorities have a duty to notify the Secretary of State of any person identified in England and Wales as a suspected victim of slavery or human trafficking.

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Certain commercial organisations must publish an annual statement setting out the steps they take to prevent modern slavery in their business and their supply chains. This is a requirement under Section 54 (Transparency in Supply Chains) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

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Interim statutory guidance for early adopter sites where Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) will be implemented.

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Government modern slavery statements

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Brings together documents and promotional material related to the government's work to end modern slavery.

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Serious Violence Duty - Statutory Guidance.

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Serious Violence Duty - Statutory Guidance.

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The Serious Violence Duty makes councils and local services work together to share information and target interventions to prevent and reduce serious violence

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The Serious Violence Duty makes councils and local services work together to share information and target interventions to prevent and reduce serious violence.

Applies to England and Wales

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Serious Violence Duty makes councils and local services work together to share information and target interventions to prevent and reduce serious violence.

# data[].attributes.headline
County Lines: Criminal Exploitation of Children

# data[].attributes.subject
County Lines: Criminal Exploitation of Children

# data[].attributes.body
This helpful website includes: What is county lines; Who is vulnerable to County Lines exploitation; Signs to look out for; What to do if you are concerned.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is county lines?

County lines is the police term for urban gangs supplying drugs to suburban areas and market and coastal towns using dedicated mobile phone lines or "deal lines".

The gang activity is highly associated with violence, drug dealing and exploitation; having a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities. Gangs will use children, and vulnerable people, to move drugs and money, criminally exploiting them (CCE); they will also seek to establish a base in target locations, typically taking over the homes of local vulnerable adults by force or coercion - this is referred to as 'cuckooing'.

County lines is a major, cross-cutting issue involving and linking into:

drugs

violence/weapons

gang affiliation

criminal and sexual exploitation

modern slavery

missing/trafficked

safeguarding risks

Who is vulnerable to county lines exploitation?

The national picture continues to develop but there are recorded cases of:

Children as young as 10 years old being exploited to courier drugs out of their local area

Both males and females being involved: av. age = 13-17 years old

Gangs targeting children not of the 'stereotype', perceiving likely to evade police detection.

Increased use of social media to make initial contact with children: 'grooming'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
County Lines: Criminal Exploitation of Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
County lines is the police term for urban gangs supplying drugs to suburban areas and market and coastal towns using dedicated mobile phone lines or "deal lines". The gang activity is highly associated with violence, drug dealing and exploitation; having a devastating impact on young people, vulnerable adults and local communities.

# data[].attributes.headline
Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education

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Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education

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Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education.

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Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education.

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Documents

Details

This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) issued under section 80A of the Education Act 2002 and section 403 of the Education Act 1996.

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Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education.

# data[].attributes.headline
Harm Outside the Home Toolkit - A tool for schools and settings

# data[].attributes.subject
Harm Outside the Home Toolkit - A tool for schools and settings

# data[].attributes.body
Understanding and mitigating potential harms outside of the home.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harms Outside the Home Toolkit | The East Midlands Education Support Service

# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding Behaviour in Schools Toolkit

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding Behaviour in Schools Toolkit

# data[].attributes.body
This toolkit was developed to support schools to have a relationship based approach to inclusion. This approach prioritises building and maintaining relationships between everyone in the school community, as a foundation to support positive social behaviour. It considers behaviour as communication of an unmet need and an indicator that someone needs help or needs to learn a new skill.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding Behaviour in Schools | The East Midlands Education Support Service

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A practical toolkit to support relationship-based and restorative approaches to inclusion in Nottinghamshire schools

# data[].attributes.headline
Foundations of Identity - A tool for schools and settings

# data[].attributes.subject
Foundations of Identity - A tool for schools and settings

# data[].attributes.body
Understanding and supporting the ongoing, positive development of a young persons identity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Foundations of Identity Toolkit draws on various psychological theory bases and research within areas of positive mental health, wellbeing and identity. It has been developed under the premise

# data[].attributes.headline
Nottinghamshire County Knives and Weapons Guidance for Schools and Education Providers

# data[].attributes.subject
Nottinghamshire County Knives and Weapons Guidance for Schools and Education Providers

# data[].attributes.body
Here you will find the updated 2024 guidance. This will support you in managing situations involving a suspected or confirmed knife or weapon in school, the processes to follow and signposting for further support.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
2024 Nottinghamshire Knives and Weapons Guidance for Schools and Education Providers

# data[].attributes.body
By video Production Company - Magneto Films Ltd

length of video 5:17

This video explores and explains 'what is county lines?'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Video Production Company - Magneto Films Ltd.

# data[].attributes.body
County Lines is the police term for urban gangs exploiting young people into moving drugs from a hub, normally a large city, into other markets - suburban areas and market and coastal towns - using dedicated mobile phone lines or “deal lines”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have advice about how to spot the signs of criminal exploitation and involvement in gangs and about what support is available for children and young people.

# data[].attributes.body
We have advice about how to spot the sigs of criminal exploitation and involvement in gangs and what support is available for children and young people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Children and young people involved with gangs and criminal exploitation need help and support. They might be victims of violence or pressured into doing things like stealing or carrying drugs or weapons. They might be abused, exploited and put into dangerous situations.

We have advice about what to do if a child is being groomed to join or has already joined a gang.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We have advice about how to spot the signs of criminal exploitation and involvement in gangs and about what support is available for children and young people.

# data[].attributes.body
This article by NSPCC explains what county lines is, the risks and how to recognise and respond when you are concerned about a child who may be at risk.

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Introduction

What is county lines?

County lines is a form of criminal exploitation where urban gangs persuade, coerce or force children and young people to store drugs and money and/or transport them to suburban areas, market towns and coastal towns (Home Office, 2018). It can happen in any part of the UK and is against the law and a form of child abuse.

Children and young people may be criminally exploited in multiple ways. Other forms of criminal exploitation include child sexual exploitation, trafficking, gang and knife crime.

County lines gangs are highly organised criminal networks that use sophisticated, frequently evolving techniques to groom young people and evade capture by the police.

Perpetrators use children and young people to maximise profits and distance themselves from the criminal act of physically dealing drugs (National Crime agency, 2019). Young people do the majority of the work and take the most risk.

Dedicated mobile phone lines or "deal lines" are used to help facilitate county lines drug deals. Phones are usually cheap, disposable and old fashioned, because they are changed frequently to avoid detection by the police.

Gangs use the phones to receive orders and contact young people to instruct them where to deliver drugs. This may be to a local dealer or drug user, or a dealer or drug user in another county.

Phrases that young people may use to refer to county lines include:

'running a line',

'going OT/out there'

'going country'

'going cunch'.

These all refer to going out of town to deliver drugs or money (Thurrock Council, 2020).

We've put together some information to help anyone who works or volunteers with children and young people to recognise the signs that a child might be being exploited by a county lines gang and understand what action to take to help keep children safe.

This includes:

the risks associated with county lines

recognising and responding to concerns about county lines

how professionals can work to prevent county lines

a summary of the relevant legislation and guidance.

Risks

County lines is a cross-cutting issue that often overlaps with other forms of abuse and criminal exploitation. It can lead to serious physical and emotional harm to young people (Home Office, 2020a).

Criminalisation

If adults who work with children don't understand that county lines is a form of abuse, they may see children involved in county lines activity as criminals rather than as victims of criminal exploitation (Children's Society, 2019).

This can lead to children not getting the safeguarding support and protection they need.

Drugs

Perpetrators may use drugs and alcohol to entice young people into the gang lifestyle.

In some cases gangs trick young people into incurring drug debts that they then have to pay off through county lines activity. This is often referred to as 'debt bondage'.

Physical violence

There is a strong link between county lines activity and:

serious violence such as knife and gun crime

the use of substances such as acid as a weapon

homicide

(Home Office, 2018).

Conflict between rival gangs that are in dispute over who controls an area can lead to serious injury or death for young people who get caught in the wrong place.

The fear of serious physical violence as revenge for disrespecting, 'snitching' or 'grassing' is one of the things that prevents young people from leaving gangs or seeking help from the police and other agencies.

Sexual abuse and exploitation

As well as being used to transport drugs, county lines gangs may sexually abuse and exploit children of any gender (National Crime Agency, 2019).

This can happen through:

young people being forced into sexual activity with gang members or for the gang's financial gain

vulnerable children being made to work off drug debts through sexual exploitation as 'payment' (this might happen after the child has been coerced into becoming dependent on drugs by the gang)

children being groomed into what they believe is a romantic relationship with a gang member which then leads to exploitation

(National Crime Agency, 2019).

Some children are forced to transport drugs in ways that are invasive and harmful to their bodies. Young people may be forced to swallow bags of drugs to transport them, which could potentially be life threatening.

The practice of 'plugging' is also common, whereby drugs are inserted into a child's rectum or vagina. This is a form of sexual abuse and in some cases it can cause a child's death (Ofsted et al, 2018).

Trafficking and missing children

Young people can be trafficked to locations far away from where they live for long periods of time by a county lines gang. They may end up staying in unsuitable accommodation in an area that is unknown to them. This might include short term holiday lets or budget hotels.

Cuckooing

Cuckooing happens when a county lines gang takes over the home of a vulnerable adult by coercion or force, and use it as a base to deal drugs from. The vulnerable adult may have issues with substance misuse or mental health problems, be elderly or disabled or be in debt to the gang. These factors can make it easier for the gang to exploit and control them.

Children can be forced or coerced to stay at cuckooed addresses for long periods of time to deal drugs.

A cuckooed address is sometimes referred to as a 'bando' or a 'spot' by county lines gangs (Thurrock Council, 2020).

Financial exploitation and abuse

Gangs are known to launder money from drug sales through children's bank accounts, either by using an existing account or forcing or persuading the child to open a new one (Children's Society, 2019).
> Find out more about protecting children from trafficking and modern slavery

Recognising

Recognising

Grooming

The grooming process involves the gang:

seeking out a child to exploit

observing the child for vulnerabilities

finding out what the child's needs and wants are

manipulating the child into believing that being in the gang can fulfil these needs.

Once they have identified a child, the gang will make some form of contact and the grooming process will begin. This could be in person or via mobile phone. Social media profiles may also be used to glamourise gang life and entice young people.

Some children are groomed through family members, for instance if they have a sibling or relative who is already involved with a county lines gang.

County lines gangs offer money and status to attract young people. Children may also be attracted to joining a gang by the prospect of belonging to a 'family' that will protect them if their own family feels unstable or unsafe.

The following have been identified as key places where county lines gangs target and approach vulnerable young people:

schools and further and higher educational institutions

special educational needs schools

places for alternative provision outside of mainstream education

foster homes

homeless shelters.

Once a child is part of a county lines gang their loyalty and commitment will be tested. The gang will begin to trap the child by making them feel powerless to leave. This might include threats of violence if they leave, making the child feel like they are betraying their new 'family', or telling the child they will get in trouble if they seek help because they have committed a criminal offence (Children's Society, 2019).
> Find out more about grooming
Who is vulnerable to county lines exploitation?

Any child could potentially be at risk of criminal exploitation by a county lines gang.

Factors that make a county lines gang more likely to target, groom and exploit a child include:

the child having experienced neglect, physical and/or sexual abuse in the past

social isolation or social difficulties

poverty

homelessness or insecure accommodation status

connections with other people involved in gangs

having a learning disability

having mental health problems

having substance misuse issues

being in care or having a history of being in care

being excluded from mainstream education

(Home Office, 2020a).

Permanent exclusion from mainstream education has been identified as a critical event that can lead to young people becoming vulnerable to criminal exploitation (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

County lines gangs can take advantage of the lack of structure, loss of a sense of belonging and feeling of rejection that exclusion can elicit in a young person.

The average age of young people who are exploited through county lines activity is 15-16 years old, but children as young as 12 have also been reported to have been involved (Home Office, 2020a).

Signs that a young person may be involved in criminal exploitation

The following signs may indicate that a child is being exploited by a county lines gang:

frequently going missing from school, home or care

travelling to locations, or being found in areas they have no obvious connections with, including seaside or market towns

unwillingness to explain their whereabouts

acquiring money, clothes, accessories or mobile phones which they seem unable to account for

receiving excessive texts or phone calls at all hours of the day

having multiple mobile phone handsets or sim cards

withdrawing or having sudden changes in personality, behaviour or the language they use

having relationships with controlling or older individuals and groups

unexplained injuries

carrying weapons

significant decline in school results or performance

being isolated from peers or social networks

associating with or being interested in gang culture

self-harming or having significant changes in mental health

(Ministry of Justice, 2019).

Responding

Responding to concerns about county lines exploitation

If you're worried that a child or young person might be or is at risk of being exploited by a county lines gang, you must share your concerns.

Reporting

If you think a child is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999. If you're worried about a child but they are not in immediate danger, you should share your concerns.

Follow your organisational child protection procedures. Organisations that work with children and families must have safeguarding policies and procedures in place.

Contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk. Our trained professionals will talk through your concerns with you and give you expert advice.

Contact the local child protection services. Their contact details can be found on the website for the relevant local authority. The local authority the child comes from is responsible for the child's welfare. But it is also good practice to contact the local authority in the area the child is found, as they may need to be a part of the multi-agency response and there may be other children or vulnerable adults at risk.

Contact the police.

National referral mechanism (NRM)

As part of county lines, young people are trafficked to different locations.

You should refer children who have been trafficked to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Evidence of a referral can be used in a young person's defence in criminal and legal proceedings (Youth Justice Legal Centre, 2018).
> Find out more about what action to take if a child has been exploited through trafficking and modern slavery
Multi-agency working

A multi-agency response is needed to tackle county lines and protect any children involved from further exploitation. This should include participation from local authority children's social care, the local authority community safety team, schools, police and youth offending teams.

The local authority the child comes from (if known) is responsible for the child's welfare (Ministry of Justice, 2019). They may need to liaise with child protection agencies in the area the child was found, in order to keep the child safe.

Collaborative working and information sharing is essential in protecting the welfare of the child.

Across the UK, Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) can act as sources of advice for children without a figure of parental responsibility in the UK who have been victims of trafficking and modern slavery (Home Office, 2020b).

ICTG regional practice co-ordinators take on a more strategic role supporting children who do have a figure of parental responsibility, working with professionals to encourage them to take a co-ordinated and multi-agency approach to child trafficking, modern slavery and county lines (Home Office, 2020b).
> Find out more about multi-agency working in child protection and safeguarding
Supporting the young person who has been exploited

Adults who work or volunteer with children and young people are in a good position to build trusting relationships with them. This will help young people feel able to discuss issues that are affecting their lives and speak out if they need support about any issue, including county lines (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

Those who work with children need to be clear that county lines is not a lifestyle choice and that the young person is not to blame for being exploited by a gang.

Young people who are involved with a county lines gang may push back when help is offered. They may not see themselves as being exploited or they may be scared of recriminations if they 'snitch' or' grass' on gang leaders.

Gangs convince young people that there is no way out for them, in order to trap and control them. This means it's important for adults to reassure young people that there is a way out of gang life and that help is available when they are ready to leave.

Young people may finally reach out for help in the event of a major incident or emergency. This might include a serious injury or the threat of serious injury to themselves or someone they know, or if someone they know was killed. If professionals do not act quickly and effectively to intervene at this point, the child may be 're-groomed' or pressured back into the gang (Canterbury Community Safety Partnership, 2020).

Childline

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice about gangs or anything else that's worrying them, you can always direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online.

Childline provides information and advice for young people affected by gang activity, drugs or any other form of abuse.

You can also download or order Childline posters and wallet cards.

Training

To help identify and support children who have experienced county lines, professionals need training which covers:

signs and indicators of county lines exploitation

the legislative framework around criminal exploitation

the NRM referral process

understanding the trauma experienced by young people

(Children's Society, 2019).

Prevention

Prevention

Schools and education

Schools and colleges can help raise awareness of county lines. This can be done through whole-school assemblies, class discussions or smaller group work.

As well as discussing what county lines is and how children might be targeted by gangs, schools should ensure children know who they can talk to if they have any concerns.

Schools are also well-placed to identify any children who may be at risk of county lines and form part of the multi-agency response.
> Find out more about having difficult conversations with children

> Find out more about promoting healthy relationships
Exclusion from school

If a child is at risk of being excluded from education, schools should always consider what immediate wrap around support can be put in place to protect them from county lines.

This should include exploring what support is available from children's social care, and voluntary and community organisations.

having their other children 'taken away' from them

their child being excluded from school

criminalising their child

recriminations from the county lines gang

Working with parents and carers

Engaging with parents and carers can help protect children and young people who are at risk of criminal exploitation. Parents and carers need support to manage any risk to their child.

It's important for services working with children at risk of county lines to understand what barriers might be in place for parents and carers. These might include fears around:

(Canterbury Community Safety Partnership, 2020; Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

Legislation and guidance

Legislation and guidance

Statutory guidance across the UK highlights the responsibility of those in the education, community and care sectors to safeguard children from all forms of abuse including county lines and other criminal exploitation.

County lines may involve child trafficking and modern slavery.
> Find out more about the legislation relating to child trafficking and modern slavery across the UK
Guidance

The Home Office has provided key guidance for all four UK nations on how to recognise and respond to concerns about county lines (Home Office, 2020a).

In England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice has provided guidance for frontline practitioners on referral pathways for responding to and safeguarding children involved in county lines (Ministry of Justice, 2019).

Public Health England (PHE) has published guidance on county lines exploitation to help health professionals prevent child exploitation and protect vulnerable children that have been manipulated and coerced into crime (PHE, 2021).

Practice principles, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), have been published by The Tackling Child Exploitation (TCE) Support Programme. The principles are for all professionals working with children around effective partnership working when responding to child exploitation and extra-familial harm (TCE Support Programme, 2023).

Further reading

For further reading about county lines, search the NSPCC Library catalogue using the keywords "county lines" or "criminal exploitation of children".

If you need more specific information, please contact our Information Service.

References

References

Canterbury Community Safety Partnership (2020) Protect your child: county lines and drug and alcohol abuse. (YouTube video). [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (2020) It was hard to escape: safeguarding children at risk from criminal exploitation (PDF). [London]: Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

Children's Society (2019) Counting lives report: responding to children who are criminally exploited (PDF). London: Children's Society.

Home Office (2020a) Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Home Office (2020b) 2020 UK annual report on modern slavery. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Home Office (2018) County lines: criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Ministry of Justice (2019) County lines exploitation: practice guidance for youth offending teams and frontline practitioners. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

National Crime Agency (2019) County lines: drug supply, vulnerability and harm 2018 (PDF). London: National Crime Agency.

Ofsted et al (2018) Protecting children from criminal exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery: an addendum. Manchester: Ofsted.

Public Health England (2021) County Lines exploitation: applying All Our Health. [Accessed 19/03/2021].

Thurrock Council (2020) Gangs and gang crime: county lines (drug trafficking). [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Youth Justice Legal Centre (2018) Child criminal exploitation: county lines gangs, child trafficking and modern slavery defences for children. London: Youth Justice Legal Centre.

Introduction

What is county lines?

County lines is a form of criminal exploitation where urban gangs persuade, coerce or force children and young people to store drugs and money and/or transport them to suburban areas, market towns and coastal towns (Home Office, 2018). It can happen in any part of the UK and is against the law and a form of child abuse.

Children and young people may be criminally exploited in multiple ways. Other forms of criminal exploitation include child sexual exploitation, trafficking, gang and knife crime.

County lines gangs are highly organised criminal networks that use sophisticated, frequently evolving techniques to groom young people and evade capture by the police.

Perpetrators use children and young people to maximise profits and distance themselves from the criminal act of physically dealing drugs (National Crime agency, 2019). Young people do the majority of the work and take the most risk.

Dedicated mobile phone lines or "deal lines" are used to help facilitate county lines drug deals. Phones are usually cheap, disposable and old fashioned, because they are changed frequently to avoid detection by the police.

Gangs use the phones to receive orders and contact young people to instruct them where to deliver drugs. This may be to a local dealer or drug user, or a dealer or drug user in another county.

Phrases that young people may use to refer to county lines include:

'running a line',

'going OT/out there'

'going country'

'going cunch'.

These all refer to going out of town to deliver drugs or money (Thurrock Council, 2020).

We've put together some information to help anyone who works or volunteers with children and young people to recognise the signs that a child might be being exploited by a county lines gang and understand what action to take to help keep children safe.

This includes:

the risks associated with county lines

recognising and responding to concerns about county lines

how professionals can work to prevent county lines

a summary of the relevant legislation and guidance.

Risks

County lines is a cross-cutting issue that often overlaps with other forms of abuse and criminal exploitation. It can lead to serious physical and emotional harm to young people (Home Office, 2020a).

Criminalisation

If adults who work with children don't understand that county lines is a form of abuse, they may see children involved in county lines activity as criminals rather than as victims of criminal exploitation (Children's Society, 2019).

This can lead to children not getting the safeguarding support and protection they need.

Drugs

Perpetrators may use drugs and alcohol to entice young people into the gang lifestyle.

In some cases gangs trick young people into incurring drug debts that they then have to pay off through county lines activity. This is often referred to as 'debt bondage'.

Physical violence

There is a strong link between county lines activity and:

serious violence such as knife and gun crime

the use of substances such as acid as a weapon

homicide

(Home Office, 2018).

Conflict between rival gangs that are in dispute over who controls an area can lead to serious injury or death for young people who get caught in the wrong place.

The fear of serious physical violence as revenge for disrespecting, 'snitching' or 'grassing' is one of the things that prevents young people from leaving gangs or seeking help from the police and other agencies.

Sexual abuse and exploitation

As well as being used to transport drugs, county lines gangs may sexually abuse and exploit children of any gender (National Crime Agency, 2019).

This can happen through:

young people being forced into sexual activity with gang members or for the gang's financial gain

vulnerable children being made to work off drug debts through sexual exploitation as 'payment' (this might happen after the child has been coerced into becoming dependent on drugs by the gang)

children being groomed into what they believe is a romantic relationship with a gang member which then leads to exploitation

(National Crime Agency, 2019).

Some children are forced to transport drugs in ways that are invasive and harmful to their bodies. Young people may be forced to swallow bags of drugs to transport them, which could potentially be life threatening.

The practice of 'plugging' is also common, whereby drugs are inserted into a child's rectum or vagina. This is a form of sexual abuse and in some cases it can cause a child's death (Ofsted et al, 2018).

Trafficking and missing children

Young people can be trafficked to locations far away from where they live for long periods of time by a county lines gang. They may end up staying in unsuitable accommodation in an area that is unknown to them. This might include short term holiday lets or budget hotels.

Cuckooing

Cuckooing happens when a county lines gang takes over the home of a vulnerable adult by coercion or force, and use it as a base to deal drugs from. The vulnerable adult may have issues with substance misuse or mental health problems, be elderly or disabled or be in debt to the gang. These factors can make it easier for the gang to exploit and control them.

Children can be forced or coerced to stay at cuckooed addresses for long periods of time to deal drugs.

A cuckooed address is sometimes referred to as a 'bando' or a 'spot' by county lines gangs (Thurrock Council, 2020).

Financial exploitation and abuse

Gangs are known to launder money from drug sales through children's bank accounts, either by using an existing account or forcing or persuading the child to open a new one (Children's Society, 2019).
> Find out more about protecting children from trafficking and modern slavery

Recognising

Recognising

Grooming

The grooming process involves the gang:

seeking out a child to exploit

observing the child for vulnerabilities

finding out what the child's needs and wants are

manipulating the child into believing that being in the gang can fulfil these needs.

Once they have identified a child, the gang will make some form of contact and the grooming process will begin. This could be in person or via mobile phone. Social media profiles may also be used to glamourise gang life and entice young people.

Some children are groomed through family members, for instance if they have a sibling or relative who is already involved with a county lines gang.

County lines gangs offer money and status to attract young people. Children may also be attracted to joining a gang by the prospect of belonging to a 'family' that will protect them if their own family feels unstable or unsafe.

The following have been identified as key places where county lines gangs target and approach vulnerable young people:

schools and further and higher educational institutions

special educational needs schools

places for alternative provision outside of mainstream education

foster homes

homeless shelters.

Once a child is part of a county lines gang their loyalty and commitment will be tested. The gang will begin to trap the child by making them feel powerless to leave. This might include threats of violence if they leave, making the child feel like they are betraying their new 'family', or telling the child they will get in trouble if they seek help because they have committed a criminal offence (Children's Society, 2019).
> Find out more about grooming
Who is vulnerable to county lines exploitation?

Any child could potentially be at risk of criminal exploitation by a county lines gang.

Factors that make a county lines gang more likely to target, groom and exploit a child include:

the child having experienced neglect, physical and/or sexual abuse in the past

social isolation or social difficulties

poverty

homelessness or insecure accommodation status

connections with other people involved in gangs

having a learning disability

having mental health problems

having substance misuse issues

being in care or having a history of being in care

being excluded from mainstream education

(Home Office, 2020a).

Permanent exclusion from mainstream education has been identified as a critical event that can lead to young people becoming vulnerable to criminal exploitation (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

County lines gangs can take advantage of the lack of structure, loss of a sense of belonging and feeling of rejection that exclusion can elicit in a young person.

The average age of young people who are exploited through county lines activity is 15-16 years old, but children as young as 12 have also been reported to have been involved (Home Office, 2020a).

Signs that a young person may be involved in criminal exploitation

The following signs may indicate that a child is being exploited by a county lines gang:

frequently going missing from school, home or care

travelling to locations, or being found in areas they have no obvious connections with, including seaside or market towns

unwillingness to explain their whereabouts

acquiring money, clothes, accessories or mobile phones which they seem unable to account for

receiving excessive texts or phone calls at all hours of the day

having multiple mobile phone handsets or sim cards

withdrawing or having sudden changes in personality, behaviour or the language they use

having relationships with controlling or older individuals and groups

unexplained injuries

carrying weapons

significant decline in school results or performance

being isolated from peers or social networks

associating with or being interested in gang culture

self-harming or having significant changes in mental health

(Ministry of Justice, 2019).

Responding

Responding to concerns about county lines exploitation

If you're worried that a child or young person might be or is at risk of being exploited by a county lines gang, you must share your concerns.

Reporting

If you think a child is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999. If you're worried about a child but they are not in immediate danger, you should share your concerns.

Follow your organisational child protection procedures. Organisations that work with children and families must have safeguarding policies and procedures in place.

Contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk. Our trained professionals will talk through your concerns with you and give you expert advice.

Contact the local child protection services. Their contact details can be found on the website for the relevant local authority. The local authority the child comes from is responsible for the child's welfare. But it is also good practice to contact the local authority in the area the child is found, as they may need to be a part of the multi-agency response and there may be other children or vulnerable adults at risk.

Contact the police.

National referral mechanism (NRM)

As part of county lines, young people are trafficked to different locations.

You should refer children who have been trafficked to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Evidence of a referral can be used in a young person's defence in criminal and legal proceedings (Youth Justice Legal Centre, 2018).
> Find out more about what action to take if a child has been exploited through trafficking and modern slavery
Multi-agency working

A multi-agency response is needed to tackle county lines and protect any children involved from further exploitation. This should include participation from local authority children's social care, the local authority community safety team, schools, police and youth offending teams.

The local authority the child comes from (if known) is responsible for the child's welfare (Ministry of Justice, 2019). They may need to liaise with child protection agencies in the area the child was found, in order to keep the child safe.

Collaborative working and information sharing is essential in protecting the welfare of the child.

Across the UK, Independent Child Trafficking Guardians (ICTGs) can act as sources of advice for children without a figure of parental responsibility in the UK who have been victims of trafficking and modern slavery (Home Office, 2020b).

ICTG regional practice co-ordinators take on a more strategic role supporting children who do have a figure of parental responsibility, working with professionals to encourage them to take a co-ordinated and multi-agency approach to child trafficking, modern slavery and county lines (Home Office, 2020b).
> Find out more about multi-agency working in child protection and safeguarding
Supporting the young person who has been exploited

Adults who work or volunteer with children and young people are in a good position to build trusting relationships with them. This will help young people feel able to discuss issues that are affecting their lives and speak out if they need support about any issue, including county lines (Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

Those who work with children need to be clear that county lines is not a lifestyle choice and that the young person is not to blame for being exploited by a gang.

Young people who are involved with a county lines gang may push back when help is offered. They may not see themselves as being exploited or they may be scared of recriminations if they 'snitch' or' grass' on gang leaders.

Gangs convince young people that there is no way out for them, in order to trap and control them. This means it's important for adults to reassure young people that there is a way out of gang life and that help is available when they are ready to leave.

Young people may finally reach out for help in the event of a major incident or emergency. This might include a serious injury or the threat of serious injury to themselves or someone they know, or if someone they know was killed. If professionals do not act quickly and effectively to intervene at this point, the child may be 're-groomed' or pressured back into the gang (Canterbury Community Safety Partnership, 2020).

Childline

If a child or young person needs confidential help and advice about gangs or anything else that's worrying them, you can always direct them to Childline. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also contact Childline online.

Childline provides information and advice for young people affected by gang activity, drugs or any other form of abuse.

You can also download or order Childline posters and wallet cards.

Training

To help identify and support children who have experienced county lines, professionals need training which covers:

signs and indicators of county lines exploitation

the legislative framework around criminal exploitation

the NRM referral process

understanding the trauma experienced by young people

(Children's Society, 2019).

Prevention

Prevention

Schools and education

Schools and colleges can help raise awareness of county lines. This can be done through whole-school assemblies, class discussions or smaller group work.

As well as discussing what county lines is and how children might be targeted by gangs, schools should ensure children know who they can talk to if they have any concerns.

Schools are also well-placed to identify any children who may be at risk of county lines and form part of the multi-agency response.
> Find out more about having difficult conversations with children

> Find out more about promoting healthy relationships
Exclusion from school

If a child is at risk of being excluded from education, schools should always consider what immediate wrap around support can be put in place to protect them from county lines.

This should include exploring what support is available from children's social care, and voluntary and community organisations.

having their other children 'taken away' from them

their child being excluded from school

criminalising their child

recriminations from the county lines gang

Working with parents and carers

Engaging with parents and carers can help protect children and young people who are at risk of criminal exploitation. Parents and carers need support to manage any risk to their child.

It's important for services working with children at risk of county lines to understand what barriers might be in place for parents and carers. These might include fears around:

(Canterbury Community Safety Partnership, 2020; Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, 2020).

Legislation and guidance

Legislation and guidance

Statutory guidance across the UK highlights the responsibility of those in the education, community and care sectors to safeguard children from all forms of abuse including county lines and other criminal exploitation.

County lines may involve child trafficking and modern slavery.
> Find out more about the legislation relating to child trafficking and modern slavery across the UK
Guidance

The Home Office has provided key guidance for all four UK nations on how to recognise and respond to concerns about county lines (Home Office, 2020a).

In England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice has provided guidance for frontline practitioners on referral pathways for responding to and safeguarding children involved in county lines (Ministry of Justice, 2019).

Public Health England (PHE) has published guidance on county lines exploitation to help health professionals prevent child exploitation and protect vulnerable children that have been manipulated and coerced into crime (PHE, 2021).

Practice principles, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), have been published by The Tackling Child Exploitation (TCE) Support Programme. The principles are for all professionals working with children around effective partnership working when responding to child exploitation and extra-familial harm (TCE Support Programme, 2023).

Further reading

For further reading about county lines, search the NSPCC Library catalogue using the keywords "county lines" or "criminal exploitation of children".

If you need more specific information, please contact our Information Service.

References

References

Canterbury Community Safety Partnership (2020) Protect your child: county lines and drug and alcohol abuse. (YouTube video). [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (2020) It was hard to escape: safeguarding children at risk from criminal exploitation (PDF). [London]: Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

Children's Society (2019) Counting lives report: responding to children who are criminally exploited (PDF). London: Children's Society.

Home Office (2020a) Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Home Office (2020b) 2020 UK annual report on modern slavery. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Home Office (2018) County lines: criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Ministry of Justice (2019) County lines exploitation: practice guidance for youth offending teams and frontline practitioners. [Accessed 16/03/2021].

National Crime Agency (2019) County lines: drug supply, vulnerability and harm 2018 (PDF). London: National Crime Agency.

Ofsted et al (2018) Protecting children from criminal exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery: an addendum. Manchester: Ofsted.

Public Health England (2021) County Lines exploitation: applying All Our Health. [Accessed 19/03/2021].

Thurrock Council (2020) Gangs and gang crime: county lines (drug trafficking). [Accessed 16/03/2021].

Youth Justice Legal Centre (2018) Child criminal exploitation: county lines gangs, child trafficking and modern slavery defences for children. London: Youth Justice Legal Centre.

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Protecting children from county lines | NSPCC Learning

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Provides information on how adults working or volunteering with children can recognise, respond to and protect children from county lines.

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Alfie's Story (Parts 1 & 2) - A film which demonstrates how children can be drawn into criminal exploitation

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Alfie's Story (Parts 1 & 2) - A film which demonstrates how children can be drawn into criminal exploitation

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Alfie, aged 13, is groomed into thinking he finally belongs to a family after having a tough upbringing. Based in Grimsby, Alfie befriends a group that slowly begin to use him to transport drugs. The story follows Alfie’s journey of criminal exploitation with the aim to raise awareness of the signs, how it can happen and the consequences It can have for all involved.

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Alfie's Story (Part 3)(Explicit version) This version of Alfie's Story may not be appropriate for audiences under the age of 16 - please view in advance of sharing with students

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Alfie's Story (Part 3)(Explicit version) This version of Alfie's Story may not be appropriate for audiences under the age of 16 - please view in advance of sharing with students

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Continuing on from Alfie's Story Part 2, just when things were looking up for Alfie a new danger takes things to a whole new level. The viral Grimsby-based series about Child Criminal exploitation continue.

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Alfie's Story - (part 4) (explicit version). This version of Alfie's Story may not be appropriate viewing for under 16s - Please view before sharing with students

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Alfie's Story - (part 4) (explicit version). This version of Alfie's Story may not be appropriate viewing for under 16s - Please view before sharing with students

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Continuing on from Alfie's Story Part 3, faced with extreme threats and violence Alfie and his mum take matters into their own hands. Watch the final chapters of Alfie's story. The viral Grimsby-based series about Child Criminal exploitation continue.

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Alfie's Story - Lesson plans to accompany all 4 videos

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Alfie's Story - Lesson plans to accompany all 4 videos

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Lesson plans are recommended for age 12+, however videos may be more suitable for year 11 students. Please use your discretion.

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Not In Our Community - Protection against exploitation

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Alfie's Story Parts 1 and 2

The story follows Alfie's journey of criminal exploitation, how it can happen and the consequences It can have for all involved.

Continuing on from Alfie's Story Part 2, just when things were looking up for Alfie a new danger takes things to a whole new level as he becomes more entangled in the County Lines gang.

Continuing on from Alfie's Story Part 3, faced with extreme threats and violence after being criminally exploited, Alfie and his mum take matters into their own hands.

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The story follows Alfie's journey of criminal exploitation, how it can happen and the consequences It can have for all involved. Suitable for Year 7 and above. Film duration: 14 minutes approx.

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Youth & Policing Education Hub: County Lines Lesson Plan - KS3 & 4

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Youth & Policing Education Hub: County Lines Lesson Plan - KS3 & 4

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OBJECTIVES

• To raise awareness about County Lines

• To build resilience against becoming involved in county lines operations

• To recognise the signs that someone may be involved in county lines

• To know how to get help

• To learn about what the police will do

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Fearless Educational Resource: County Lines

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Fearless Educational Resource: County Lines

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This is an educational resource for professionals working with young people throughout the UK. It provides exercises on a range of crime types that professionals can use to challenge young people’s perceptions, stimulate debate and encourage good citizenship.

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Anti-Fraud Lesson Plans (financial crime) KS3&4

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Anti-Fraud Lesson Plans (financial crime) KS3&4

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Together with PSHE Association, the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Cifas has created four Anti-Fraud Education lesson plans with accompanying resources. The lesson plans are targeted at 11-16 year olds and cover Key Stage 3 and 4.

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Working together to teach young people about fraud

Research conducted at Cifas has shown that increasing numbers of young people are affected by fraud, either being targeted by online fraudsters or unwittingly engaging in fraudulent acts themselves.

Together with PSHE Association, the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Cifas has created four Anti-Fraud Education lesson plans with accompanying resources. The lesson plans are targeted at 11-16 year olds and cover Key Stage 3 and 4.

Helping young people understand the effects of financial crime

The lessons aim to help students:

Recognise what fraud is, why they may be targeted and how to seek support;

Explain the consequences of committing fraud;

Develop skills to protect their online information and personal data; and

Develop skills to critically evaluate the reliability of online content in relation to scams.

The two lesson plans for Key Stage 3 introduce students to the concept of fraud and the importance of digital literacy and data protection within the context of financial risk. For Key Stage 4, the two lessons build on this learning by encouraging students to think about their responsibility for financial information in more independent contexts.

Informed and up-to-date fraud education for your students

You can download the plans and resources for each lesson from this page.

You may also wish to use these awareness videos, created by Cifas, as extra resources:

- Created in partnership with BBH London, this 'hidden camera' film highlights just how easy it is for criminals to get your personal information from the Internet.

Sponsor a Child Trafficker -Also created in partnership with BBH London, this film looks at the devastating consequences that money mules (people who allow their bank accounts to be used to launder money) enable.

Further information

To find out more about the work at Cifas to deliver anti-fraud education to schools, please contact communications@cifas.org.uk

The lesson plans can also be found on the PSHE quality assured resource site.

For further anti-fraud education material, teachers may wish to make use of the resources from MoneySense.

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Anti-Fraud Lesson Plans | Fraud Resources for Teachers | Cifas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Research conducted at Cifas has shown that increasing numbers of young people are affected by fraud, either being targeted by online fraudsters or unwittingly engaging in fraudulent acts themselves. Together with PSHE Association, the national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, Cifas has created four Anti-Fraud Education lesson plans with accompanying resources.

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County Lines + Gangs PHSE Lesson plan (TES) - KS3 - There may be a small cost to access this resource, details available on the linked page.

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County Lines + Gangs PHSE Lesson plan (TES) - KS3 - There may be a small cost to access this resource, details available on the linked page.

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TWO HOUR LESSON Gangs, peer influence, drugs and county lines / Drugs Education PSHE lesson - all you need to know, from how how young people are pressured to join, the slang, the risks and the reality.

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TWO HOUR LESSON Gangs, peer influence, drugs and county lines / Drugs Education PSHE lesson - all you need to know, from how how young people are pressured to join, the slang, the risks and the reality. New video clip tasks now also added - interview with actual county line gangsters. This is a double, fully resourced PSHE lesson which introduces the concept of County Lines and how gangs exploit and groom young victims into joining the underground drugs networks, before exploring the reasons why young people join gangs and the consequences. Created for the new PSHE 2020-23 curriculum.

This resource pack includes a two hour long PowerPoint with accompanying worksheets, well differentiated activities, literacy focus tasks, clip tasks with three-way differentiated questions and information sheets.

The lesson has been left editable (so is adaptable for your PSHE planning) and is filled with engaging, well differentiated and fun activities. It is useful for PSHE, Citizenship or Tutor Time. As with all our lessons, you don't need any prior knowledge as all the information is included - you can just pick up and teach it.

Find more lessons on everything from RSE, misogyny, masculinity and Andrew Tate to jobs, consent, stereotyping, employment and careers, dating, love, drugs, alcohol, vaping, sleep, mental health and wellbeing, extremism, pornography, gender and transgender prejudice, racism, British Values, living in the wider world, sexual health, equality and diversity, STIs, contraception, sex and relationships and much more at our website.

You can find many more inexpensive and free PSHE, Citizenship and RE resources at my shop: MORE PSHE RESOURCES

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
TWO HOUR LESSON Gangs, peer influence, drugs and county lines / Drugs Education PSHE lesson - all you need to know, from how how young people are pressured to join,