New Practice Principles to shape and inform the work of professionals responding to
child exploitation and extra-familial harm are launched today (29.03.23) by the Tackling Child
Exploitation (TCE) Support Programme.
The eight Practice Principles are grounded in research and informed by practical
learning and expertise from multi-agency professionals and the lived experiences of
children, young people, parents and carers.

They, and the six supporting resources, provide a way for professionals and agencies to navigate the complexities of these types of harm and work together to protect and support children and young people.
Commissioned by the Department for Education, with support from the Home Office,
Ministry of Justice and Department of Health and Social Care, the Principles have
been developed by a consortium led by Research in Practice in partnership with The
Children’s Society and the University of Bedfordshire’s Safer Young Lives Research
Centre.

The Practice Principles are:
• Behavioural, focusing on ways of working, rather than a prescribed pathway that must be followed by anyone involved in responding to child exploitation and extra-familial harm
• High-level so they can be used by different groups and applied in different settings.
• Designed to allow multi-agency professionals to connect and collaborate effectively.
• Interlinked and interdependent, so that by using them together the Principles provide a coherent approach.

The Practice Principles are now available to download on the NWG Knowledge hub – public resources and the Tackling Child Exploitation microsite at https://tce.researchinpractice.org.uk/ and were showcased
at a series of virtual events throughout March 2023. These events were open to all safeguarding professionals, providing the opportunity to explore how the Principles can be most useful for individual roles and multi-agency partnerships.
The events also provided a platform to hear some of the feedback gathered from
children, young people, parents and carers.
QUOTES FROM CONSORTIUM PARTNERS:
University of Bedfordshire
Dr Helen Beckett, Director of the Safer Young Lives Research Centre, University of
Bedfordshire said:
‘I’m delighted to share these Practice Principles with the sector. Grounded in existing
research, and direct learning from professionals, children, young people, parents and
carers, we hope they prove a useful guide for supporting their ongoing work in
tackling child exploitation and extra-familial harm.’

The Children’s Society
Nerys Anthony, Executive Director, for Youth Impact at The Children’s Society, said:
“We are proud to have led the consultation with 242 children, young people, parents
and carers and are extremely grateful to all of those who generously gave their time
and expertise to make the Practice Principles relevant and accessible.”

Research in Practice
Dez Holmes, Director of Research in Practice, said:
“Exploitation and extra-familial harm can have a devastating impact on people’s
lives, and present complex challenges to professionals. By focusing on key
ingredients such as relationships, equality and partnership working, we hope these
collaboratively-developed Principles can support colleagues at all levels to provide
the best possible support to children, young people and those who care about them.”

Young person
A young person who took part in the TCE consultation said:
“They’re not difficult things, that’s what I like about it. It’s just like respect me, see
me, validate me, please don’t treat me like a chore and don’t dehumanise me. It’s
very simple – [the Practice Principles] are such a good thing.”

Additional quotes cleared for use in press statements by the Local Government
Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services:

A Local Government Association (LGA) spokesperson said:
“These Practice Principles offer all those working with and for children and young
people a way to ensure their approach to tackling child exploitation and extra-familial
harm is rooted in evidence and the lived experiences of children, young people,
parents, carers and professionals.
“The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care last year highlighted the need to
improve our response to child exploitation. These Principles provide a helpful
framework against which to test, develop and continually improve practice across
safeguarding partners, at both a strategic and operational level, ultimately improving
how we support and protect children and young people in our communities.”
Sara Tough, outgoing Chair of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services
(ADCS) Families, Communities and Young People Policy Committee said:

“These practice principles are firmly rooted in the experiences of children and young
people, their parents and carers as well as the range of professionals working
alongside them when experiencing terrible abuses and exploitation outside of the
family home. They present a helpful focal point for safeguarding partners at a
strategic level while the supporting resources offer necessary prompts plus practical
tools for frontline staff to be alert to the different ways trauma can manifest as well as inequalities, exclusion and discrimination in their work in communities”

For further information please contact [email protected]