Key findings

Letting the Future In can work to help children who have been sexually abused

• Almost three-quarters (73%) of children aged 8 and over who completed 6 months of Letting the Future In had severe emotional difficulties at the start. After 6 months this dropped to less than half (46%).
• When taking into account the children who didn't engage or dropped out of the service early the number of children experiencing severe trauma dropped from 68% to 51%.
• There was no comparable change for children in the control group (a 6 month waiting list). This indicates that the positive outcomes were a result of receiving the service.

Letting the Future In seems to take longer to work for younger children (aged under 8) who complete the programme

• Parents reported no positive change for younger children after 6 months of the programme and this was the same for the control group.
• For those children remaining in the service after 1 year there was promising evidence of positive change. At the start 89% were experiencing severe levels of distress but after a year this had dropped to less than half (40%).
• This suggests positive outcomes may take longer for younger children.

Therapeutic work can be delivered by social care professionals who receive additional training

Most practitioners delivering Letting the Future In were social workers. They reported that they:

• understood their role
• were confident about being able to deliver Letting the Future In
• felt the Letting the Future In guide had added value to their work with children.

Children value Letting the Future In

Children who completed the programme and their carers talked about:

• improved mood
• better confidence
• reduction in guilt and self-blame
• reduced depression, anxiety and anger
• improved sleep patterns
• better understanding of appropriate sexual behaviour.

Children and their parents especially valued the relationship between the child and their practitioner. They felt practitioners were warm, reassuring, friendly and honest.

Next steps

This independent evaluation provides good evidence of the effectiveness of Letting the Future In with children over eight and young people. Letting the Future In can and should be developed further, particularly in its use with younger children.