Child Sexual Abuse Recovery Project briefing
Summary of pilot to develop a system-wide approach to child sexual abuse (CSA) and build on the LTFI service model
Research has highlighted a shortfall in specialist services for children who have experienced child sexual abuse (CSA), and a lack of confidence amongst professionals in preventing, recognising and responding to CSA1.
We wanted to develop an innovative system-wide approach that would improve the quality and coherence of CSA support to children and families.
With funding from a Home Office CSA Support Services Transformation Fund grant, we delivered the Child Sexual Abuse Recovery Project to develop:
- a new assessment to create a snapshot of a local area’s CSA service provision
- a new training course on CSA for all professionals working with children and families
- updates to the NSPCC’s current CSA recovery service model Letting the Future In (LTFI) to provide additional training and support to practitioners and supervisors.
References
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) et al (2020) The multi-agency response to child sexual abuse in the family environment: prevention, identification, protection and support. Manchester: Ofsted.Key findings
The CSA System Snapshot helped increase awareness of local provision
The snapshots highlighted best practice, gaps and barriers in local provision. They also helped strategic leads to prioritise local effort and facilitated multi-agency discussions.
The Developing an understanding of CSA training was effective
Professionals who completed the training reported improved understanding of best practice and of the support children and the families affected by CSA need, as well as the impact on communities.
The LTFI service model training improved confidence and understanding among experienced practitioners
75% of participants who completed the training completed a questionnaire. Of these, 83% of respondents reported improved or greatly improved understanding of best practice in improving the outcomes for children and families affected by CSA.
Next steps
Following the successful pilot of this innovative system wide approach, we are delighted to have been awarded funding from the Home Office Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (SVSCSA) fund towards delivering services and training partner organisations across England and Wales.
This means that limited funding is available for the NSPCC to provide the CSA system snapshot, Developing an understanding of CSA training and LTFI service to regions who may be interested.
If you would like to hear more about taking up this limited funded opportunity and helping strengthen your CSA response, please email CSAawareness@nspcc.org.uk.
Citation
Please cite as: NSPCC (2022) LTFI and Child Sexual Abuse Recovery Project: briefing. London: NSPCC.
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