This guide is for all professionals in any discipline – including social work, policing, education, probation, voluntary sector and health – who may be involved in a multi-agency strategy discussion or meeting when child sexual abuse concerns have been raised.
After outlining the purpose and process of the strategy discussion or meeting, it explains how you can best help the child before, during and after the strategy discussion.
What is a multi-agency strategy discussion?
A multi-agency strategy discussion or meeting marks a crucial point in services’ response to child sexual abuse concerns. It must be held if there is reasonable cause to think that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. The strategy discussion or meeting creates a space for multi-agency partners to:
- share information.
- assess risk and need.
- agree a plan that will address the risk and need.
- decide next steps.
Participants should include children’s social care, police, health, and where appropriate, education services, and any other professionals with specialist knowledge or knowledge of the child and their family.
A complex abuse strategy discussion should be convened where there are concerns about complex or organised abuse – for example:
- involving one or more alleged individuals (acting together or in isolation).
- Individuals exploiting an institutional framework or position of authority.
- the abuse of three or more related or unrelated children.
A Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or a representative from the exploitation team should be included.
How may the child be feeling?
A child who is the subject of a multi-agency strategy discussion may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. They are likely to be experiencing a complex range of emotions:
- They may hope and expect action will be taken about the sexual abuse but worry about the impact on themselves and their family.
- Feelings of extreme vulnerability are likely, especially if the person of concern has not been arrested.
- Some children may hope for removal from their current situation.
- Children want their voices to be taken seriously and for professionals not to make assumptions about their thoughts and feelings.
- Some children, especially those exploited by groups or groomed online, may not recognise they are being sexually abused or at risk.
- Others may be aware of the abuse but worry about it being discovered, often due to threats from the person of concern.
- Children may feel unhappy about professional involvement.
- Children are likely to feel a loss of control over their lives when professionals get involved.
The strategy discussion should consider the child's feelings, hopes, worries, fears, and uncertainties, and clarify who will share information with the child.
- Whatever your profession – social work, policing, healthcare, education etc – gather all the relevant information you can
- Everyone involved in the strategy discussion should ensure that concerns about child sexual abuse are central to the discussion, alongside any other concerns such as neglect, physical or emotional abuse.
- Use the information shared at the strategy meeting to add to the Signs and indicators template, so you can continue to build a holistic picture of the child’s circumstances
- New information can be brought to later discussions as it emerges from further strategy discussions or meetings, or the investigations.
Everyone involved in the strategy discussion should ensure that concerns about child sexual abuse are central to the discussion, alongside any other concerns such as neglect, physical or emotional abuse. Focus on understanding who may be responsible for the abuse (or the risk of abuse) and how to stop it.
In any case of suspected child abuse, the strategy discussion should consider the child’s wishes and their circumstances.
Consider:
- The child's hopes and wishes - take account of what the child wants and expects from professional involvement and consider what might be acting as a barrier to them telling.
- The child's characteristics and circumstances. Consider diversity and how personal characteristics might increase vulnerability and shape the response to child sexual abuse, including communication needs related to ethnicity, disability, or neurodiversity.
- The context of the suspected sexual abuse, for example, whether it has happened within the family environment, outside the home, or online, and who the person of concern is to the child.
The strategy discussion will weigh up all the available information and evidence about whether a child has been, or is likely to be, sexually abused and/or harmed in other ways. It will then decide the most appropriate action to be taken. More than one discussion or meeting might be required. Outcomes may include:
- steps to protect the child from (further) immediate harm, including keeping the person(s) of concern away from the child, possibly through court orders, or removing the child from risk of harm
- assessing the need for further enquiry and assessment:
- The child may have a medical assessment or examination.
- If there is evidence that a crime may have been committed, the police will conduct a criminal investigation
- Children’s social care may carry out a child protection enquiry
If both a criminal investigation and a child protection enquiry are needed, they should be conducted as a joint investigation by the police and children’s social care.
If a strategy discussion decides a child protection enquiry is not needed but support could help, it may recommend a multi-agency assessment or an early help response.
After the strategy discussion the following steps should be taken:
- The social work manager who chaired the discission should record the discussion and decisions made.
- The designated person should feedback the outcome to the child in a way that makes sense to the child and ensures their safety.
- Consider the need for a follow up strategy discussion.
- Support the child's wellbeing – consider how to support the child's education, emotional health, physical health, and their relationship with family and friends.