Joint Targeted Area Inspection June/July 2022

Cheshire east safeguarding childrens partnership write this letter to children, young people and their families in the borough following an inspection in June and July 2022. The inspection looked at the how each agency (police, health and the local authority social work teams) work together to reduce the risk of harm when children and young people are missing and at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation.

Criminal and sexual exploitation of children and young people is when an individual or group of young people are forced, manipulated and or controlled into activities that that they do not want to do, do not consent to and could lead to crimes being committed or cause them harm. This can happen online as well as in person and we know that sometimes it is not always easy to see that this is happening to you or a friend. We also understand how difficult it can be to talk to someone about what is happening.

Inspections happen from time to time in an unplanned way to help services see the areas of their work that needs to improve, to make children safer, and to also see what’s working well and how our support can help to improve circumstances for children, young people and their families.

This inspection found that the partnership in Cheshire East need to improve how they protect children and young people from criminal exploitation and those who go missing from home and care. Some improvements needed to be made very quickly to make sure that the children and young people that we were already working with were safe and that we were doing everything we could to make things different for them.

In writing this letter we hope to make a pledge to you that we will work tirelessly to improve the way that we work and importantly work with you to find the best possible solutions to make you safe. We fully accept the findings from the inspection and we recognise that there were gaps in our work and that this is not good enough.

The inspection did highlight some strengths that we can build upon and highlighted the commitment and dedication of the people who work directly with you. However there is much more for us to do.

If you are worried that you or someone you know could be being exploited, or needs some help and support, call the Cheshire East consultation service for help and advice on: 0300 123 5012 (option 3) or the out of hours service on 0300 123 5022.

For more information on child exploitation and how to know and see the signs, visit www.knowandsee.co.uk.

If you have questions about the inspection or if you would like to be involved in the decision and helping us develop services, please contact us by calling 07890321844. You can also email us at participation@cheshireeast.gov.uk.

Read the findings of the inspection.