Trafficking and exploitation of children with special educational needs and disability

This is a summary of the report: Internal trafficking and exploitation of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) within England and Wales: Understanding identification and responses to inform effective policy and practice, based on research conducted by Manchester Metropolitan University and University of Portsmouth in partnership with Portsmouth City Council.

Background

Children and young people with SEND have specific vulnerabilities due to communication, learning or neurodivergent needs which are often unmet by current service structures. These needs are often not recognised or well understood by multi agency services who rarely receive specific training in communicating or working with this group of children. Many of these children and young people have not had their needs formally diagnosed, and many are on long waiting lists for diagnosis and assessments. This group of children and young people often experience; higher rates of poverty, social and school exclusion, isolation, bullying and discrimination. They are also over-represented in the care system and face particular challenges when housed in unregulated accommodation. This is coupled with often high levels of unmet needs and generally a lack of empowerment and agency. All indicators which correlate to increased risk of exploitation.

This qualitative exploratory study sought to provide evidence to identify and address gaps in safeguarding policy, guidance and legal frameworks in relation to specific risks of modern slavery for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England and Wales (aged up to 25 years). Furthermore, the study sought to explore whether policies and guidance provide the mechanisms for appropriate strategic planning and practical responses to modern slavery for this group of children and young people.

Key findings

1. Despite children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)/additional learning needs being at increased risk of exploitation and trafficking, there is inadequate attention to the specific needs of young people with SEND in national safeguarding or modern slavery policy.
2. A lack of robust training may mean that practitioners may not be aware of the impact and interrelation between SEND and modern slavery.
3. There is a lack of data collection and a lack of understanding of modern slavery and SEND, impacting on opportunities for prevention and early identification, or to understand the scale and nature of how SEND and modern slavery interact.
4. There are missed opportunities for early intervention and disrupting patterns of exploitation, for example when responding to reports from parents of missing episodes for young people with SEND.
5. Engagement with education services is one of the most significant factors in keeping children with SEND safe from exploitation. Practitioners and parents were very clear that the most significant factor in keeping children and young people safe from modern slavery was their engagement within an education system that met their SEND needs.
6. Responding well and responding early requires parents’ concerns being listened to, with training and multi-agency support being in place.

Recommendations

1. The Department for Education should update the Safeguarding Disabled Children and Young People Guidance
2. Implementation of Safeguarding Children with SEND champions.
3. The UK government should improve information sharing and data collection that helps agencies understand prevalence and nature of SEND on children and young adults’ safeguarding needs
4. The Home Office and DfE should jointly commission and roll out national multi-agency mandatory training across all services to address lack of understanding of modern slavery and SEND amongst frontline workers and managers across statutory and voluntary sectors.
5. The Department for Education should support the earlier identification of SEND and support to meet needs through multi-agency working.
6. The Department for Education should lead multi-agency work to prevent school breakdowns and establish accountable safeguarding processes for young people with SEND.
7. The Home Office and Department for Education should support local safeguarding partnerships to work with parents as a resource for protection and to fund and produce resources to support parents.
8. Local Safeguarding Partnerships should undertake an urgent review of how risk is assessed in children and young people with SEND.
9. The Department for Education and the Home Office should update guidance and develop training to support improved practice concerning missing children and young people with SEND.
10. Local Authorities should reduce distant out of authority placements and their breakdown as a response to exploitation and trafficking.
11. All agencies should improve professional understanding of communication and behaviours of children and young people with SEND.