National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group minutes - December 2024

Attendees and apologies

Co-Chairs

• Joanna MacDonald, Deputy Chief Social Worker, Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser (OCSWA), Co‑Chair
• DCS Graham Grant, Head of Public Protection, Police Scotland, Co-Chair

Attendees

• Professor Alexis Jay, Independent member
• Alison McIntyre, Assistant Director, Barnardo’s
• DSU Carron McKellar, Child Protection Lead, Police Scotland
• Deirdre McCormick, Chief Nurse and Head of Public Protection, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• Doug Marshall, Childlight, University of Edinburgh
• Fiona Dyer, Director of Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice
• Glenn Preston, Scotland Director, Ofcom
• Jane Scott, CELCIS (Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection)

• Dr Jennifer McGill, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Child Protection Sub-Committee

• Joanna Barrett, Associated Head of Policy, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC)
• Kathryn Lindsay, Chief Executive Angus Council, representing The Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE)
• Kirsty-Louise Hunt, Barnardos
• Michelle McCargo, Renfrewshire Council, Social Work Scotland
• Moira McKinnon, Child Protection Committee Scotland (CPC Scotland)
• Rhona Robb, Head of Public Protection, Scottish Ambulance Service
• Stuart Allardyce, Lucy Faithfull Foundation

Apologies

• Tam Baillie, CPC Scotland
• Mhairi Grant, CPC Scotland
• Jennifer Crocket, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES)
• Carrie Lindsay, ADES
• Paul Johnston, Public Health Scotland
• Lucy Coleman, NOTA
• Ian Donaldson, Deputy Director, Children’s Rights Protection and Justice

Also in attendance

• Child Protection Unit officials, Scottish Government
• Ruth Sills, CELCIS
• Joseph McGinty, CELCIS
• June Welsh, CELCIS

Secretariat

• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome and apologies

The co-chairs thanked all attendees for coming. They indicated that the focus of the meeting was on establishing priorities for the Group.

Minutes of last meeting

The co-chairs welcomed any comments on the minutes of the last meeting.

Feedback on Terms of Reference and membership

The chairs highlighted the changes which had been made to the Terms of Reference following discussions in the first meeting, including:

• clarifying of the mandate for the Group making it clear that it has been established following extensive engagement with stakeholders
• a reminder that members can recuse themselves where necessary
• clarification that the focus of the Group is on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) but that this issue is often linked to other forms of abuse, exploitation and child protection issues
• Scottish Government secretariat will provide an update to Ministers after each meeting
• comments will be unattributed to promote free and frank discussion in meetings
• membership has been updated

It was proposed that a member of the national group representing Directors of Public Health would be a beneficial addition to the Group.

Two issues which had emerged from discussions, in the Group’s first meeting, of the Terms of Reference were the connections between CSAE and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE), and how different groups around child protection interact.

The Chairs acknowledged that CSAE and CCE are often linked child protection issues. As reflected in the TOR, the Group had been formed to consider CSAE. It was agreed that CCE requires dedicated, but separate, focus and capacity and Scottish Government led work is already underway involving a number of CSAE Group members in relation to CCE.

A diagram of how the Group works with other national groups around child protection, including those who specifically deal with CCE, was developed and shared by the secretariat. The importance of avoiding duplication of efforts was acknowledged. The Group expressed an interest in clarifying the remit of different groups and ensuring greater clarity in how relevant linked issues would be raised and addressed in this and other forums. 

Consideration was given to engagement with survivors. It was highlighted that a number of different options may be used and learning is available to support this aspect: 

• Public Procurement and Property Children and Young People Participation Framework Agreement - Public Procurement and Property
• the work of The Survivors Trust was also signposted for consideration
• Children First Changemakers groups 
• the Lundy Method of engagement
• the development and involvement of lived experience in the creation of the Bairns’ Hoose Programme was acknowledged as a very powerful piece of work
• organisations supported by Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Fund (SOCAS)

There was also discussion of existing bodies that may be able to share their expertise, for example Cross Party Groups and organisations receiving funding from the Scottish Government’s Survivors of Childhood Abuse Fund (SOCAS).

It was noted that engagement with children with lived experience is already taking place in range of ways and the membership of this Group brings together professionals with substantial experience in supporting children who have experienced CSAE. Therefore it is important that members bring this knowledge to every meeting and deliberation to ensure the work and priorities of the Group are informed by the needs of victims and survivors.

The Group acknowledged the importance of making sure that methods of engagement don’t duplicate data or retraumatise survivors and that the Group may need to use different approaches at different times for different issues. It was agreed that at all times, the Group should seek to take the least intrusive means of engagement and the Group needs to be clear what specific information it is seeking and that it could find creative ways to engage relevant voices.

It was noted that one of the aspects of the Lundy model is influence and that survivors may wish to influence what this Group discusses.  It was agreed that it is important to give consideration to the views of survivors in forming this Group’s priorities. There was some discussion about how this might be achieved going forward including consideration of the opportunities and challenges of engagement. For example, it was noted that survivor experiences are each different, depending on community, age profile/ generation etc. The Group acknowledged that there is a clear requirement throughout the process of this Group that it demonstrates how it is listening to both the needs of survivors and the current experience of children and young people experiencing CSAE.

Actions:

• secretariat to approach the group of Directors of Public Health to seek a representative
• secretariat to provide more detailed information on other existing groups working on related issues and how they intersect and interact with the CSAE Group for consideration at a future meeting
• secretariat to update terms of reference on the basis of this discussion
• secretariat to arrange a session with Children First on engagement for the Group at a future meeting
• secretariat to collate views of membership on approaches to engagement with survivors on the priorities identified by the Group

Discussion of CELCIS evidence report on CSAE

CELCIS introduced the CSAE Summary Analysis Report published in November and shared a brief presentation with the Group. They reminded the Group that the report is a snapshot rather than a comprehensive literature review.

The presentation covered risk factors associated with CSAE, issues around under-reporting, the impact on victims, the growth of online abuse, access to recovery resources and the importance of the role of leadership. 

There was a short discussion amongst the Group reflecting on the research findings.

Discussion groups and feedback

Individual members of the Group were asked to contribute to an online poll to identify possible priorities for the CSAE Strategy Group before breaking into smaller discussion groups. Over thirty issues were identified with prevention, education, recovery emerging as key priorities.

Four breakout groups held separate discussions to consider priorities to feedback to the wider Group. Feedback from those discussions were shared with the wider Group. There was broad agreement on the importance of avoiding siloed working and that taking different approaches to different issues may be wise.

A number of groups highlighted the importance of prevention in different contexts for example:

• considering a ‘public health’ response to CSAE 
• CSAE risk factors can differ across communities, families and other settings (e.g. contact vs online vs institutional)
• education for those working with children to spot the signs of CSAE and educating children and parents of the risks
• improving the skills and confidence of the workforce across services in recognising and responding to CSAE should be a key outcome, while recognising the challenges of recruitment, retention, capacity and turnover leading to increased workloads and a loss of experience, knowledge and skills

There was some discussion of the need for enhanced data and reporting on CSAE, and recognition that there are some actions underway to address this, including work by Police Scotland. It was noted that it was important to identify what specific data gaps exist and to what extent they prevent action being taken on CSAE issues.

A number of groups highlighted the importance of recovery services and support for victims. It was noted that some services and local pathways are already taking action to address this need (e.g. Bairn’s Hoose, SARCS service) so further exploration is required to understand what is happening in other settings/ services in Scotland to both prevent duplication of effort and identify gaps where support or development work is required.

There was recognition of the digital challenges and that work may be required to develop the right tools to combat challenges in this space. It was noted there is a need to consider the drivers of demand for Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) increasingly shared online or via social media, and it was noted that organisations engaging with perpetrators can shed more light on these motivations. The role of the UK Government’s Online Safety Act (2023) was discussed, and the importance of the online safety regime being established by Ofcom.

Following discussions, individual members were again asked to contribute to a second poll to identify the key priorities for deeper consideration. Consensus on the initial priorities for the Group were agreed as:

• prevention through public health approaches and education
• multi-agency workforce development
• recovery services

Other areas of priority highlighted were:

• enhanced data and reporting on CSAE
• further exploration of recovery services
• drivers of demand for Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) increasingly shared online or via social media

Next steps

The Group agreed to establish ‘deep dives’ around the three areas identified as priorities, to capture existing best practice, scrutinise existing evidence and assess opportunities and ‘gaps’ for potential action that will be reported back to the Group. 

It was agreed that this will also include work to ensure there is clarity and agreement by the membership on what is understood by each of the priorities.

It was also noted that some other existing groups are already taking forward associated actions on these priority areas which can be linked into this approach.

Actions:

• secretariat and CELCIS to develop a proposed approach to ‘deep dive’ sessions to be agreed with membership
• group to begin consideration of ongoing work, existing learning, and further data and evidence against each of the priority areas

Closing

DCS Grant and the Group expressed thanks to Joanna MacDonald for her work as she leaves Scottish Government for a new role. It was noted that a new co-chair from the Scottish Government’s Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser (OCSWA) will be appointed as soon as possible.

The co-chairs noted the next Group meeting would take place in the following quarter with dates still to be agreed.

Action:

• secretariat to schedule next Group meeting