SOCIAL WORK & CHILDREN’S SERVICES


Culture change needed to tackle child sex abuse


John Cameron, head of the NSPCC helpline, discusses the need for a culture change in the way government, local authorities and agencies tackle sex abuse and exploitation.


T


he shocking report by Professor Alexis Jay that found that more than 1,400 young


people were intimidated, sexually exploited and deeply harmed in Rotherham over a 16- year period has had a huge impact, but has also highlighted the challenge faced by society in keeping children safe from abuse.


The study also revealed a ‘collective blindness’ to the suffering of children at senior political and officer leadership level in the South Yorkshire town. Following the release of the Jay report, council leader Roger Stone stepped down immediately.


He was then followed by the authority’s chief executive Martin Kimber, then Shaun Wright, the South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner (PCC) who was the councillor responsible for children’s services in Rotherham between 2005 and 2010, left after a few weeks of intense pressure.


Joyce Thacker, Rotherham council’s director of children’s services, was the last senior manager to leave her job following the scandal (more on page 27).


Regaining public confidence


Speaking to PSE about Rotherham and the lessons that can be learned, John Cameron, head of the helpline at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), said: “It is right and proper that people have considered their positions, but what we’ve got to do in these types of circumstances is make sure that public confidence isn’t entirely shattered.


“It’s a big worry. People in Rotherham, for 30 | public sector executive Oct/Nov 14


example, might say the whole of social services are rotten to the core. That’s not the case, and there have been significant improvements in Rotherham’s services across recent years. We’ve got to make sure that the public have confidence in those agencies that are supporting their children or other children in the community.”


Councils need robust senior managers and a strong message; one of “we know there is a problem; we know what the problem is; we are working on it; and this is the way forward because we are going to drive service excellence”.


Closer working with outside agencies like the NSPCC, as has happened in Rotherham, can make it easier for people to come forward and report abuse anonymously and confidentially.


“For senior managers to work with other agencies is an important way of demonstrating openness and transparency,” said Cameron. “The comments I have made about Rotherham apply to other authorities as well; I know that a number of senior managers are looking at the lessons learned from Rotherham and are making sure that they have got very good practices in place.


“Social work is one of the most demanding jobs and sectors around, especially in children’s services, and there is an expectation that social workers and police officers should never fail. But managing risk, by definition, is a risky business and it takes a very strong personality to be able to manage and work in that type of environment.


“There is a lot of good practice going on, but


it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t develop that practice and strive for continual evolution and improvement on quality.”


Complex matter


Cameron stated that child sexual exploitation is a very complex matter and Rotherham has illustrated how sexual exploitation is beginning to change.


“Rotherham highlighted that child sexual exploitation is becoming more organised, with groups of men grooming and procuring children,” he said. “They not only abuse them for self-gratification, but for financial gain, by forcing them into prostitution. In terms of police and social care operations, it clearly highlights the complexity, and the manner in which it is well organised means that you’ve got to have excellent working relationships between police and children’s services.”


PSE was told that councils must not only challenge the criminality but also offer support to the victims. Rotherham highlighted just how many victims were not listened to, and that official culture has to change to one where children have a voice and are taken seriously.


That official culture must be open to realising that children can be victims even when they don’t present as such because their behaviour seems confusing, unreliable and contradictory.


“The challenge is engaging with young children in the future, particularly some of those very hard-to-reach young people who are victims of sexual abuse,” said Cameron. “And that means we’ve got to be far more proactive in reaching out and trying to identify those children. That


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