Give them knowledge and hope, not fear: Guidance for delivering education to children and young people on child exploitation, county lines and related crime.

This report is published alongside our Youth voice insights into education on exploitation report. The resource is available here.

• The police staff responsible for delivering educational content should maintain a regular, visible presence in school rather than only doing so following incidents requiring police intervention or formal sessions. Consistency supports familiarity, reduces fear and builds trust.
• Prioritise getting to know the young people you work with and take a genuine interest in the things they are into. Enable them to get to know you too (in a boundaried and professional way). Authentic connection strengthens engagement and helps you to pick up on risks and behaviour that is out of the ordinary, while also enabling a young person to feel safe in talking to you if they need to.
• Be mindful of and sensitive to the ways in which previous interactions with police may impact young people’s readiness to engage with you, and how trauma may present in their responses and behaviour, including anger and aggression.
• Gradual, relationship-based approaches to educating young people can help them understand the realities of exploitation and the tactics of criminals and perpetrators, grounded in safety rather than fear. This can be achieved by:
• being open to discussions and opportunities to educate and inform outside of structured sessions
• using ice breaker activities to include an element of play and fun in between the serious topics you are there to discuss, and to increase engagement
• spreading content over multiple sessions or days
• prioritising discussing and enhancing young people’s ability to recognise healthy relationships. Focusing on what ‘good’ looks like and fostering young people’s confidence and assertiveness to identify and expect this can be just as impactful, if not more so than teaching them about risks and what to avoid.
• There should be careful consideration of who is best placed to deliver content on exploitation and related crime to the specific young people in question. This may not be the police. Where it is the police, however, officers delivering it should have:
• received exploitation-specific training
• received training on trauma and its impact
• an awareness of appropriate language in this context, and the importance of avoiding and challenging victim blaming  language and practice, including when educating young people
• experience working directly with children and young people, and the relational skills needed to communicate effectively 
• the right training to manage exploitation and abuse-related disclosures 
• an understanding of relevant local support services and pathways which young people can access where needed.

They only talk about knife crime in school … and say don't stab people. They tell us stuff we are know.

Before delivery

• Consider communicating with parents or carers ahead of the session to let them know it is taking place, that their child may have questions afterwards, and signpost them to information to aid these conversations and their own learning (alongside contact details for relevant support services, such as Childline and SafeCall for young people and the Iverson Trust for parents and carers).
• Consider whether you need to wear uniform when delivering as just seeing the uniform can act as a barrier for some young people.
• Consider providing school staff, including teachers and pastoral leads, with an overview of the session content, or where possible deliver preparatory training to them to ensure they are able to appropriately respond to any questions, disclosures, or issues raised by young people after the session.
• Agree roles during the session with teachers and pastoral leads well in advance, including who will handle disclosures, how staff will check in on young people, and what immediate support is available.

Prepare young people by:

• outlining content themes and helping them know what to expect
• providing ‘trigger warnings’ regarding the content that you will cover and ensuring that young people can step out of the session if needed
• reminding them there will be set breaks and clearly outline what time these breaks will happen.

Set some ground rules with the group.

This could include:

• encouraging young people to be respectful and to listen to each other’s point of view
• reminding young people that what’s discussed in the room stays in the room. 

Remind young people about confidentiality, and how you might need to break this if you are worried about their or someone else’s safety. Also reassure them that you would talk to them first before doing so.

This might sound like:

• “What we discuss in this room is confidential, but if you tell us something that makes us worried about you or another young person, we would need to make sure everyone is safe by following this up. If we needed to take anything outside of this room, we will always tell you first.”

I wasn't told they were coming, just you know, you get there and … woah.

Young person

During delivery

• Ensure clear signposting within the content. Helping young people understand where they can go to get help is one of the most important things you can provide. 
  • Explain where they can go and who they can speak to if they are impacted by the content, or need further advice and support. This should include a point of contact within the school, as well as independent and confidential options such as Childline[JS1]  and SafeCall.
  • Explain what actions the police will take to safeguard young people experiencing exploitation and that you will not blame them for this.
• Don’t focus on or become distracted by how young people present or behave, and instead make space for them to express what they think and how they feel. They might giggle, appear to be uninterested or bored, or act in a way you feel is disruptive. This might be because they are nervous, unsure what to expect or may be finding the content difficult. Calmly move the conversation on where needed or redirect the young person’s energy by positively engaging with them, for example by asking for their views and then taking these seriously. 

Not every child will be able to sit and listen to a presentation, particularly if there are no videos or pictures.

• Some young people may use victim blaming language towards each other or about others. Be prepared for this and think about how you can gently challenge without disengaging young people. Some phrases you could use include:
  • "I can see your point of view, and at the same time I feel..."
  • "That's an interesting point, I wonder what others in the room think about..."

After delivery

• Provide:  
  • one-to-one sessions for any young people who need them
  • information on where young people can go for to get help for themselves or others
  • a pathway for parents or carers to be informed or involved where appropriate.
• Invite feedback:
  • Encourage young people to share what they liked and didn't like about the session, either through fun activities or surveys, and adapt your future content based on what they tell you. This will lead to better quality and more engaging sessions.

Do not use ‘shock tactics’ or show distressing images or films. This includes:

• ‘Trap houses’ or ‘drug dens’.
• Drug paraphernalia.
• Crime scene images or footage.
• Police and immigration raids.
• Explicit violence or images of weapons, including knives. 
• Scenes of sexual abuse.

In primary and secondary schools we would have an assembly…. about the dangers in online spaces, we would be shown scary videos but they sometimes had the opposite effect.

Avoid victim blaming language and messages:

• Move away from messages framed as making better or safer choices.
• Reflect the realities of coercion and manipulation, and the ways these can be used by perpetrators to convince victims that exploitation and abuse is their fault or something they have chosen.
• Avoid fear based messaging which ‘warns’ young people of consequences. Doing so actively discourages young people from telling someone about their experiences and getting help.
• Make clear that a child should never be blamed for their abuse.

If someone’s going through it (exploitation) don’t make them feel like they’re in the wrong, like in the video the boy seemed like he was in the wrong, if you were being exploited this would stop you telling anyone.

Ensure the pace and structure of the session is accessible and engaging. This includes:

• making time for regular short breaks and ‘check in’ points
• making sure all resources used are accessible for neurodivergent participants (for example, providing different colour and font options)
• creating activities where young people can move around the room.

Consider that young people are experts in their own lives and often know more about the topics you are there to educate them on than you think. Avoid talking down to them and create spaces where young people can educate and inform each other. Guided group discussions and reflections can sometimes be more powerful than a professional or ‘expert’ delivering a message.

Engaging, relevant delivery

• Use immersive, story-based, relatable formats.
• Avoid overuse of slang terms. This prevents the content from dating quickly.
• Ensure that content is relevant to and appropriate for the demographic you are presenting to (i.e. that it reflects their local area, accents and ages where possible).
• Ensure the content is up to date and informed by the latest insights, as child exploitation and associated crime is always changing. Do not just stick to tried and tested materials.