October 2023
The September 2023 news page and previous news items are available by month of publication from the menu on the right.
Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership circulate monthly E-Bulletins; if you would like to be included on the distribution list, please email sscp@salford.gov.uk.
All enquiries concerning the welfare or safety of a child or requests for information MUST BE SENT DIRECTLY to the Bridge Partnership.
The Bridge Partnership can be contacted on 0161 603 4500. All referrals and requests for support must be completed on the online referral form. The Bridge Partnership is available Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm. If you need to speak to someone outside these times, please contact the Emergency Duty Team (EDT) on 0161 794 8888. If a child is in immediate danger of being harmed or is home alone, call the police on 999.
For any problems related to the portal contact worriedaboutachild@salford.gov.uk
If you are worried about an adult - Report abuse or neglect by telephone on: 0161 206 0604. For further information visit the safeguarding adults page.
Child Sexual Abuse
Working together to prevent sexual abuse and and protect children from its harm, remains a priority for the SSCP. Last month the SSCP published a 3 year Child Sexual Abuse Strategy 2023-2026. This outlined how the Partnership intends to achieve specific improvements, in respect of the work of all agencies who work with children and young people, affected by CSA in Salford.
This month there are a number of articles which have been gathered to support professionals in increasing their understanding of and response to CSA. See the information below for useful links to further information.
NSPCC Articles
Online sexual abuse report from the Internet Watch Foundation (18 September 2023): The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published an article which reports a rise in children tricked into sharing sexual images of themselves by individuals intending to extort money or further imagery from them. The IWF found that in the first six months of 2023, reports of confirmed child sexual abuse involving ‘sextortion’ rose by 257% compared with the whole of 2022. The report found that older teenagers, aged 14 to 17-years-old were the most at risk. Read the article: Hotline reports ‘shocking’ rise in the sextortion of boys
Child abuse images Home Office joint statement 26 September 2023):
The Home Office has released a joint statement with the United States Government committing to unite to develop and fund new solutions to tackle the rise in AI-generated sexual abuse images of children.
Read the news story: UK and US pledge to combat AI-generated images of child abuse
Read/Download the statement: Combatting child sexual abuse and exploitation
Harmful sexual behaviour article (The Guardian and Lucy Faithfull Foundation, 26 September 2023): The Guardian has published an article highlighting concerns that access to extreme pornography is leading to a rise in harmful sexual behaviour in children, including the accessing of child sexual abuse material. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has seen a 32% increase in under-18s contacting them about their sexual thoughts or behaviour, and a 26% rise in adults contacting them because they were concerned about the behaviour of a young person. To address this they have launched a website called Shore, an anonymous chat and email service for teenagers aged 13-18 who are worried about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviour.
Read the news story: Pornography driving UK teens towards child abuse material, say experts
Read the press release: Launching our pioneering website Shore to help teenagers tackle harmful sexual behaviour
To access more articles and NSPCC learning visit the NSPCC Learning homepage - safeguarding training and resources.
CSARP campaign partner assets
The campaign to raise awareness of the Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel will run from Monday 18 September to Friday 13 October. During that time we are asking police forces along with partners and stakeholders from across the vulnerability sector to join with us in reaching survivors of child sexual abuse whose case may qualify to be reviewed by the CSARP.
Below are assets you are welcome to use on your internal and external channels. If there is anything not available that you would like to see please contact the team via hydrantenquiries@southyorks.pnn.police.uk
Within the Partner Pack you will find suggested posts to accompany the social media assets supplied.
Find out more: Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel
View campaign material: CSARP campaign material
Resident Survey: What Matters to You
Every two years Salford City Council asks residents about key priorities. These priorities shape how the council plans the annual budget and allocates resources.
These priorities are currently being refreshed to ensure they continue to reflect the needs and aspirations of local people and communities.
Salford City Council are committed to ensuring residents are at the heart of everything and this survey provides residents with an opportunity to get involved and have their say on the things that matter most to them. The survey deadline is Monday 27 November 2023.
Survey link: https://shaping.salford.gov.uk
Black History Month
Black History Month (BHM) is the annual celebration of the history, achievements, and contributions of black people in the UK. This year’s theme is ‘Saluting our Sisters’ highlighting the vital role that black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities.
The aim of the month is to raise awareness of the invaluable contributions of black people throughout the world, educate people on black history and ensure it’s represented and celebrated all year round, and encourage people to take action to tackle racism, inequity, and racial discrimination.
To see whats happening locally visit the CVS Black History Month events page.
National Hate Crime Awareness Week
A hate crime is defined as 'Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.'
A hate incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, alternative sub-culture (the way they dress or their lifestyle) or because they are transgender (Greater Manchester Police hate crime webpage).
National Hate Crime Awareness Week takes place 14th – 21st October 2023. You will find lots of information and resources on the National Hate Crime Awareness Week website and ideas on getting involved. You might also see the hashtag #NATIONALHCAW on social media and Stop Hate UK is continuing to spread the message of #SpreadLoveNotHate
You can report any form of hate crime anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or phone the police's non-emergency reporting number on 101. In an emergency ring 999.
True Vision is a national website set up by government for people to report hate crime. The information is collated and then passed to the victims local police force for action.
There are also community reporting centres where people can report hate crime or talk about their concerns. See the Salford City Council Hate Crime Information page for more details.
In case you missed it!
Last month the SSCP published a number of new 7 Minute Briefings. Click on the headings to access the 7 minute briefings or visit the 7 minute briefing web page for these and plain text versions.
Learning from local and national reviews has highlighted that practitioners could do more to try to fully understand the impact of cultural identity on the daily lived experience of children. The SSCP recently published its Cultural Consciousness guidance and has now developed a 7 Minute Briefing to go alongside it.
Learning from local case reviews in Salford tells us that sometimes we need to look beyond the surface of what is presented to us to find out what is really going on in a child or young person’s life. Asking the right questions even if you don’t feel comfortable doing so, being ready to listen to the answers and act on what you hear, can really make a difference to a child’s life. Find out more in this 7 Minute Briefing and watch this space for further resources.
The SSCP have developed a new 7MB based on the learning from a recent thematic audit about families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Find out more about how you can help families who are struggling with homelessness or financial issues by viewing this 7 Minute Briefing.
Equality and Diversity Statement
Our vision is to make Salford a fair and inclusive city where everyone has an equal voice, access to services and opportunities, and are included and represented in decisions that affect them, irrespective of their age, disability status, ethnicity, faith, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation or socio-economic background. Salford has a strong commitment to tackling inequality which is reflected in The Salford Way, a city-wide approach to ensure partners work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Salford for all. A key part of this approach is the Salford Equality Strategy our catalyst for change to ensure we work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Salford for all.
All partners of the SSCP are required to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are a thread through all our priorities/activity, as are the views and voices of young people.
Latest news
Details of all the latest news from the Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership.