Target population

Multiple-agency partnerships to assess the extent to which they currently enable effective responses to harmful sexual behaviours (HSB) exhibited by pupils in schools and other educational settings.

Delivery organisation

Beyond Referrals for multi-agencies was developed Contextual Safeguarding Network; a team within the International Centre at the University of Bedfordshire. The International Centre is committed to researching child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking, by conducting academic research with children and young people. The creation of Beyond Referrals for multi-agencies is supported by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

Mode and context of delivery

Beyond Referrals for multi-agencies is an online tool designed for multi-agency partnerships to explore their response to HSB exhibited by pupils in schools and other educational settings. The tool is available online and agencies can utilise it as and when necessary. A parallel tool has been designed for schools and other educational settings to enable a collaborative approach to identifying contextual enablers and barriers to addressing HSB, and to ensure a collaborative implementation of new response measures.

Level/Nature of staff expertise required (e.g. professional background)

The Contextual Safeguarding Network do not specify any prerequisites to using the tool. As the tool requires exploration of an agency’s current safeguarding policies and procedures, prior knowledge of these would be helpful. Similarly, it is important for an agency to have a good working relationship with relevant schools and other educational settings, as well as with other agencies involved.

Intensity/extent of engagement with target group(s)

As the tool is freely available online and does not need to be completed within a set time, it can be used at an agency’s own pace. However, the greater the time spent dedicated to exploring each response area below, and the greater the number of assessment methods used, the greater the understanding of the facility’s current response level to HSB will be.

Description of intervention

Beyond referrals for multi-agencies is a traffic-light tool designed for agencies to use to assess their current response level to HSB exhibited by pupils in schools and other educational settings. It has been developed to complement and link with the NSPCC Harmful Sexual Behaviour framework and associated tools designed to support schools specifically with this practice in this area. The NSPCC’s HSB framework aims to encourage multiagency approaches to working with these young people and their families in the most effective, non-judgmental way possible. The NSPCC audit, which accompanies the framework, is a practical tool that local areas can use at a systemic level to assess their current responses to HSB across the entire workforce (health, social care, education etc.) and come together to formulate a consistent and coherent way forward to address the concerns and needs of children and young people who display HSB. When undertaking the NSPCC HSB framework audit, multi-agency partnerships can use this Beyond Referrals resource to assess and record the educational sector’s response to HSB and feed this into the wider workforce HSB framework audit.

There are four key response areas outlined on the traffic light tool, for the agency to explore and score: Structures and Systems, Prevention, Identification and Response and Intervention. Within each areas (otherwise known as ‘levers’), there are different factors that make up that response.