Drummin' up a bit of business

From the BBC:

Teachers, social workers and the police are missing the warning signs of children being targeted for sexual exploitation, a charity has said. Barnardo's said children who were being groomed often appeared with unexplained gifts or started engaging in risky behaviour...

Barnardo's is currently working with more than 600 exploited children, is calling for professionals to be specially trained in spotting the tell-tale signs and knowing how to respond to them.

From Barnardo's press release:

The earlier that sexual exploitation, or likelihood of it, can be identified, the more opportunities there are to prevent or minimise the harm suffered by vulnerable children.

Barnardo’s is calling for:
- specialist training for professionals working with children in England - to help to them recognise and respond directly to the early signs of child sexual exploitation
- better co-ordination and information sharing between social services, health, education, specialist services and the police – to ensure the dots are joined in protecting those children at risk.

Barnardo’s provides education and training on a local level via Prevention Education Program (PEP) sessions for both young people in schools, pupil referral and residential units, and for social workers, youth workers and teachers across the UK. A four year partnership scheme between London Councils and Barnardo’s is currently being rolled out to ensure that children and their teachers in secondary schools are made aware of the dangers of exploitative relationships. However, this type of provision is not yet universal.