1. School Responses to Children with Sexually Harmful Behaviours
The AIM Project
School Responses to Children with Sexually Harmful Behaviours

2. The AIM Project
An inter agency project working across 10 Local Authority areas and key agencies in Greater Manchester in respect of children and young people (and their families) who display sexually harmful behaviour to develop professional, multi-agency, appropriate and consistent responses.

3. Core: Aims and Objectives
Develop policies and procedures
A common framework of response
Develop a range of assessment models
Develop a range of interventions
Provide training and support mechanisms
De-mystify this area of work

4. AIM - Inter-Agency Working
Break down barriers between agencies in order to work more effectively to achieve wider goals than any single agency can encompass
Children and young people’s needs are often complex and require an inter woven response by a range of agencies and disciplines as equal partners aligned to a common purpose
Dependent on clear, efficient processes at and between levels of strategic management and operational implementation
Good inter-agency work is more than the sum of its parts
Education’s role is key

5. Education Guidelines
Aim: To help education staff feel more informed and confident in identifying, understanding and managing sexual behaviour problems in education settings
Objectives:
To provide information from research and practice
To provide checklists and tools for recording and evaluating sexual behaviour
To look at managing risks and meeting needs on a whole school / college basis, as well as work with individual pupils

6. Education Guidelines Content
Understanding section
Definitions and characteristics of healthy, problematic and harmful sexual behaviours
Information from research and practice
Assessment section
Checklists / Outcomes / Interventions
Guidance for Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Initial Responses for Staff
Talking to Parents / Carers

7. Education Guidelines Content
Management Section
Whole School / College
Individual Work
Specific Issues
Risk and Needs
Appendices
Monitoring Form
Timeline / Chronology
Safety and Support Plan, including Contract
Resources / References

8. Understanding: Younger Children
The younger the child, with more serious behaviours, the more likely that they will have witnessed or experienced highly sexualised environment or actual abuse
Have experienced disturbed or disrupted sexual development where a child’s emotional and physical space is routinely violated
Adult sexual activity has overwhelmed their developing sexuality; the behaviour is a way of diffusing tension, confusion and anxiety

9. Understanding: Adolescents
Home Office statistics: 30% of all sexual offences are committed by young people
Peak age 15 years
97% are male
Most young people who sexually abuse will abuse someone known to them
As with other types of adolescent offending most young people do not go on to offend sexually as adults
Recidivism studies vary from 7% to 14%

10. Understanding: Learning Disabilities
Over represented in criminal statistics
More closely monitored and less social opportunities
Less sophisticated and more likely to be caught and admit
More impulsive, i.e. public places
More repetitive and habitual in choice of victim
Indifference to the social taboos around sexual behaviour
May relate on a psychosocial level to younger children whose functional age is similar to their own
However, there may be a reluctance to refer this group by professionals

11. Understanding: Autistic Spectrum
Less likely to be involved in the more serious or violent sexual offences
More involved in masturbation in public places, inappropriate touching of own/ others private parts
More likely to be impulsive, due to frustration rather than planned
Ability levels important

12. Assessment: Checklist
Can be used to evaluate individual incidents or a series of incidents retrospectively, are a guide for decision making about level of concern/ intervention
Need to be checked against all 8 factors otherwise only a partial assessment
If limited information available they should provide a prompt for the information that needs to be gathered

13. Assessment: Checklist
1.Type of sexual behaviour
2. Context of behaviour
3. Young person’s response when challenged about their behaviour
4. Response of others
5. Relationship between the children / young people / targeted adult
6. Persistence of the behaviour
7. Other behavioural problems
8. Background information known

14. Healthy / OK Sexual Behaviours
Mutual
Consensual
Choice
Exploratory
No intent to cause harm
Fun / humorous
No power differentials

15. Problematic Sexual Behaviours
Not age appropriate
One off incident or low key touching over clothes
Peer pressure
Spontaneous rather than planned
Self directed; masturbation
Other balancing factors; no intent to cause harm, level of understanding, acceptance of responsibility
Other children irritated or uncomfortable but not scared, they feel free to tell someone
Parents / carers concerned, supportive

16. Harmful Sexual Behaviours
Not age appropriate
Elements of planning, secrecy, force, coercion
Power differentials; size, age, status, strength
The response of others; fear, anxiety, discomfort
Blames others
Frequent incidents or increasing frequency and disproportionate to other aspects of their lives
Not easily distracted, compulsive despite intervention
Other difficult behaviours, conduct disorders, anger, poor peer relationships

17. Outcomes
Step one: Take each of the 8 checklist factors and decide which of the healthy / problematic / harmful behaviours, the observed or reported sexual behaviour(s) most resemble. This gives an outcome for each factor
Step Two: Put all 8 outcomes together to get an overall outcome for the sexual behaviour(s).
Step Three: Guidance re: referral on / level of intervention

18. Guide Healthy – no need for intervention
Problematic Low – Home / Ed liaison
Problematic Medium – Discussion with Social Care
Harmful – Referral to Social Care

19. Management: Whole school
Prevention: Ethos, Curriculum and pastoral work, modelling respect, privacy and personal space, risk assessment of the environment – hotspots
Polices: Integration with Child Protection / Safeguarding Policy and other policies
Training: For all education staff and governors

20. Management: Specific Issues
Identified lead person
Looked after children
Recording and pattern mapping
Supervision
Working with education colleagues / external agencies
Dealing with the impact on the victim
Protection of other pupils
Working with parents
Threats from other pupils
Exclusions
Work experience
Transitions
Internet and mobile phones

21. Management: Individual work
Links with the National Curriculum and Key Stages
Safety and support plans
Suggestions for exercises