Sexual Health and Relationships
REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
The Health and Well-being Standard
Regulation 10
Amendment
These chapters were updated in September 2023 and should be re-read throughout.
The Home’s manager should ensure that children are provided with suitable, good quality, up to date information, support and advice on matters relating to sexual health and relationships. This information should supplement what is provided through the school/educational setting.
Such information and advice must be provided in a manner appropriate to children's age and understanding.
Before providing such information and advice, the manager/adults must consult the social worker and, if possible, parents or those with parental responsibility to ensure it is provided in the context of the child’s background and needs. Any specific requirements must be incorporated into the child’s safety plan.
The Brook Traffic Light Tool is a useful assessment tool that helps assess the level of risk children present associated with a particular sexual behaviour. All managers who are trained in the Brook Traffic Light system will use this within safety planning analysis and this information will inform the adults as to how to best support the child. This will also be incorporated in the child’s safety plan.
Adults must adopt a non-judgemental attitude toward children, particularly as they mature and develop an awareness of their bodies and their sexuality.
Children who are confused about their sexual identity or indicate they have a preference must be afforded equal access to accurate information, education and support.
As necessary this must be addressed in the child's safety plan.
The use of online filters can help to ensure that younger children do not accidentally access pornographic or sexual images online. See UK Safer Internet for more information.
Older children are likely to be curious about sex and relationships and may search online for pornographic or sexual material. It is important that adults have an open discussion with children about pornographic images and the impact that viewing these can have on them and their own developing relationships. The NSPCC has produced comprehensive guidance for parents and carers on how to talk to children about online porn and healthy relationships.
For more information, please see Online porn - Advice on how to talk to your child about the risks of online porn and sexually explicit material (NSPCC).
Children under the age of 13 are deemed to be incapable of giving consent to sexual activity. Therefore, children of this age who engage in sexual activity must be referred under Safeguarding Children Procedures (as a Child Protection Referral) as potentially suffering from Significant Harm.
When considering matching children over the age of 13, the manager must assess the risk of sexual relationships developing and should ensure strategies are in place to reduce or prevent these risks if they are likely to be exploitative or abusive.
Where children aged 13 - 18 are living together with no identified risk of exploitative or abusive behaviour, the manager and adults must monitor any developing relationships, and sensitively but positively discourage children from engaging in under-age sexual relationships.
Overall, adults should be mindful of their duty to consider the overall welfare of children and this includes working to minimise risks and consequences of any sexual activity between young people living in the Home. If there is any suspicion that a child is engaging in illegal behaviour it must be discussed with the social worker.
When adults suspect children are engaging in sexual relationships, they should:
- Ensure the basic safety of all the children concerned;
- Notify the Home’s manager, who should notify/consult relevant social workers and consider reviewing the child's safety plan;
- Record all events in the Daily Log, relevant child's Daily Record. If required an incident report should be completed.
Should adults discover children engaging in sexual relationships, they should:
- Ensure the basic safety of all children concerned (if necessary, adults may consider removal of one or more child);
- Inform the Home’s manager, who should notify/consult relevant social workers and consider reviewing the child's Placement Plan;
- Record all events in the Daily Log, relevant child's Daily Record. If required an Incident Report should be completed.
If the incident is serious or persistent, the Home's manager should be notified and consideration given to whether the incident is a Notifiable Event, see Notification of Serious Events Procedure.
Access to contraceptives should not be conditional on children giving information about their lifestyles, and contraception will never be withdrawn as a punitive measure.
If children in the Home are engaging in sexual activity adults must take reasonable steps to minimise the risk of pregnancy or infection. This could include facilitating contact with relevant agencies providing contraceptive advice; such as the Brook Advisory Service or local Sexual Health Services.
Matters of concern must be discussed with the social worker and addressed in safety plans.
If a child is suspected or known to be pregnant the manager should talk to the child about who should be informed and what support the child may require to promote their own and the unborn baby's welfare.
The child's social worker and parent(s) should be informed and should collaborate with the child in drawing up a suitable plan for the promotion of the welfare of the parent to be and the unborn child. However, a child may request that parent(s) are not informed.
In all cases where there are any concerns that the pregnant child or the unborn child is suffering or likely to suffer Significant Harm, the manager must discuss it with the child's social worker with a view to making a safeguarding referral. In these circumstances it must be explained to the child why their request for confidentiality cannot be agreed. See Safeguarding Children and Referring Safeguarding Concerns Procedure.
In cases where there are no safeguarding concerns, the child should be encouraged to inform their social worker and parents. Where the child is sixteen, however, a request to keep the pregnancy confidential from their parents may be respected. Where a child under the age of sixteen requests confidentiality, it may be possible to agree this if the child is of an age and level of understanding to make such an informed decision.
See Consents and Delegated Authority Procedure.
Where a child wishes to terminate a pregnancy, the social worker must be notified/consulted with a view to providing advice, counselling and support by suitably qualified independent counsellors.
If the termination goes ahead, the manager must ensure that the child's privacy is protected and any physical or emotional needs are addressed sensitively.
The following should be read in conjunction with relevant Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation Procedures.
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of sexual abuse. When a child or young person has been exploited in this way, they are often given things, like gifts, drugs, money, status and affection, and are then expected to perform sexual activities in a transactional approach. Children and young people may also have been groomed where they are tricked into believing they have a consensual and loving relationship; they will often trust their abuser and not understand that they're being abused.
Children and young people have been trafficked into or within the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Young people who have been coerced to join a gang can also be sexually exploited.
Abusers may use intimidating behaviour, threats to harm family or friends, or violence to force a child or young person, leading to children feeling as though they have no choice. They may also be given money or goods which they are later told were just a loan, which can't be repaid and use this to control them.
Children and young people who are exploited may also be used by perpetrators to encourage other children to join their groups.
The manager and all adults must be alert to signs of sexual exploitation and should do all they can to create an environment which encourages children to be open about their experiences and which offers them support.
Where there is any suspicion that a child is being sexually exploited, it should be addressed in the child's Safety Plan.
Where children living the Home are being sexually exploited, their social worker must be notified, and the Home's manager must make a notification to Ofsted and the police. See Notification of Significant Events Procedure.
See also: Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation Procedures.
Also see: Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) Procedure.
If it is known or suspected that a child has a sexually transmitted infection the Home’s manager and social worker must be informed and decide what measures to take.
The child should be referred, with the parents’ consent, if possible, to the local Sexual Health Clinic, who will provide the child and adults with advice, counselling, testing and other support.
Only those immediate carers of the child who need to know will be informed of any suspicion or the outcome of any tests and the strategies or measures to be adopted.
Other children in the Home should only be informed if there is a direct risk to them; for example, if the infected child deliberately attempts to infect them.
The only other individuals who will be told are the child's GP and Health Visitor.
Before disclosing to any other agency or individual, the following criteria must be satisfied
- The child (where appropriate) and the parents have given their written consent to the disclosure;
- The disclosure would be in the best interests of the child;
- Those receiving the information are aware of its confidential nature.
The permission of the child aged 16 or over must be given before testing.
If a child under 16 has sufficient age and understanding, their permission must be given before testing.
Wherever possible, the consent of the parents should be obtained. In order for parents to be able to participate in decision-making, they must be provided with adequate information and given appropriate support including access to counselling both before the test and in the event of a positive diagnosis.
Where parental consent is not forthcoming, but there is a clear medical recommendation that testing is in the child's best interests, legal advice should be obtained as to whether the test can proceed.
It is accepted that masturbation is part of normal sexual behaviour but children must be positively encouraged to undertake such activities in private and in a manner which is not harmful to themselves or other people.
The following should be read in conjunction with relevant Caldecott Safeguarding Children Procedures for the area in which the Home is located.
The possibility of child-on-child abuse should always be taken seriously. However, it is important not to label or stigmatise normal sexual exploration and experimentation between children.
Sexual behaviour is not necessarily a cause for concern unless it is compulsive, coercive, age-inappropriate or between children of significantly different ages, maturity or mental abilities.
If at any time adults suspect children are engaged in abusive sexual relationships as perpetrators and/or victims, they must immediately inform the Home’s manager, who must consult the social worker and make a referral under the Safeguarding Children and Referring Safeguarding Concerns Procedure.
Consideration should be given by the Home’s manager as to whether a Notifiable Event has occurred, see Notification of Significant Events Procedure.
Legislation, Statutory Guidance and Government Non-Statutory Guidance
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Last Updated: September 14, 2023
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