S.T. E. P. S

Seeing and Tackling Exploitations Prevalence and Stronghold

A Trauma Informed Exploitation Programme for Parents

S.T.E.P.S is a dynamic transformative, value for money punch in the gut programme designed to provide parents with a safe space to frankly discuss all aspects of grooming & exploitation and protection. It is delivered by a highly skilled and experienced senior social care practitioner with over 30 years’ experience of delivering, overseeing and commissioning services for vulnerable families.

There is an option for commissioning a psychologist to deliver an outreach package alongside and/or following the workshop/programme. The psychologist has a history of supporting social workers, parents and organisations to critically examine challenges that have kept them and their staff stuck. Her input will enable parents to feel ‘held’ during the programme, and for a limited time, during the outreach package. This

A key component of the programme is the poignant account of a parent who will be sharing his family’s negative experience of exploitation, serious youth violence and contact with the criminal justice system.

Parents will be supported to consider the links between childhood and/or trauma experienced in adulthood and how these impact the quality of parenting afforded to their children. Parents will be supported to identify early signs of trauma and grooming utilising group experiences and learning to identify strategies to better safeguard their children and families. The parent sharing his experience will provide invaluable insight into the ease with which exploitation consumes family life and enable reflection of family functioning/trauma that might have underpinned his child’s experience.

Feedback from parents from previous programmes have helped shape this programme with specific reference to their ignorance of the reality and inherent risks of peer and familial grooming. And this will be a crucial addition to this programme.

Parents will be encouraged to explore the myriad factors affecting children’s lived experiences including but not limited to neuro diversity, substance abuse, poor parental oversight, poverty, mental ill health etc

Key Ambitions of the Programme

  1. Introduction to the trauma informed approach & identification of personal trauma underpinning functioning
  2. Enhance understanding of childhood trauma, its long-term impacts, and children’s vulnerability to exploitation.
  3. Identification of grooming tactics and early signs of abuse to develop trauma informed responses that align with stable family homes
  4. Illuminate commonly used language and terminology adopted by exploiters
  5. Eliminate feelings of shame and fear and parental isolation
  6. Give parents a voice in a safe space that encourages frank conversations & reflection.
  7. Enhance identification and understanding of risk factors to promote collaborative safety planning and effective family safeguarding strategies and practices.
  8. Establish a structure for parent-to-parent support post programme

Rationale for This Programme

  1. Government focus on serious youth violence
  2. Rise in referrals to social care agencies
  3. Increasing number of young people coming into contact with the criminal justice system
  4. Escalation of serious youth violence and harmful behaviours negatively impacting children’s life chances
  5. Evidence of younger children and young girls being arrested for offences deemed extra familial harm related.

Get In Touch

For more information or any questions about S.T. E. P. S, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We endeavour to respond within two working days.