The AIM Project

1. 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. 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 Management: Whole school

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