More than 70 Shropshire children at risk of sexual exploitation

The figures have come from a report detailing the efforts taken by Shropshire Council to prevent the youngsters from coming to harm.

The report from Compass, an initiative set up by the council as the single point of contact for people with concerns about child welfare, states that more than 40 of the children affected have been allocated social workers, while the situation concerning all children involved is monitored.

Shropshire Council’s People Overview Committee will assess the report tomorrow.

It states: “At present in Shropshire, Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is an identified risk for 72 children, mostly females. Only five are male and some of these children are children who are placed here from other local authorities.”

Out of the 72 children affected 30 are considered at low risk, 30 at medium risk, 11 at high risk and one as “being exploited”.

The report states: “All children who are identified at risk of CSE are tracked to ensure that the risk level is being appropriately managed and that the work being carried out with these children is effective and reducing the risk.

“All the children identified at a risk level medium and above have been allocated social workers and their risk addressed either through children in need plans or child protection plans.

“The child who is identified as ‘being exploited’ is a Shropshire child placed in a specialist care facility out of county.”

It adds: “She is not currently being exploited but she has been groomed to such an extent that if she were to go missing she could easily fall prey to perpetrators who would recognise her vulnerability.”

Councillors will be told about the efforts to ensure children are safe, including weekly triage meetings to discuss new referrals and their level of risk.

The meetings also include discussions of any case where risk has dropped or increased, and a tracker to assess the level of risk for every child referred into safeguarding because of child sexual exploitation.

Councillors will also receive an update on the feedback the authority received following its Ofsted inspection.

The inspectors said: “The local authority has undertaken significant work to safeguard children at risk of child sexual exploitation, built on well-established strategic and operational relationships with partners such as West Mercia Police.

“This has enabled rigorous responses to safeguard children and young people who go missing or who are at risk of sexual exploitation.”