Each organisation will be responsible for embedding the roles and responsibilities within their respective organisations and ensuring that they are implemented effectively. This includes integrating these roles into existing protocols and training programmes. It will also require developing internal communication strategies to disseminate the roles and responsibilities and continue to monitor and evaluate the implementation process to ensure compliance and effectiveness. This requires commitment from all levels of the organisation from leadership to frontline staff. It is important that we:

• Recognise exploitation as a form of child abuse
• Respond promptly and appropriately
• Identify and refer concerns using agreed safeguarding and child protection pathways
• Share information in a timely, proportionate, and lawful manner in line with safeguarding policies and procedures
• Work collaboratively to assess and manage risk and plan interventions
• Promote trauma-informed and gender-conscious practice
• Challenge perceptions that children and young people who are exploited are perpetrators, rather than recognising them as victims of abuse and coercion.
• Support recovery and resilience, not just immediate protection.

"Check your framing: Are you actively applying a youth needs-led and trauma informed approach in your practice? Young people should be viewed as victims of harmful contexts first and their behaviours as part of a societal problem, not a youth problem. This will change how you approach your practice, requiring you to look for the why's beneath young people's behaviours and to tailor your response, led by young people's needs." Why Riot

In addition, partner agencies must understand the importance of active commitment to and meaningful contribution at meetings convened by other agencies. These meetings provide essential opportunities both to receive information relevant to each agency’s roles and responsibilities and to share information that supports a coordinated safeguarding response. Active participation ensures that no organisation works in isolation and that risk is understood and managed collectively.

Regular multi-agency meetings, joint training sessions, and clear information-sharing protocols are essential to ensure a comprehensive and coherent approach to protect children and young people from exploitation.

It is important to note that these roles may overlap in practice, and responsibilities can vary depending on local arrangements and specific case needs. The key is to maintain a child-centred approach, ensuring that the welfare and protection of the child or young person remains the primary focus across all practitioner assessments and interventions.

The following outline highlights the core responsibilities of agencies that may come into contact with children or young people who are at risk of, or currently experiencing, CCE. Although presented as a step-by-step process for clarity, it’s important to recognise that these stages may not occur in a fixed sequence. Risk assessment is a dynamic process. Continuous assessment and review are essential.

Children and young people’s experiences of exploitation are often complex and non­linear, so practitioners must respond flexibly and meet them where they are in their journey. Early identification is key. Agencies should aim to recognise signs of exploitation as soon as possible to prevent children and young people from experiencing more serious harm.