Sexual Health and Relationships

Home Managers must ensure that children are provided with suitable, good quality, up to date, information 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 and which is provided in a creative, child friendly manner.

Before providing such information and advice, Home Managers must consult social workers and, if possible, parents or those with Parental Responsibility to ensure it is provided in the context of children's backgrounds and needs; and any specific arrangements must be incorporated into the child's Placement Plans.

Staff must adopt a non-judgemental attitude toward children, particularly as they mature and develop an awareness of their bodies and sexuality.

Staff must adopt the same approach to children who explore or are confused about their sexual identity or who have decided to embrace a particular lifestyle so long as it is not abusive or illegal.

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 to enable them to move forward positively.

As necessary this must be addressed in Placement Plans.

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 young people are likely to be curious about sex and relationships and may search for online for pornographic or sexual material. It is important that staff have an open discussion with young people about pornographic images and the impact that viewing these can have on young people and their own developing relationships. The NSPCC have produced comprehensive guidance for parents and carers on how to talk to young people 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.

Home Managers must be alert to such relationships when considering the placement of children under 13. Children of this age who are likely to be at risk from each other (or from older children) should not be placed together. See Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns Procedure.

When considering the placement (or ongoing placement) of children over the age of 13, Home Managers 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 placed together with no identified risk of exploitative or abusive behaviour, Home Managers and staff must monitor any developing relationships, sensitively but positively discouraging children from engaging under aged sexual relationships.

Overall, staff should be mindful of their duty to consider the overall welfare of children and this may mean recognising that illegal activity is taking place and working to minimise risks and consequences. If there is any suspicion that a child is engaging in illegal behaviour it must be discussed with the social worker and consideration given to consulting the Child Protection Agencies.

Any actions taken in this respect will be subject to consultation and must be addressed in Placement Plans.

Should staff suspect children are engaging in sexual relationships, they should:

1. Ensure the basic safety of all the children concerned;
2. Notify the Home Manager, who should notify/consult relevant social workers and consideration given to reviewing the Child's Placement Plan;
3. Record all events in the Daily Log, relevant Child's Daily Record and an Incident Report should be completed.

Should staff discover children engaging in sexual relationships, they should:

1. Ensure the basic safety of all children concerned (if necessary staff may consider removal of one or more child);
2. Inform the Home Manager, who should notify/consult relevant social workers and and consideration given to reviewing the Child's Placement Plan. Record all events in the Daily Log, relevant Child's Daily Record and an Incident Report should be completed.

If the incident is serious or persistent, the Designated Manager (Sexual Exploitation) should be notified and consideration given to whether the incident is a Notifiable Event, see Notification of Serious Events Procedure.

Access to contraceptives will not be conditional on children giving information about their lifestyles and contraception will never be withdrawn as a punitive measure.

Whilst not encouraging it, it is understood that children may engage in sexual activity; some before they reach the age of consent.

In such circumstances staff must take reasonable steps to minimise risk of pregnancy or infection, including facilitating contact with relevant agencies providing contraceptive advice; such as the Brook Advisory Service.

Matters of concern must be discussed with the social worker and addressed in Placement Plans.

If a child is suspected or known to be pregnant the Home Manager should normally talk openly 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.

Under normal circumstances, 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 pregnant child and the unborn child.

However, a child may request that parent(s) and/or that the social worker is not informed.

In all cases where there are any concerns or suspicions that the pregnant child or the unborn child is or will be at risk of Significant Harm, the Home Manager must discuss it with the child's social worker with a view to making a child protection referral. In these circumstances it must be explained to the child why his or her request for confidentiality cannot be agreed. See Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns Procedure.

In any case, the Designated Manager (Sexual Health) should be notified.

In cases where there are no child protection concerns, the child should be encouraged to inform his or her social worker and parents. Where the child is sixteen, however, a request to keep the pregnancy confidential from his or her 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.

However, where a child under sixteen makes such a request, the Home Manager should notify/consult the Designated Manager (Sexual Health) before agreeing.

See Consents Guidance.

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.

Also see Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation Procedure.

The following should be read in conjunction with relevant procedures held by the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures in the area where the home is located.

Children who are placed in residential units may have previously experienced sexual exploitation (whereby sex/sexual activity is exchanged sex for rewards, gifts, drugs, accommodation and/or money). Some children may continue to be exploited even when they are accommodated by the authority. Both boys and girls can be sexually exploited.

The Home Manager and staff must be alert to such behaviours and should do all they can to create an environment which encourages children to be open about their past or present attitudes and behaviours and which demonstrates they will be supported to guide them away from such lifestyles.

Where there is any suspicion that a child is engaged in such behaviour it should be addressed in the child's Placement Plan together with Strategies to be adopted to help the child find alternative lifestyles.

In addressing these behaviours consideration must be given to the extent to which the child is suffering Significant Harm - and whether it is necessary to make a child protection referral, see Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns Procedure.

In any case, the social worker must be notified, and the Designated Manager (Sexual Exploitation), who must consider whether the incident is a Notifiable Event, see Notification of Serious Events Procedure.

If it is known or suspected that a child has a sexually transmitted infection (other than HIV and AIDS, which is dealt with in the Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) Procedure), the Home Manager and social worker must be informed and decide what measures to take. The Designated Manager (Sexual Health) should also be notified and consulted.

On principle, the child should be referred, with the parents consent if possible, to the local Genito-Urinary Medicine Clinic, who will provide the child and staff 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 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

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 procedures held by the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership procedures - in the area where homes are located.

The possibility of peer abuse will always be taken seriously but we recognise it is equally important not to label or stigmatise normal sexual exploration and experimentation between children.

Behaviour is not 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 staff suspect children are engaged in abusive sexual relationships as perpetrators and/or victims, they must immediately inform the Home Manager, who must consult the social worker and make a referral under the Safeguarding Children and Young People and Referring Safeguarding Concerns Procedure.

The Designated Manager (Sexual Exploitation) must be notified and consulted, consideration should be given to whether the a Notifiable Event has occurred, see Notification of Serious Events Procedure.