Large rise in number of children seeking support for CSE

Statistics released by the charity show that in the 12 months to April 2015 the charity supported 3,175 CSE victims, up from 2,118 the previous 12 months – a rise of 49.9 per cent.

Barnardo’s is now calling on the new Conservative government to step up its fight against child sexual exploitation by making sex and relationship education (SRE) in schools compulsory.

The charity wants to see all children in England receive age-appropriate SRE with a strong focus on consent and helping children understand the differences between healthy relationships and those based on exploitation and abuse.

In addition, the charity is calling for better training for teachers to give them greater confidence to deliver classes that tackle issues such as CSE and abuse.

Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said: “We must ensure the new UK government prioritises work that helps keeps our children safe from exploitation.

“Key to this is teaching young people about healthy relationships.

“Our specialist services are seeing more and more children who are identified as needing our help.

"Whenever and wherever we open a service we find children who urgently need our support.”

Khan said the “political momentum” from recent high-profile CSE scandals in Rotherham and Oxford must be maintained.

“The new government in Westminster must work with local authorities, police, schools and parents across England to help keep young people safe and bring their abusers to justice,” he added.

SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools but not in primary schools or academies and free schools.

In March the coalition government pledged to work closely with personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) specialists to improve training for teachers around CSE, as part of its response to the Rotherham CSE scandal.

A Department for Education spokesman said that many primary schools teach SRE “in an age-appropriate manner, adding that “we also expect academies and free schools to deliver relationship education as part of their provision of a broad and balanced curriculum”.