Rotherham DCS calls for child sexual exploitation training reforms

Giving evidence to the communities and local government select committee, Joyce Thacker told MPs that training on the issue is something that needs to be co-ordinated on a national basis.

“Training [on CSE] is an issue not just for social workers, but everyone in children’s services,” she said.

“You get social workers coming out of university and then you [as a local authority] have to train them on CSE.

“It should be part and parcel of university courses. We shouldn’t have to be training them on it.”

Thacker said the implications of the lack of course-based training on CSE was that the issue is not ingrained in newly qualified social workers’ minds as something to look out for when they come into contact with potentially vulnerable young people.

“We have to get social workers and other frontline workers up to speed,” she added.

Thacker’s call comes as the government is looking to shake-up social worker training. In July, it was announced that new children’s social workers will have to pass a test of their knowledge in order to become an approved practitioner as part of government attempts to improve the quality of the profession.

Thacker also told MPs of plans in Rotherham to track down victims of CSE in the wake of the scandal that has rocked the authority in recent weeks.

Thacker said around 200 victims of the estimated 1,400 children who suffered sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013 are known to the authority, but the intention is to find as many other victims as possible.

“I want to go through where these young people are and give them an apology,” she said.

“I want to know whether those children were criminalised, whether they received post-abuse support, or if they had a child taken away.

“Historically we will go back to all those cases and look at what happened for each young person.

“It’s a huge piece of work but it is important that we do it for the people identified in the report.”

Thacker’s appearance today was her second before a select committee in two days.

Yesterday she faced the home affairs select committee, whose chairman, Labour MP Keith Vaz, called on her to quit.