A joint report by Research in Practice and the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has called for a fundamental overhaul of the child protection system in order to better protect older children.
The study, That Difficult Age: Developing a more effective response to risks in adolescence, found that older children face distinct risks to those faced by younger children.
These include child sexual exploitation, grooming, gang-related violence, substance misuse, bullying and self-harm, but concluded that the existing system is not set up to deal with them appropriately.
It calls for the creation of an adolescent-centred approach that takes a range of factors, including increased risk-taking and gang involvement, into account.
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