Fuse Youth Services reposted this
💫 We need to start getting things done - to move from talk and policy to partnership and action. That was very much the consensus at our ‘Drawing the line: Preventing violence and exploitation impacting children’ roundtable discussion at the Conservative Party Conference today. Expertly chaired by Jonathan Hopkins, Andy Canniford (Catch22) opened by welcoming the government’s focus on tackling violence and exploitation — but stressed that much more needs to be done, inviting reflections from experts in the children and young people sector on how we can: ➡️ Shift fragmented government policy to better aligned approaches ➡️ Support child victims to break cycles violence and exploitation ➡️ Achieve effective collaboration at local and regional level Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, gave a powerful lead contribution on prevention — highlighting the importance of place, early intervention, family support, and recognising social media as a risk factor. Contributors included Rt Hon Dame Maria Miller, Leigh Middleton OBE (National Youth Agency), Mark Russell (The Children's Society), Dr Amy Ludlow (SHiFT), Helen Berresford (Nacro), Claire Hubberstey (One Small Thing), Kimberley Thomas (Fuse Youth Services), Richard Short (National Police Chiefs' Council Hydrant),and Dan Whitehouse, MSc, Cert CII. Three golden threads emerged in the discussion: 📍 Place – Tune into the communities where children are most at risk. Proper investment in youth work, trusted adults, and maximising local assets are key. We also need to share what works locally and scale it effectively. 🧑🏫 Education – Children’s Commissioner for England research shows that 20% of children with a prison history had attended six or more schools. With budgets for external support also under pressure, inclusive education, holistic specialist services, and high-quality alternative provision are critical. 🤝 Joined-up approaches – Fragmentation within and between national and local systems leads to inefficiencies and even inaction. We need a national strategy for childhood to help to drive change, join up policy and services, and shift funding from expensive crisis responses to early help. Tackling child poverty and strengthening social care must also be part of the solution. Those around the table agreed: we know what works. Now we need political will — and action – to draw the line on violence and exploitation. These points echo our #DrawingTheLine campaign: https://lnkd.in/eqv3hAWq Thank you to Citadel Policy and Communications for their brilliant work on the #YouthZoneAndSkillsHub — and to all participants for sharing their insights. We look forward to continuing the conversation — and getting things done. #DrawingTheLine #CPC25 #YouthSector