Child sexual abuse: Child House
Information for local partnerships on the Child House model of support for children and young people affected by sexual abuse.
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A Child House is a multiagency service model supporting children, young people and non-abusing parents and carers following child sexual abuse. It is a child-centred approach in which the organisations involved in supporting the child (for example, health, social care, police, charities) provide co-ordinated services in a single, child-friendly environment.
The Home Office, NHS England (London), the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), and the Department for Education have provided funding to the Lighthouse - a national proof of concept pilot of the Child House model in north-central London.
As part of the cross-government Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy the government committed to publish guidance for local areas seeking to adopt similar Child House models, building on the learning from the Lighthouse and international best practice. The guidance is a collection of cross-cutting principles and activities, core functions and multi-agency arrangements that enable child-friendly, effective, and co-ordinated interventions for children and young people following sexual abuse.
MOPAC has also published a toolkit which includes detailed practical advice and recommendations, based on the experience from the Lighthouse pilot. We recommend that local areas consider both the local partnerships guidance and the toolkit if adopting a Child House approach to supporting children and young people affected by sexual abuse.
Last updated 13 September 2021 + show all updates
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Added link to toolkit published by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
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First published.