Know the Signs: Spotting Abuse and Neglect in Children

Nothing here is designed to frighten you. Most children showing one or two of these signs are not being exploited. Knowing the signs means noticing early enough that the answer is still a conversation rather than a crisis.

Before You Start

Three things that matter more than any list

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1. You do not need proof

This is the single most important thing in this handbook: you are not being asked to investigate, gather evidence, or be certain. You are being asked to notice and pass it on. Waiting until you are sure is how children stay in danger for months longer than necessary.

A worry that turns out to be nothing costs a conversation. A worry you sat on because it felt too thin costs considerably more.

2. The child is a victim, even when they do not look like one

Exploited children rarely present as frightened or grateful. They are far more likely to be rude, defensive, aggressive, absent, or apparently doing very well for themselves. They may genuinely believe the adults exploiting them are friends.

A child carrying drugs across county lines has committed offences. They are also, in law and in fact, someone a criminal group has groomed. Both things are true, and the second one is the one that should shape how you respond.

3. One sign is a question, several signs are a pattern

Teenagers are secretive, tired, moody and occasionally in possession of things you did not buy them. That is adolescence. What matters is clustering, change and pace. Several signs appearing together, a clear break from how the child was three months ago, or a change that happens fast, are what should move you from mild curiosity to picking up the phone.

For parents

You know your child's baseline better than any professional ever will. When you say "this isn't him", that is data. Say it to the school, your GP, or the police. Professionals take parental concerns seriously far more often than parents expect.

For schools

Under KCSIE 2026, every member of staff reads the whole of Part One. The condensed version in Annex A has been withdrawn because indicators of exploitation overlap with indicators of other safeguarding concerns. Staff need the full picture to spot either.

Part One: County Lines

Section 1

County lines: what it actually is

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A county line is a mobile phone number. That is where the name comes from. An urban criminal group uses a dedicated phone line to sell drugs into a smaller town or rural area, and uses children to move the drugs and the money along that route.

The model works because children are cheap, replaceable, less likely to be stopped, and treated more leniently if they are. A group can lose a child to arrest and continue trading the same afternoon. That is not incidental to how county lines operates. It is the design.

The child is usually recruited close to home and then sent somewhere they do not know, where they have no friends, no money of their own, and no way back. Isolation is the control mechanism.

The debt trap

At some point the child will be robbed, or the drugs will go missing, or the money will not add up. Sometimes this is genuine. Very often it is staged by the group itself. The child is then told they owe a sum they cannot possibly repay, and that their family will be harmed if they do not work it off. From that moment the child is not being paid. They are paying, with their own safety, and they will not tell you because they believe they are protecting you.

If you take one thing from this section: by the time a child looks like a criminal, they have usually been a victim for a long time already.

Section 2

The words children use

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You are unlikely to hear a child say "I am being criminally exploited". You are quite likely to hear one of these.

Term	What it means
Going country / going OT / going cunch	Travelling out of the local area to sell drugs. Any of these in a message about a trip is worth asking about.
The line / running a line	The dedicated phone number customers call to order. Running it means handling that phone and the orders coming in.
Trap house / bando / spot	The property used as a base, usually someone else's home that has been taken over. A bando is typically abandoned or derelict.
Trapping / on the grind / graft	Selling drugs. Often framed as work.
Plugging / banking	Concealing drugs inside the body. This is a serious indicator and a serious health risk. See Section 8.
Food / work / sweets / white / brown	Drugs. "Food" is very common. A message asking if someone has food is often not about dinner.
Elder / older / OG	The person above them in the group. A child talking about an "older" who looks after them is describing the person exploiting them.
Youngers / tips / shotter	Children lower down the chain. A shotter is the one physically handing over drugs, almost always the most exposed role.
Cuckooing	Taking over a vulnerable person's home to deal from. See Section 7.

Use this carefully

Slang moves fast and varies by area. Words here may mean something entirely innocent in your child's friendship group. Treat this as a prompt to ask a question, never as proof of anything on its own.

For parents

If you see one of these and your instinct is to confront your child with the phone in your hand, wait. You will get one honest conversation, and it works far better as "I saw something I did not understand and it worried me" than as an accusation.

Section 3

Who gets targeted, and why

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Criminal groups do not pick children at random. They look for a gap between what a child needs and what they are getting, and they fill it.

Circumstances that raise the risk

- Excluded, at risk of exclusion, in alternative provision or persistently absent
- Known to children's social care, or a child in care, particularly in a placement out of area
- Living with domestic abuse, parental substance misuse or parental mental ill health
- A parent or older sibling already involved in offending or in a criminal group
- Special educational needs, particularly where communication is affected, and undiagnosed need
- Recent bereavement, family breakdown, or a house move that cut them off from friends
- Poverty, and specifically visible poverty relative to their peers
- Isolation, bullying, or having recently lost a friendship group
- Previously reported missing, even once, even briefly
- Care leavers and children turning 18, often abandoned by services at exactly the point the group is still holding them

The dangerous assumption

Plenty of exploited children have none of the above. Groups increasingly target children from stable, comfortable homes precisely because nobody is looking at them. "It wouldn't happen to a child like that" is the belief the model relies on.

For schools

Attendance data is exploitation data. A child whose absence pattern shifts, particularly one absent on the same weekday repeatedly or absent in blocks of two to three days, is showing you something. KCSIE 2026 widened the Part One indicators to include risk of exclusion and modern slavery. Cross-reference your persistent absence list against your open concerns at least termly.

Section 4

How the grooming works

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Criminal exploitation follows a recognisable sequence. Knowing the stages helps you work out how far along a child already is, and how much room you still have.

The five stages

1. Targeting

Works out what the child lacks

2. The offer

Gifts and status. Nothing asked for

3. The small ask

Hold this bag. Small and trivial

4. The trap

A debt, an image, a threat to family

5. Silence

The child stops asking for help

Most children are missed at stage three. Intervention is easiest here.

Stage one: targeting

Someone identifies the child and works out what they are short of. This often happens in ordinary places or online through gaming voice chat, Snapchat, Telegram, or a direct message.

Stage two: the offer

Gifts and attention with nothing asked in return. Food, vapes, cash, phone credit, a lift. The child is told they are sound, that the group looks after its own. Nothing illegal has happened yet.

Stage three: the small ask

Hold this bag for an hour. Deliberately trivial, deliberately easy. This is the point at which intervention is most effective and least likely to happen, because from the outside nothing appears to be wrong.

Stage four: the trap

The debt appears, or the child is photographed doing something they cannot explain, or they are told the police have their name. Control shifts from reward to fear, usually within days.

Stage five: the child stops asking for help

They now believe they are in too deep, that nobody will treat them as a victim, and that their family will be hurt if they talk. All three are false, and none will be argued away in a single conversation.

For parents

If you recognise stage two, you have caught this early and you are in a strong position. Say something now. The instinct to wait and see how it develops is completely understandable and it is the wrong call, because stages three and four can happen within a fortnight.

Section 5

Warning signs: behaviour, money and school

No single item means a child is being exploited. Three or four together over a few weeks is a pattern that needs acting on.

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Going missing and movement

Going missing from home or school, including short absences Returning dishevelled, exhausted or in different clothes Found in another town with no reason to be there Train or coach receipts, travel apps showing unknown journeys Collected by people you have never met Panic when they cannot go out

Money and possessions

Cash, trainers, jewellery or a new phone with no explanation The explanation changes, or names a friend who cannot be produced Suddenly having no money after a period of having plenty Money going missing at home, or items being sold Bank account with transfers in and straight out again

School and college

Attendance dropping in a repeating pattern Falling asleep in lessons, or a marked drop in work New older friends outside school, or being met at the gate by adults Abruptly dropping long-standing friends Carrying a bag they will not put down or leave in a locker Secretive about a second phone

For schools

Record what you saw, not what you concluded. "Seen at the far gate at 15:20 getting into a grey estate car with an adult male, has happened twice this week" is usable by police and social care. "Seemed suspicious" is not. Note the time, the place, who else was present, and the child's exact words.

Section 6

Warning signs: possessions, body and online

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Things you might find

More than one mobile phone A phone that only ever receives calls Small self-seal bags, cling film or scales Large amounts of cash in small denominations Hotel receipts from unknown towns Keys to a property you do not recognise A weapon or something adapted to be one

Physical and health signs

Unexplained injuries, or changing explanations Signs of assault they will not discuss Weight loss, exhaustion, general decline in self-care Refusing to eat or drink, or discomfort when sitting or walking New or increased drug or alcohol use Self-harm or sharp deterioration in mental health Sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy

Online

Contact from older people they have never met in person Sudden switch to disappearing-message apps Posting images with cash, designer items or weapons Gifts, game credits or cryptocurrency from unknown people Being added to group chats they are visibly anxious about Extreme reaction to their phone being taken

The one that gets dismissed most often

A child who becomes frightened of their phone, not attached to it, but frightened of it, may flinch when it goes, leave the room to answer, or go pale at a notification. Parents often read this as a relationship problem or online bullying. It is just as often the line.

Section 7

Cuckooing: when a home is taken over

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A criminal group needs somewhere local to work from. Rather than rent it, they take over the home of someone who cannot stop them. It is named after the bird that lays its eggs in another's nest. The occupier is a victim, not an accomplice.

Usually a vulnerable adult: someone with a learning disability, a mental health condition, an addiction, or simply someone isolated and lonely who was glad of the company at first. Increasingly it is also the home of a single parent, an older person, or a care leaver in their first tenancy.

Signs a property is being cuckooed

Increase in people coming and going, often briefly at all hours Different cars stopping outside for a minute, repeatedly Curtains closed permanently or windows covered over Resident seen less and less, or looking increasingly unwell New "friends" answering the door or speaking for the resident Resident anxious about visitors, asking professionals to come back later Rubbish accumulating or sudden decline in condition of property Children present with no obvious connection to the household

Cuckooing is now a specific offence, not yet in force

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 created a standalone offence of exercising control over another person's home without their consent in order to use it for criminal activity, including drugs, weapons and sexual offences. It carries up to five years. Consent does not count if the person is under 18, lacks capacity, or was coerced. The offence sits at sections 65 to 67 and had not been commenced at the date of this edition.

For parents and neighbours

If you think a neighbour's home is being used this way, do not knock and do not confront anyone. Call 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 999. The resident is very unlikely to be able to ask for help while the group is in the house.

Section 8

Internal concealment: the sign most people miss

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Children are made to hide drugs inside their bodies so they will not be found if stopped and searched. It is known as plugging or banking. It is common, it is dangerous, and the signs are routinely mistaken for something else.

A child made to do this may be carrying wrapped packages internally for hours or days. They are told not to eat or drink because it makes it harder to hold. If a package splits, the child can die, and the group's first instinct is usually not to call an ambulance.

What you might notice

Refusing food and drink for unusual lengths of time before going out Visible discomfort sitting, standing up or walking normally Frequent prolonged trips to the toilet, or avoiding the toilet at school Constipation, stomach pain or unexplained sickness after returning home Sitting oddly or refusing to take part in PE Extreme distress at the idea of being searched or having a medical examination Signs of sedative or laxative use

This is a medical emergency, not a discipline matter

If you believe a child is currently carrying packages internally, treat it as a risk to life. Call 999 and say clearly that you think the child may have concealed drugs internally. Do not attempt to search the child, do not ask them to remove anything, and do not wait for them to admit it. Stay with them.

For schools

School staff must never conduct an intimate search under any circumstances, and this is not a situation for a bag or pocket search either. Escalate to the DSL immediately and treat it as a medical emergency. Record the physical signs you observed in neutral, factual language.

Section 9

The law changed in 2026

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The Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and created three new offences that matter directly to anyone working with or raising children. Creating an offence and bringing it into force are two different things, and at the time of writing these three are not yet in force.

Offence	What it covers	Maximum	In force?
Child criminal exploitation (ss.48-49)	An adult acting towards a child intending to cause them to commit a criminal offence. Adults only; victims under 18.	10 years	Not yet
Cuckooing (ss.65-67)	Controlling another person's home without valid consent so it can be used for criminal activity.	5 years	Not yet
Internal concealment (s.68)	Causing a child to conceal an item inside their body for criminal purposes. No proof of compulsion needed where the victim is a child.	Set by the Act	Not yet

Courts can also impose child criminal exploitation prevention orders, which can restrict an adult's contact with children or their access to particular places.

The principle the law now states

Children cannot consent to their own exploitation. That is now a statement of law, not just good practice. When a child is found with drugs a long way from home, the question the system is expected to ask is who sent them.

Before relying on any legal point

Commencement regulations appear regularly. Check the Changes to Legislation tab on the Act at legislation.gov.uk, which is the authoritative record of what is currently in force.

Part Two: Knife Crime

Section 10

Knife crime: the honest picture

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53,000

offences involving a sharp instrument, England and Wales, year to March 2025

46%

of all homicides involved a sharp instrument, year to March 2024

18%

of knife possession cautions and convictions were children aged 10 to 17

Two things follow from those numbers. The first is that this is a genuine and sustained harm. The second is that the overwhelming majority of children never carry a knife and never will, and telling them that everyone does is both false and counterproductive.

Rates vary enormously by area. National statistics can badly mislead in both directions.

The thing children get most wrong

Almost every child who carries says they do it to feel safer. The evidence points the other way. Carrying a knife raises the likelihood of being seriously injured, because it changes how a confrontation goes, it can be taken and used against the carrier, and it turns an argument into something with a weapon already present.

Getting the conversation right

"Carrying makes you a criminal" tends to close a child down. "Carrying makes you more likely to get hurt, and here is why" tends to open them up, because it engages with the fear that made them consider it. Start from the fear, not from the offence.

Figures: ONS, Home Office, NHS England and Ministry of Justice data as compiled by the House of Commons Library. Check the Commons Library briefing for the current position before quoting these.

Section 11

Why children carry

If you understand the reason, you can address it. If you only address the object, the child finds another one.

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Fear, overwhelmingly

The most common reason by a distance is that the child is frightened. They have been robbed, threatened, or they know someone who was. Carrying feels like taking back control of a situation the adults around them have not fixed.

Because someone made them

Children in criminal groups are frequently required to carry, and to hold weapons for others. A child holding a knife for an older is not making a choice. They are also the person who will be found with it.

Status and image

Less common as a primary driver than people assume, but real, particularly where a child has little status anywhere else. Social media amplifies this considerably.

Because it is normal where they are

In some areas children genuinely believe most of their peers carry. They are usually wrong, and correcting that misperception with accurate local information is one of the few interventions with decent evidence behind it.

For parents

If your child says they feel unsafe getting to or from school, treat it as urgent and specific. Ask where, when, and who. Then do something visible: change the route, arrange a lift, contact the school, report it to the police. What matters is that your child sees that telling an adult produced a change. That is the single strongest protective factor you control.

For schools

KCSIE 2026 is explicit that weapon possession is a safeguarding matter and not only a behaviour matter. The question to answer is why this child felt they needed it. A response that goes straight to exclusion without answering that question usually moves the risk rather than reducing it.

Section 12

Warning signs that a child is carrying

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Physical and practical

Knives missing from the kitchen or found somewhere unusual Damage to clothing or bags that looks like it was made by a blade Wearing a coat or heavy clothing indoors or in warm weather and keeping it on Repeatedly adjusting or protecting one area of clothing, particularly waistband or sleeve Reluctance to be hugged or to take part in PE Hiding items in a garden, hedge or communal area rather than in the house Unexplained cuts to hands or fingers

Behavioural

Talking about needing protection or being afraid of a specific person or group Changing route or refusing to go to certain areas Sudden interest in weapons, including searching for them online Watching or sharing content involving weapons Not wanting to go to school without being able to say why

If you find a weapon

At home: stay calm, remove it safely if you can do so without confrontation, and call 101 for advice. You will not get your child into trouble by asking the police how to dispose of a knife safely. Many areas have anonymous surrender bins.

At school: do not attempt to disarm anyone. Clear the area, get other pupils away, call 999, and follow your school's procedure. Staff must not search anywhere on a person that requires removing more than outer clothing.

Section 13

What the law says about knives

Children are frequently misinformed. It is worth being able to correct the common myths accurately.

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What children often believe	The actual position
"It's fine if the blade is under three inches"	A non-locking folding knife with a blade of 3 inches or less can be carried without needing a reason. Anything else, including any locking knife, is an offence regardless of size.
"It's only illegal if I use it"	Possession in a public place is itself the offence. No threat and no use is required.
"Protection counts as a good reason"	It does not. Self-defence is not accepted as a good reason for carrying a bladed article in public.
"I'm just holding it for someone else"	You are in possession. It is also strong evidence of exploitation, which is a reason to tell someone, not a defence to rely on alone.
"Nothing happens to under 18s"	Children can be and are prosecuted. Courts can and do impose custodial sentences on children for repeat offences.
"Zombie knives and machetes are legal to own at home"	Zombie-style knives and machetes have been prohibited, including possession in private. Surrender schemes have operated for these.

Please treat this as orientation, not legal advice

Knife legislation in England and Wales sits across several statutes and has been amended repeatedly. If a child is facing investigation or charge, they need a criminal solicitor and an appropriate adult, not a handbook.

For schools

KCSIE 2026 expects a documented process for recording and escalating weapons incidents. Your weapons response should be a written, rehearsed procedure that every member of staff knows, not a judgement call made in the moment by whoever is nearest.

Section 14

A weapon in school

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In the moment

1 Do not try to take it. No member of staff should attempt to disarm a pupil. Nothing in a school is worth a stab wound, including a knife.
2 Create distance and remove others. Move other children away first. Keep talking calmly to the pupil, use their name, keep your hands visible, and do not block their exit.
3 Call 999. Say there is a weapon, give the location, and say whether anyone is injured. Do not wait to establish the facts first.
4 Get the DSL and a senior leader. Both, immediately, and start a written log with times from the first moment you can.
5 Do not leave the pupil alone. A child who has just been found with a weapon is at risk from themselves as well as from others.

Afterwards

- Record everything in factual language, with times, locations and exact words
- Consider whether this is an exploitation indicator and make a children's social care referral on that basis, not only a police report
- Contact parents unless doing so would place the child at greater risk, and record the reasoning either way
- Arrange support for staff and pupils who witnessed it
- Review whether the child has been telling you they felt unsafe, and what happened to those reports

For parents

If your child has been found with a weapon at school, the most useful thing you can do in the first hour is not to interrogate them. Ask what they were frightened of. Ask for a meeting that includes the DSL. Ask specifically what support is being offered alongside any sanction, because under KCSIE 2026 there should be some.

Part Three: Serious Youth Violence

Section 15

Serious youth violence: what it covers

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Serious youth violence is the broader category that county lines and knife crime both sit inside. It covers violence involving under-25s where significant harm is caused or intended, including robbery, assault, weapon offences and homicide. It usually has a history behind it that started somewhere much smaller.

What KCSIE 2026 changed

Serious violence, including weapon-related incidents and group-affiliated violence, now sits explicitly within child-on-child abuse, alongside misogynistic behaviour and AI-generated imagery. Schools are expected to have a consistent, documented process for recording weapons incidents and escalating them to the DSL, senior leadership, police and children's social care as appropriate.

What sits underneath most serious youth violence

Exposure to violence at home, in the community, or both Adverse childhood experiences and untreated trauma School exclusion and the loss of structure and supervision that follows Unmet special educational needs, particularly speech, language and communication Criminal exploitation, which is very often the actual mechanism Retaliation cycles, where each incident guarantees the next Poverty, and the status vacuum it creates

Section 16

Warning signs of violence involvement

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Early signs

Talking about a conflict with another group in terms of what "we" will do Sudden fear of particular streets, estates or bus routes New older associates, or a friendship group that changed quickly Increased aggression at home, particularly towards siblings or a parent Withdrawal from things they used to enjoy, including sport and clubs Wearing particular colours or items with unusual significance attached

Escalating signs

Injuries they will not explain, or that they explain differently to different people Attending A&E with an injury and giving an implausible account Carrying a weapon or known to have access to one Named in or filming violent content, or sharing footage of a fight Being robbed, particularly repeatedly, which is often the trigger for carrying Talking about revenge, or about something that has to be "sorted" A police stop, an arrest or a caution, at any point

The window that gets missed

The most dangerous period is the days immediately after a child has been assaulted, robbed or humiliated, particularly if it was filmed. That is when carrying starts and when retaliation is planned. If you know a child has just been victimised, that is not the moment to give them space. That is the moment to be visibly present.

For schools

A pupil who has been a victim is at heightened risk of becoming a perpetrator within weeks. Treat victimisation as a trigger for a support plan, not just an incident record. If a fight has been filmed and circulated, act on the circulation as urgently as the fight itself, because the humiliation is what drives the next incident.

Section 17

Girls, and the exploitation that gets missed

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Criminal exploitation is still widely pictured as something that happens to boys. Girls are exploited in large numbers, in ways that are less visible, and they are identified later and less often as a result.

Girls are less likely to be stopped and searched, so they are used to carry and to hold. They are often exploited through a relationship with an older "boyfriend", which makes the exploitation look like a choice. Criminal and sexual exploitation also overlap heavily.

Signs more common in girls

An older boyfriend, particularly one nobody in the family has met Staying out at a friend's whose family cannot be contacted Being collected by cars or having transport arranged regularly New clothes, hair or beauty treatments beyond her means Two phones, one of which she says belongs to a friend Sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy or repeat emergency contraception Talking about older friends who "look after" her Sudden hostility towards a parent who has always been close to her Injuries she attributes to accidents that do not fit

The language trap

Records that describe a girl as "putting herself at risk", "promiscuous", "in a relationship with an older male" or "streetwise" are describing a child being abused, in words that make it sound like she chose it. If you see that language in a file, challenge it. It changes what happens next.

Section 18

Adultification: when a child stops being seen as a child

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Adultification is what happens when adults perceive a child as older, tougher, more knowing and less in need of protection than they actually are. It is one of the most consequential biases in safeguarding, and it disproportionately affects Black children, particularly Black boys.

An adultified child gets a different response to the same behaviour. Where one child is seen as frightened, another is seen as intimidating. Where one is seen as a victim who needs support, another is seen as an offender who needs consequences.

What it looks like in practice

- A 14-year-old described in records as "a young man" while his peers are described as boys
- Physical size being read as maturity, when it says nothing about a child's development or capacity
- A child assumed to be complicit in their own exploitation because they seem confident
- Anger from a frightened child read as aggression rather than distress
- Lower expectations of the safeguarding response, and quicker escalation to a criminal one

A test you can apply

Read your own record back and ask: if this child were three years younger, or from a different background, would I have written it the same way? Would I have referred sooner? Would I have used the word "victim"? If the answer is no, the record needs rewriting before it goes anywhere.

For parents

If you feel your child is being treated as older, harder or more responsible than they are, say so directly and ask for it to be recorded. Ask what safeguarding response is being put in place alongside any disciplinary or criminal one. You are entitled to ask, and asking on the record changes outcomes.

Section 19

Social media, drill and how things escalate

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Most recruitment now starts online, and most escalation now happens online. Understanding the mechanism matters more than knowing which app is currently popular, because that changes every few months.

A confrontation that would once have ended in the street now has an audience. A fight is filmed and circulated within hours. A child who was humiliated in front of hundreds of people cannot let it go the way they might have done privately.

Online signs worth acting on

Being tagged in or named in content about a conflict Sudden deletion of accounts, or going quiet online after being highly active Anxiety about who has seen something, or urgency about getting a video taken down Contact from adults offering money, work or a lift Group chats they cannot leave, or panic about being removed from one Content showing cash, weapons or drugs, whether posted by them or about them

On drill music, specifically

Listening to drill does not mean a child is involved in violence. Millions listen. What matters is whether a child appears in content, is named or targeted in it, is filming or distributing it, or reacts with fear or urgency to a particular video. That is different from having it on a playlist, and conflating the two costs you credibility with the child immediately.

For parents

Confiscating the phone is the response children fear most, which is exactly why it stops them telling you things. If you need to act, screenshot first, then get advice. Removing the device without removing the threat leaves your child cut off from you as well as from the group.

Part Four: Online Grooming and CSE

Section 20

Online grooming and CSE: what they are

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Child sexual exploitation is a form of sexual abuse in which a child is manipulated or coerced into sexual activity in exchange for something. Online grooming is very often how it starts, and increasingly it is where the whole of the abuse takes place.

The exchange is the defining feature, and it is rarely money. It might be attention, affection, status, a place to stay, drugs, alcohol, food, protection, or simply the belief that this person is the only one who understands them. Because something was received, the child usually believes they made a choice. They did not. A child cannot consent to their own exploitation.

A significant proportion of exploitation now happens without the child ever meeting the abuser. Grooming, coercion and abuse can be carried out entirely through a phone, in a bedroom, in a house full of people.

The belief that does most damage

"She's got a boyfriend." "He's showing off online." "They sent the picture themselves." Every one of those framings has been used to explain away the early stage of exploitation. If an adult or significantly older young person is involved, the age gap is the fact that matters, not what the child says about the relationship.

For schools

KCSIE 2026 rewrote Part Five around a continuum running from harmful sexual behaviour through to sexual violence, and expanded child-on-child abuse to include misogynistic behaviour and AI-generated imagery. Both the child harmed and the child who caused harm need a safeguarding response.

Section 21

How online grooming actually works

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Online grooming follows a pattern almost as predictable as criminal exploitation. It is fast, it is practised, and the person doing it is usually working several children at once. The whole sequence can run in under a fortnight, inside a house with the parents in the next room.

Contact

Through a game, a social platform, a fan community, a livestream chat, or a direct message. Groomers go where children already are and where adults are not looking.

Friendship and assessment

They listen. They ask about home, school, friends, whether the child is happy. What they are establishing is how supervised the child is, how lonely they are, and who would notice.

Isolation and dependency

The relationship becomes the most important thing in the child's day. They are told they are mature, special, misunderstood by everyone else. Gifts arrive: game credits, subscriptions, cash, sometimes a phone the parents know nothing about.

Sexualisation

Introduced gradually and framed as trust, curiosity or a normal part of a relationship. The first request is usually small enough that refusing feels like an overreaction.

Maintenance through fear

Once an image exists, the relationship changes. The child is told their parents will see it, that they will be arrested, that they will be humiliated at school. Many children at this point genuinely believe they have committed a crime and that telling anyone will make it worse.

Say this to your child before anything happens

"If anyone ever gets a picture of you, or makes you do something online you did not want to, you will not be in trouble with me. Not ever, not even a bit. We'll deal with it and it will be fine." Children who have heard that sentence in advance tell someone far sooner.

Section 22

Warning signs of grooming and sexual exploitation

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Online behaviour

Secrecy about who they are talking to, or closing the screen when you come near A significant relationship with someone they have only met online New accounts, hidden accounts, or apps you did not know were on the phone Using disappearing-message or private-browsing features they did not use before Being online at unusual hours, or distress when the wi-fi goes off Gifts, money, game credits or subscriptions from someone unidentified A second device, or a phone with a number you do not recognise

Relationships and movement

An older boyfriend or girlfriend, particularly one nobody has met Older friends whose surnames, addresses or families are unknown Staying out overnight, or being collected and returned by adults Going to parties, hotels or gatherings with people much older than them Sudden hostility towards a parent who has raised concerns Using language about the relationship that sounds rehearsed or borrowed from an adult

Physical, emotional and school

Sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy or repeat emergency contraception Unexplained injuries, particularly bruising to the arms, thighs or neck Clothes, phones, nails or jewellery beyond what they can afford Sexualised language or behaviour that does not fit their age or stage Withdrawal, self-harm, eating changes or a sharp drop in mood Attendance dropping, or leaving school during the day to meet someone

Boys are exploited too, and are identified far less often

Boys are less likely to be asked about sexual exploitation, less likely to be believed, and far less likely to disclose, particularly where the abuser is male and the boy fears assumptions about his sexuality. A boy showing these signs should be asked the same questions a girl would be.

Section 23

The models CSE takes

Exploitation is organised in recognisable patterns. Knowing them helps you make sense of what you are seeing.

▾

Model	How it works and what to look for
The boyfriend model	An older person forms what the child believes is a genuine relationship, then introduces sexual activity with his friends, framed as proof of love or as paying a debt. Look for the age gap, the isolation from friends, and the sudden change in how she speaks about her family.
The party model	Children are invited to parties or gatherings with alcohol, drugs and older people. Abuse happens once they are intoxicated, and images are often taken. Look for overnight absences, being collected by car, and returning unwell.
Peer exploitation	Children exploited by other children, frequently under pressure from an adult higher up. The child recruiting is also a victim. Look for one child consistently bringing others into a group.
Online-only exploitation	The entire abuse takes place remotely. The child never leaves the house. Look for night-time online activity, distress after being online, and camera coverings appearing or disappearing.
Organised networks	Multiple adults, multiple children, deliberate structure, often involving transport between locations. Look for the same names, cars, addresses or phone numbers recurring across different children's records.
Exploitation alongside CCE	Sexual exploitation used as control within criminal exploitation, including as a way of clearing a drugs debt. Look for both sets of indicators in the same child, and do not close one line of enquiry because the other fits.

For schools

Patterns show up across children, not within one. If two or three pupils mention the same first name, the same car, the same address or the same party, that is a network indicator and it should go to your MASH as a linked concern, not as separate referrals.

Section 24

Sextortion and image-based abuse

▾

Sextortion is blackmail using sexual images. A child is persuaded or tricked into sending an image, and is then threatened with it being sent to their family, their school or their followers unless they pay money or send more. The financially motivated version has risen sharply and disproportionately targets teenage boys.

This is the one with a genuine risk to life

Sextortion has been linked to child suicides in the UK and elsewhere. A child who has just been threatened may see no way out and may act within hours. If you learn a child is being blackmailed, do not leave them alone, do not delay, and take any expression of hopelessness completely seriously.

What to do, in order

1 Tell the child clearly that they are not in trouble. This first, before anything else. They are the victim of a crime.
2 Stop all contact and do not pay. Paying leads to further demands, every time. Blocking is right, but screenshot first.
3 Keep the evidence. Usernames, profile links, messages, payment details. Do not delete the account or the conversation.
4 Report it. To the police, and to the platform. For under-18s the CEOP Safety Centre takes reports directly.
5 Get the images taken down. Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation operate Report Remove for under-18s, which can have images removed and blocked from being reshared.
6 Stay with them. The hours after disclosure are the highest risk period.

For parents

Your reaction in the first thirty seconds determines everything that follows. Whatever you feel, what your child needs to hear is that you are glad they told you and that you will sort it. The anger, if you need it, is for later and not at them.

Section 25

Nudes, deepfakes and AI-generated images

▾

KCSIE 2026 replaced the language of "indecent images" and "sexting" with "making or sharing of nudes or semi-nudes", and defined that to cover photographs, videos and livestreams that were taken by the child, taken or created by another person, digitally altered, or wholly generated using artificial intelligence.

An image can exist of a child who was never photographed

Nudification apps can produce a convincing sexual image from an ordinary clothed photo taken from a social media account, in seconds, for free. The child may have done nothing, shared nothing and been unaware any photo was taken. The harm to them is not reduced by the image being fake, and neither is the safeguarding response.

What this means in practice

- Treat a deepfake nude exactly as you would treat a real one: record it, respond to it, escalate it
- The child depicted is a victim. The child who generated or shared it has usually caused serious harm and often also needs a safeguarding response
- Creating or sharing sexual imagery of a child is a criminal matter whether the image is photographic or generated
- Report Remove works for AI-generated imagery of a child as well as photographic imagery

For schools

Never view, copy, print or forward a suspected nude image of a child, including to seek a second opinion. Do not ask the child to show you. Record what you were told, secure the device if it is in school, and pass it to the DSL, who follows the UKCIS sharing nudes guidance and involves the police where required.

Part Five: What To Do

Section 26

Recording and referral

▾

If a child is in immediate danger

Call 999. That includes a child currently missing and believed to be with a criminal group, a child you believe is carrying packages internally, and a child who has been threatened with a weapon. Do not wait to confirm.

Recording, whoever you are

- Write it down the same day, while you still have the detail
- Record what you saw and heard, not what you concluded from it
- Use the child's own words in quotation marks, and do not tidy up their grammar
- Include date, time, location, and who else was present
- Note what you did next and who you told, with the time
- Avoid words like "alleged" or "claimed", which subtly signal doubt

Referral routes

Route	When
999	Immediate risk to life or safety, a weapon present, a child missing and believed exploited
101 or online	Non-urgent police matters, intelligence about a property or vehicle, concerns about cuckooing
Children's social care / MASH	Any concern a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Parents can refer directly.
National Referral Mechanism	Where a child may be a victim of trafficking or modern slavery, which includes most county lines cases
Crimestoppers 0800 555 111	Anonymously, when you cannot or will not be named

A point schools frequently get wrong

Schools are not First Responder organisations under the National Referral Mechanism and cannot make an NRM referral directly. You refer to the local authority or the police, who make it. Consent is not required for a child. Not knowing this has left children unidentified as trafficking victims for months.

Section 27

Having the conversation

▾

You will probably get one good attempt at this. It is worth thinking about for ten minutes first.

Before you start

- Pick a moment with no audience, no time pressure and preferably no eye contact. Car journeys, walks and washing up all work better than sitting opposite each other.
- Decide in advance that you are not going to raise your voice, whatever you hear.
- Accept that they will probably deny it. That is not a failed conversation. It is the first one.

What to say

"I've noticed you've been out a lot later and you seem tired and on edge. I'm not angry. I'm worried."

Open with what you noticed, not what you think it means.

"I don't care about the trainers. I care that something is going on that you can't tell me about."

Make it about their safety, not their behaviour.

"Whatever this is, you're not in trouble with me. If you're in something you can't get out of, that's what I'm here for."

Remove the fear of consequences, honestly.

"If someone has said they'll hurt me or your sister if you talk, they say that to everyone. It's how it works. There are people who deal with this."

Name the thing they are most afraid of.

"You don't have to say anything now. I'm going to ask again in a few days, because I'm not going to drop it."

Leave the door open.

What not to do

Do not demand names. Do not threaten to go to the police in the middle of the conversation. Do not confront the older person, go to the trap house, or post about it online. Do not promise you will keep it secret, because you cannot, and a broken promise ends every future conversation.

For staff

Listen, do not investigate. Ask open questions if you ask anything at all, never leading ones. Do not promise confidentiality. Explain simply that you have to tell one person whose job it is to help, and tell them who that is by name. Then record it and pass it on the same day.

Section 28

Contacts, sources and important limits

▾

999

Immediate danger, a weapon, a child missing and believed exploited, suspected internal concealment.

101

Police non-emergency. Concerns about a property, a vehicle, or a situation that is not happening right now.

NSPCC: 0808 800 5000

Advice for any adult worried about a child. You do not have to give your name.

Childline: 0800 1111

Free and confidential for children and young people, 24 hours.

Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111

Completely anonymous. Fearless.org is their service for young people.

Missing People SafeCall: 116 000

Specialist confidential support for young people and families affected by county lines.

Modern Slavery Helpline: 08000 121 700

Advice on trafficking and exploitation, including whether an NRM referral is appropriate.

Your local MASH

Find your local multi-agency safeguarding hub at safeguard-hub.org/mash-finder

Sources

- Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, Department for Education, published 7 July 2026, in force 1 September 2026
- Crime and Policing Act 2026 factsheet on child criminal exploitation, cuckooing and internal concealment, Home Office
- Knife crime statistics: England and Wales, House of Commons Library research briefing SN04304, drawing on ONS, Home Office, NHS England and Ministry of Justice data
- Protecting children from county lines, NSPCC Learning
- Explaining the new law on child criminal exploitation, The Children's Society

Important limits on this handbook

This is general safeguarding information for parents and school staff. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace your local safeguarding children partnership procedures, your organisation's child protection policy, or the statutory guidance itself. Where anything here differs from your local procedures, follow your local procedures.

Law and statutory guidance change. Figures quoted cover different periods and were current at the date of this edition. Before relying on any legal point, check the current position on legislation.gov.uk or gov.uk.

If you are a child reading this and something here is happening to you: none of it is your fault, you are not in trouble, and Childline on 0800 1111 will talk to you about it without telling anyone unless you are in danger.

Second edition, July 2026. Free to print and share in full. Please do not alter or extract.

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