Ofsted report on child sexual exploitation highlights it as a national issue, says Oxfordshire County Council

Titled "The sexual exploitation of children: it couldn’t happen here, could it?", the report has been published by Ofsted after looking at the work of councils in Rochdale, Rotherham, Kent, Camden, Brent, Bristol, Luton and Oldham.

It was based on a review of eight local authority areas (not including Oxfordshire) and found that “leadership to tackle child sexual exploitation is not sufficiently well developed in all eight local authority areas inspected.”

The report makes a number of recommendations for local authorities including improved intelligence sharing to increase the rate of prosecutions.

Ofsted called on government to update its guidance on safeguarding children and ensure standardised national reporting of intelligence on child sexual exploitation.

Lucy Butler, deputy director for children’s social care, said: "Ofsted’s decision to review the way local authorities tackle child sexual exploitation shows that this is now being treated as a national issue affecting all areas that needs a national response.

"We welcome Ofsted’s sensible recommendations for tackling child sexual exploitation and can say we are already implementing these actions. In fact, most of the recommendations are already thoroughly embedded in child protection practice, while in a couple of cases we are in the process of implementing the suggested actions.

"Since the initial investigation of child sexual exploitation in 2011, we have learned a great deal about identifying the warning signs of grooming. We have worked with many girls and some boys who do not see themselves as victims of crime and it takes a long time to win their trust to the point the can admit what has happened, let alone give evidence. That is why we say it is so important to never give up on a child."