The crisis in special needs education has left children vulnerable to criminal and sexual exploitation, experts have warned, as parents of victims described years of failed attempts to get support.
Last year, 7,432 children were referred to the national referral mechanism – the framework for identifying potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery in England and Wales.
A “high proportion” of such cases involve children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), according to research funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC).
Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), working with the University of Portsmouth, said that with waits of up to four years for assessments and 75% of the 1.6 million children with Send without an education and health care plan, children with Send face higher rates of school exclusion, leaving them isolated and vulnerable to sexual predators and county lines gangs.
One mother said her son, who had undiagnosed ADHD, tried to take his own life after being criminally exploited while out of mainstream school. Another described how her requests for Send help went unheard until after her daughter, who has autism, was sexually abused.
“If she’d [had] diagnoses, it might not have happened,” she said.
Speaking at the launch of the Institute for Children’s Futures, an MMU-based policy unit, researcher Sarah Goff described a “pipeline from school exclusion to criminal exploiters”.
“Parents were very clear that being out of school was the major problem. For many of them, they had not been heard when they had been noticing that their child growing up had special needs.
“Lack of support staff for teachers … the lack of youth services, these omissions that have been created by an agenda of cuts have left huge holes – and perpetrators are very good at sniffing out kids who are lacking anchors.”
A mother whose son was made to sell drugs at a “trap house” while out of mainstream school for two years was among those interviewed for the research.
“We kept saying get him tested please”, she said, but it wasn’t until after he had made an attempt on his life, having been “badly abused” by dealers, that he was diagnosed with ADHD.
While statistics on child exploitation and Send are not routinely collected, the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse has recognised that children with additional needs are at “significantly greater risk of sexual abuse”.
Practitioners interviewed for MMU’s research reported up to 80% of their caseloads involved children and young people with diagnosed Send, reporting concerns that “high numbers” of children subjected to modern slavery were awaiting diagnosis.
The team, led by MMU’s Prof Anita Franklin, calls in a study out this month, Opening Conversations, for “supportive spaces” where children can open up to “trusted adults”.
They also recommend government guidance on safeguarding disabled children is updated and call for national training to prevent their exploitation.
Liz Williams, head of policy impact at Modern Slavery PEC said “urgent action was needed from schools to address children’s needs to prevent their exclusion, and from the government to make sure schools have the resources.”
The Department for Education has said urgent work is under way to improve outcomes for Send children, and the education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said a focus on wellbeing in schools is key.
