“Improving the Hope of Young People impacted by Serious Violence and Child Criminal Exploitation”. Interim Report April 2023

In Spring 2023, The Children’s Society’s Newcastle team commissioned Northumbria University to conduct an evaluation of their SCARPA (Safeguarding Children at Risk – Prevention and Action) service.This report presents our interim project findings.

SCARPA works across the whole of the North East region, supporting children and young people aged 10-18 who go missing and/or are at risk of or are victims of exploitation.

In this report we present our initial findings from the data collected from practitioners and young people so far, in relation to the four project research aims:

1. To develop a greater understanding of the changing picture of SYV/CCE in Newcastle and the North East of England.

2. To evaluate the principles, approaches, models, and methods used by the Children’s Society’s SCARPA service to engage with young people affected by SYV/CCE.

3. To assess the impact of the work of The Children’s Society’s SCARPA service on young people, families, communities, and services.

4. To establish broader practice lessons about supporting young people affected by serious violence (practice standards in the North East).