Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioners Course (ACSEP)

This unique course is informed by over 27 years of working with affected families. The Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioners Course is taught by highly experienced Ivison Trust staff, affected parents, and leading experts from the fields of social work, police, and academia. One of the only courses of its type in the UK, it provides eight days of training on a broad range of subjects connected to child exploitation.

On completion of the course, learners receive an NFCE level 4 qualification. Many of our graduates have changed the trajectory of their careers as a result of their learning and the increased knowledge and confidence this course provides.

Learning objectives

• The historical journey of child exploitation
• Definitions and typologies of child exploitation
• Hearing from lived experience speakers
• Trauma Informed Practice
• Combatting victim blaming
• Contextual Safeguarding and Transitional safeguarding
• Neurodiversity
• Adultism, adultification and Intersectionality (Dr Nick Marsh)
• Disruption tactics
• Online harms
• Understanding information, intelligence and evidence (Vanessa Rolfe)
• Crown prosecution processes.
• Practical skills in how to support CE-affected families from disclosure through to the court process

 

ACSEPs are CSE specialists, armed with a toolkit of cutting-edge methods in supporting affected families and helping investigations through to prosecution.

Who is the course for?

Candidates should have experience of working in child sexual exploitation, in roles such as:

• Social worker
• Foster carer
• Family Intervention Officer, Family Support Worker, Troubled Family Worker
• Independent CSE Worker
• Missing from Home Specialist
• PSCOs/PCs with CSE specialism

The following entry requirements are necessary to be accepted onto the course

• An understanding of issues faced by young people and their families particularly in relation to sexual exploitation and abuse.
• Knowledge of safeguarding agencies and Local Safeguarding Children’s Board roles
• Knowledge of child protection procedures
• Relevant qualification, i.e. social care, probation, health, criminology, or demonstrable experience of work within a related field.

What our learners say

“This training course is extremely helpful and informative. It covers a vast range of information surrounding CSE and offers opportunity to discuss experiences and explore things in a safe open environment. The trainers have fantastic resources for you to explore further and share honest experiences. The guest speakers are amazing and share the reality of their experiences, its heart wrenching but needed and I cannot thank them all enough.”

“I have never been on a course delivered with such passion and knowledge. The course has helped to change the way I see child exploitation and I am now better equipped to deal with both victims and suspects going forward.”

"The Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Practitioner (ASCEP) training is unparalleled. The depth and breadth of the course is exceptional. I work within the field and this training is by far the most comprehensive, with very up to date evidence - based research. In addition you get to meet other professionals and have plenty of time to talk with the trainers. I would highly recommend it."

Course delivery

Our ACSEP will be accessed by learners online, streamed live via MS Teams, with the ability to watch and interact with our live trainers and other course participants. Our guest speakers will also be on hand in each module for live Q and As. We have been working closely with the NFCE to ensure the experience for our learners continues to be of the highest standard.

Commitment and content

The award is a 8-day commitment, split into 3 modules:

Module one: Working with a victim and their family

Module two: Understanding trauma and supporting families through the criminal justice system

Module three: Multi agency working and online exploitation

 

Course Starting	Week 1	Week 2
May 2026	11th, 12th, 13th, 14th May 2026	8th, 9th, 10th, 11th June 2026
September 2026	21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th September 2026	19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd October 2026
January 2027	25th, 26th, 27th, 28th January 2027	22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th February 2027

Course timings

9.30am-2.30pm

Day 4 week one – 9:30 am to 4 pm

Day 1 week two – 9:30am to 4 pm

Our speakers

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  Dr Sarah Hall

  Dr Sarah Hall has extensive experience as an academic researcher in child exploitation, influenced by her early career in youth work and parent support. Sarah is passionate about the importance of family-centered, holistic support for families affected by child exploitation. Some of Sarah’s recent publications are below:

  Women Making Changes Project: Final Evaluation
  Parent’s Experience of Children’s Social Care
  She Doesn’t have to get in the car
  South Yorkshire Empower and Protect CSE Innovation Project Evaluation Report

• Dr Nick Marsh

  Nick has recently completed a PHD on social work decision making and child exploitation. He co-founded a research organisation that amplified marginalised voices in child protection and has over 20 years of experience in child protection and abuse, exploitation and violence that affects adolescents.

• Vanessa Rolfe

  Vanessa Rolfe is a retired senior police officer and former detective, passionate about transforming responses to sexual violence. She led national work on improving sexual offence investigations through Operation Soteria and was a strategic lead for Violence Against Women and Girls. As a trustee of Leeds Women’s Aid, she continues to champion safety, support, and lasting change for women and families.

• Parent with lived experience

  An affected parent will talk about his lived experience; how his child was groomed and exploited, how this impacted his family and the support he received from children’s social care social services and the police.

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