Level 4 Accredited Qualification in Child Sexual Exploitation (ACSEP)
Informed by over 23 years of working with affected families, the ACSEP course is taught by highly experienced Pace staff, affected parents and leading experts from the fields of social work, police and academia.
“This course was without doubt the best I have been on and the organisation the best I have been associated with. The commitment and passion exudes from the tutors and permeates into the students and because of this makes the whole experience just fantastic” – Senior Family Support Worker, January 2022
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Course Overview
The course is an NCFE accredited Level 4 qualification. NCFE is a national Awarding Organisation, passionate about designing, developing and certificating diverse, nationally recognised qualifications and awards.
The content covers:
- The latest research on trauma
- Best practice in working with marginalised groups
- Practical skills in how to support CSE affected families from disclosure through to the court process
- Training in therapeutic and reflective practice.
ACSEPs are CSE specialists, armed with a toolkit of cutting-edge methods in supporting affected families and helping investigations through to prosecution.
Online Learning
Our ACSEP will be accessed by learners online, streamed live, with the ability to watch and interact with our live trainers and other course participants. It will be a blended style of learning, with the same content and structure as our traditional ACSEP Course. 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.
Upcoming courses
| Course Starting | Module One | Module Two | Module Three |
| January 2023 (sold out) | 17, 18, 19 Jan 2023 | 21, 22, 23 Feb 2023 | 21, 22, 23 March 2023 |
| April 2023 | 18, 19, 20 Apr 2023 | 23, 24, 25 May 2023 | 20, 21, 22 June 2023 |
| Sept 2023 | 19, 20, 21 Sept 2023 | 17, 18, 19 Oct 2023 | 21, 22, 23 Nov 2023 |
Cost
£685
We can provide advice on funding options for the course. Payment plans are also available for those wishing to pay in installments.
If you are an organisation wishing to commission us to deliver the course to multiple staff members at your place of work, we offer discounts for block bookings. Contact us to find out more about any of these options or ask anything about the course.
“The best training investment we have made to date within our company” – ACSEP graduate
Commitment and Content
The award is a 9-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
Download the module content here (PDF)
“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. It’s heart wrenching but needed and I cannot thank them all enough” – ACSEP Graduate, April 2022
Who the course is suitable for
Candidates should have experience of working in CSE, 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
Our January 2023 course has sold out, we will be releasing dates for April and September 2023 shortly.
Entry requirements
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.
100% of graduates would recommend the course to a colleague and 100% believe that it is value for money
Assessment and Post-course Support
Students are assessed through a mixture of presentations, online assessments and assignments.
All those who pass the course are invited to join our Register of ACSEPs and will benefit from ongoing support and information from Pace.
About the speakers
You will hear directly from people who have been affected by child sexual exploitation, who will share the realities of day-to-day life with this form of abuse. You will also hear from frontline professionals working in the field, such as:
Affected parent
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.
Dr Sarah Lloyd
Dr Sarah Lloyd 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
Fiona Broadfoot
“For all the women who are invisible, who are stuck in hell because they can’t move on because they daren’t go for jobs. That’s who I fight for” – Fiona Broadfoot
Fiona Broadfoot is an activist and founder of the Build a Girl project, a survivor-led social enterprise working with young women at risk of, or experiencing, sexual exploitation. She has now worked with more than 500 young people, through weekly groups (for ages 9-18) that offer a safe space to talk and be creative; and one-to-one support for girls who have experienced sexual violence.
Hayley Brown, Link to Change
Hayley is the CEO of Link to Change, an organisation supporting young people affected by sexual child exploitation. Hayley has a wealth of experience working alongside, advocating for and empowering young people experiencing child sexual exploitation.
Daniel Morris, Listen up research
Daniel Morris is an established senior leader in the charity sector with over 15 years’ experience of delivering services to children and young people. Starting his career in youth work, Daniel has always been driven by a passion to amplify the experiences of children and young people. In particular supporting and advocating for underrepresented young people living in deprived communities. Daniel is extremely passionate about race equality, which is evident in all aspects of his practice and research.
Listen Up Research is an organisation which focuses on improving outcomes of marginalised young people and their families. Through research, consultation and training they campaign to embed intersectional into best practise for professionals supporting young people.
Lindsay Dalton
“Lindsay is so passionate about this. She’s a real inspiration for me” – Senior Social Worker, November 2021
Lindsay created this, the UK’s first Level 4 Accredited Award in Child Sexual Exploitation (ACSEP), has set up multi-agency partnerships across the country and supported families to achieve convictions in high profile CSE court cases. She brings decades of knowledge and frontline experience and is fluent in the most up-to-date issues, practice and legislation within child exploitation.
Nazir Afzal OBE
Nazir Afzal OBE is the former Chief Prosecutor for North West England and prosecuted the ground breaking CSE case in Rochdale. During his 24 year career for the Crown Prosecution Service, he prosecuted and advised on many cases involving child sexual exploitation, gender based violence and honor based violence.
Mark Whelan MBE
Mark Whelan, an ex Detective Sergeant of Lancashire Constabulary has 23 years of experience in policing and managed one of the first multi-agency teams who dealt with child sexual exploitation as a specialism. Mark recently received an MBE for his services protecting young people from sexual exploitation.
