Teachers and professionals

Any professional can contact Victim Support for advice and support on how to help children affected by crime.

In some areas of the country we have specialist caseworkers and volunteers who can work directly with children and offer support to help them think through their choices, safety plan, develop coping strategies, and cope and recover from their experiences. If we feel that there is another agency better placed to work with the child then we will always help you to access these services.

Young people want schools and children’s organisations to create safe environments which help them to talk about and report crime, and access support. This would involve:

  • staff training on recognising the signs of victimisation, dealing with incidents and keeping young people safe
  • ensuring workers are available to talk to children on a regular basis
  • discussions focusing on raising awareness around issues such as bullying, hate crime and gangs
  • awareness-raising activities such as poster campaigns or inviting specialists into the school or organisation to talk to children
  • setting up recognised reporting procedures, so that children know who to report to and which worker takes the lead; it would also mean keeping a log of all incidents, and making sure that interventions are well managed.

A safety plan will help children and young people to think about their actions in advance, to help them stay safe. It can be useful in any situation where children and young people may feel unsafe. This can include if they are:

A safety plan needs to be about the child’s own individual situation. Help them to think about all aspects of their life, such as being safe at school, at home, when travelling, online, in the day or at night. The plan should be easy for them to understand and remember.

Children and young people should not be expected to safety plan alone, and they will need help from other safe adults, including you, on some of their actions. Professionals can work with children and young people to help them look at their own individual situation and think through the risks they are facing.

We have further information and resources about safety planning, and you can support children and young people to develop their own safety plan using ‘Keeping safe’, an information booklet to help your child think through ways to keep safe.

Download the ‘Keeping safe’ Victim Support’s Children and Young People Services booklet [PDF].

Useful resources

Resources to help you support children affected by crime.

Working with young victims of crime

How to spot warning signs and advice on talking to children.