Training

"ECPAT UK helped me view life from the victim's perspective, making the reality of our job worthy." Social worker, London

ECPAT UK’s multidisciplinary team provides a wide range of training courses relating to modern slavery, trafficking and exploitation for individuals and organisations. As well as the training courses offered below, we can provide bespoke training to your organisation to ensure it is tailored and relevant to your work.

ECPAT UK has delivered training courses for more than 20 years to build frontline workers' capacity and improve responses to child trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation across the UK. Our comprehensive training programme has been created in line with National Occupational Standards and many of our courses are CPD accredited.

Please note that due to Covid-19, all of our training courses are being delivered online until further notice.

We've adapted our training courses so that you can continue learning online until we are able to hold training sessions in person once more. We've been working to ensure our courses remain of the highest quality and to maintain the interactive nature of our training.

Most courses now consist of half-day two modules which are completed over Zoom. We are pleased to offer discounts for multiple team member bookings - simply get in touch with Phil by emailing [email protected] to discuss your organisation's needs.

An Overview of Child Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Exploitation

This course gives an overview of child trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation in the UK. Read more

Child Criminal Exploitation and Trafficking

This course focuses on the specific issue of child criminal exploitation (CCE) in the UK. Read more

Care for child victims of trafficking: Safe accommodation and missing from care

This online training course focuses on the specific challenges of accommodating victims of trafficking and separated children seeking asylum. Split into two half-day modules, this course will give participants an understanding of the issue and will support you with practical tools to prevent and respond to missing incidents in line with best practice guidance. Read more

Spiritual abuse and child trafficking

This online, half-day course examines the particular relationship between spiritual abuse and child trafficking. Participants will gain an understanding of the interlinkages between the two, their dynamics and effective responses to this particular issue. Read more

Child Trafficking and Exploitation in Tourism

Dates coming soon: This training is designed for those working across the tourism industry and aims to give participants an understanding of the relationship between tourism and trafficking, as well as equip them with policies and best practice to protect children from exploitation. Training is available to hotels, tour operators, travel agents and others interested in ethical and sustainable tourism. Read more

The Modern Slavery Act 2015

Dates coming soon: The Modern Slavery Act 2015 makes provisions for the protection of child victims of trafficking. This course assists frontline professionals to understand their responsibility under the Act and use it to improve identification, responses and care of child victims of trafficking. In this course other key legislation relevant to frontline workers will also be covered. Read more

Bespoke training for professionals

We deliver bespoke training courses across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (or even further afield). Each course is tailored to your organisation’s needs. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, we're pleased to be able to offer online, interactive training to your team until we are able to safely deliver training in person once more. Read more

Hire a speaker

We are keen to share our experience and expertise in promoting the rights of children. In addition to providing training, we can also offer expert speakers for events and activities, tailored to your organisation’s needs and events. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, we're pleased to be able to offer this service for online events and conferences. Read more

Latest

SPACE TO THRIVE: we need more support for child victims of trafficking and exploitation to recover from trauma and abuse

Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week 2022. Here, ECPAT UK reflects on the impact that trafficking and exploitation can have on the mental health of children and young people, and outlines how we can better support child victims to recover from trauma and abuse.
Queen's speech announces significant reforms affecting children's rights

The Queen’s Speech 2022 confirmed that in the new parliamentary session, there will be significant reform affecting the rights of children and young people. On the heels of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the government has announced more modern slavery legislation. It has affirmed too that the Online Safety Bill is carried over from the last parliamentary session. Also announced was a new Bill of Rights.
ECPAT UK welcomes the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s annual report as Dame Sara Thornton stands down from the role

Last week, Dame Sara Thornton’s third and final annual report as the UK’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner was laid before parliament. ECPAT UK welcomes the report and thanks the Commissioner and her office for all their work over the past three years, especially the focus on child victims and their rights to protection and care.
Harmful Nationality and Borders Act passes - April 29th 2022

Following a hard-fought battle to increase rights and protections in the legislation, the Nationality and Borders Act received Royal Assent this week. The Act will have a devastating impact for all trafficked children, and for migrant children who are at high risk of exploitation.

Child trafficking statistics

The latest data on the number of victims of trafficking in the UK and worldwide.
The Secret Gardeners: New film on child trafficking from Vietnam

The Secret Gardeners aims to inform professionals about the plight of children who are forced by organised crime gangs to grow drugs in houses across the UK but who often face criminalisation and prison.
National Referral Mechanism

The National Referral Mechanism is a process set up by the Government to identify and support victims of trafficking in the UK. It was born out of the Government's obligation to identify victims under the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Human Trafficking, which came into force on 1 February 2008.
Volunteer

ECPAT UK relies on committed volunteers to support the work that we do. Without their help, we would not be able to campaign as effectively against child exploitation.
What is child trafficking?
Urgent action needed: Independent guardianship for all trafficked, unaccompanied and separated children

Last October, an incredible 120,535 supporters called for specialist support for all trafficked children. However, the fight is not finished. Make sure your voice is heard by contacting the Home Secretary asking him to provide guardianship for all trafficked, separated and unaccompanied children
Demand specialist support for trafficked children

In 2018 we worked with Care2 to call on the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, to overhaul the current system of identification and support for victims of trafficking – the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
Our team

ECPAT UK's team has more than 30 years' experience working on issues of child trafficking, child protection, child sexual exploitation, unaccompanied children, modern slavery and more.
Before the Harm is Done: Examining the UK's response to the prevention of trafficking

The UK Government is failing to protect thousands of children from exploitation by lacking a plan to prevent child trafficking, according to a new report by the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG), a coalition of twelve UK-based charities, including ECPAT UK. The report Before the Harm is Done, stresses that the UK has no specific strategy in relation to preventing trafficking in children, putting thousands of children at risk.
Heading back to harm: A study on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK

Trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are going missing from UK care at an “alarmingly high” rate, according to a new study by leading charities ECPAT UK and Missing People.