Child House Toolkit resources

The Lighthouse - the UK’s first ‘Child House’ – provides specialist support to child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation in London. The Lighthouse offers early support to children after the trauma of sexual abuse, increases the length of time support is provided to children and families, gathers more effective evidence from interviews and supports a speedier progress in investigations and court cases. In 2019/20 the Lighthouse received 350 referrals from across the five London boroughs it covers, mainly via social care, police and other professionals.

The Lighthouse has been funded through £8 million of joint investment by MOPAC, the Home Office, NHS England and the Department for Education, with more than £1m of additional funds from a partnership between Morgan Stanley and the NSPCC to support the delivery of further services. The health and wellbeing services are being provided by University College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Solace and the NSPCC. In 2019, MOPAC also secured a further £250,000 from the Department for Education to further support the work of The Lighthouse in 2020/21.

The purpose of this interactive toolkit is to provide layered information and advice for those interested in setting up a Child House child sexual abuse service. The toolkit documents the journey and describes the lessons learned from setting up the Lighthouse in London. We hope this will help others elsewhere who are considering the establishment of Child Houses.