From the Outside In: How the team around the child with harmful sexual behaviour can transform lives.

Summary: 

Understanding harmful sexual behaviours through a developmental lens is key to offering effective and compassionate support to children and young people. Our understanding has grown to recognise that sexual behvaiours are shaped by a wide range of factors, including family and relationship experiences, trauma, and individual characteristics such as neurodiversity. Equally important are the wider contexts of a child’s life, including peer relationships, digital culture, school environments, and the broader societal expectations placed on children and young people, all of which influence sexual development and behaviour over time.

Drawing on this developmental understanding, the webinar highlights the vital role of significant adults in supporting young people to develop healthy skills, insight, and relationships. Through a practical example of partnership working, we will share how school and the Halt Service worked together to support a young person, the resources that proved helpful, and how trauma-informed relationships enabled the young person to move on from their behaviour, develop a compassionate view of themselves and engage in meaningful and respectful relationships with others.

Speaker Bios: 

Aimee Loudon is a qualified Social Worker with seven years of experience supporting children, young people and families. She spent four years in Children and Families Social Work, where she worked with children living in the community who were subject to child protection procedures, looked after and accommodated children, and those involved in adoption processes.

Throughout her career, Aimee has developed experience in assessment, risk management, care planning and multi-agency collaboration. She is committed to relationship-based and child-centered practice, ensuring that the voices and experiences of children and young people remain central to decision-making and intervention.

For the past three years, Aimee has worked within the HALT Service, a specialist service supporting children and young people who have engaged in harmful sexual behaviour. In her current role, she undertakes specialist assessments and delivers targeted interventions to reduce risk, promote wellbeing and support positive behavioural change. She also provides consultation, advice and guidance to the wider professional network, helping practitioners and agencies understand and respond effectively to harmful sexual behaviour through a trauma-informed and strengths-based approach. Aimee is passionate about safeguarding, child protection and improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. She values collaborative working and is committed to evidence-informed practice that promotes safety, accountability and lasting positive change for children and young people.

Stuart Allardyce is a director at the child protection charity, The Lucy Faithfull Foundation. He has responsibility for Stop It Now services in Scotland. He has worked in the child sexual abuse field as a social worker for over 25 years. He is former chair of NOTA UK and Ireland and is a trustee of the Association of Child Protection Professionals. He is co-author of ‘Working with Children and Young People Who Have Displayed Harmful Sexual Behaviour’ (Dunedin Press, 2018) ‘Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Knowledge and Practice Overview’ (CSA Centre, 2021) and ‘Harmful Sexual Behaviour and Autism; Working With Children and Young People’ (Jessica Kingsley, 2026) as well as over 20 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Scottish government’s National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group and he co-chairs their subgroup on workforce development.

Anne Barbour has 27 years of educational experience supporting children across primary and secondary stages within both mainstream and Additional Support Needs (ASN) settings. Currently serving as the Principal Teacher of Guidance at Park School within East Ayrshire Council. She provides critical strategic direction to staff and successfully embedded the Neurosequential Model in Education (NME) alongside GIRFEC and Nurture principles across the school environment.

Expert in Improvement Science, she utilizes data-driven methodologies to drive systemic change, implementing trauma-informed and health and wellbeing initiatives that directly optimize student regulation and readiness for learning. She possesses a deep understanding of sequential curriculum design, school development plans, and robust multi-agency collaboration. Anne offers support to staff across the authority, she combines comprehensive cross-sector experience with a profound passion for driving positive outcomes for pupils, staff, and the wider school community.

Important Info:

[Please be advised this session includes discussion of sexual harm. Please take care of yourself throughout; you are welcome to take breaks or step away briefly if needed. Please prioritise your wellbeing.]

This webinar will be recorded and shared on the CYCJ website. Cameras and mics will be switched off to all attendees, only the speakers and organisers of the event will have their cameras on. If you have any questions throughout the webinar you will be able to add them into the chat and the speakers will try to answer as many as possible at the end.

All registered attendees will be contacted with team's link 24 hours before each session. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact cycj@strath.ac.uk.

To keep up to date on all CYCJ events you can sign up for our monthly e-bulletin here - http://eepurl.com/dvyBuv