How Schools Can Lead the Fight Against Child Exploitation — National Child Exploitation Awareness Day 2026

Every year on 18th March, schools, communities and organisations across the UK unite for National Child Exploitation Awareness Day — a national campaign encouraging everyone to think, spot and speak out against child exploitation. This isn’t just a date in the calendar; it’s an opportunity to strengthen safeguarding, deepen understanding, and support students to stay safe both online and offline. Why 18th March Matters

Feb 17, 2026

Why 18th March Matters

Child exploitation can take many forms — from sexual exploitation to county lines and criminal exploitation. Awareness is vital because many young people don’t recognise the signs or feel they can talk about what’s happening to them. Schools play a vital role in this. As trusted environments where young people spend much of their time, schools are uniquely placed to inform, protect and empower pupils.

Integrate CE Awareness Into Safeguarding and RSHE

Talking about Child exploitation and grooming should form part of your ongoing safeguarding and Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum.

Helping pupils understand:

how to feel safe
what exploitation looks like
the different forms of grooming
how to recognise coercion and unhealthy relationships
where to seek help

Empower Young People to Speak Out

A key message of CE Awareness Day is simple: think, spot and speak out. Empower pupils to:

talk to a trusted adult if something doesn’t feel right
question behaviours that seem coercive or controlling
support peers who might be struggling

By nurturing a culture where children feel heard and supported, schools can help reduce the silence around exploitation.

Whether you use 18th March as a focal point for a single event or embed activities throughout March and the wider year, the goal is the same: build resilience and awareness so children and young people can navigate risks safely.

If you’d like help linking awareness activities to your RSHE or safeguarding programme, get in touch — we’ve got age-appropriate sessions for Primary and Secondary schools, and resources that make this critical work engaging and impactful.

We can also help support staff to build their confidence around these topics as research is still showing many staff feel underconfident.

Helping Hands - Loudmouth’s primary programme Helping Hands uses age-appropriate drama and discussions to build builds safeguarding awareness. It teaches a range of steps that children can take to feel safer and gradually explores topics including online grooming and county lines.

Working for Marcus - Loudmouth’s secondary programme Working for Marcus programme helps young people understand different forms of grooming and exploitation. The safe and trauma informed approach helps students to recognise manipulation and know where to seek help.