Website of the UK government

The majority of child sexual offenders are known to their victims. They are often a member of the family, a friend of the victim, or a friend of the victim’s family. The disclosure pilot is intended to test the effectiveness of giving parents, carers and guardians a more formal way of requesting information about people who are involved in their family life – specifically if they are concerned that a person is a child sexual offender.

If police checks show that someone has a record for offences that may put a child at risk, the authorities will consider sharing this information with the child’s parent, carer or guardian. The pilot scheme will test whether this helps to protect children and young people from sexual offenders.

The pilot is being carried out in a limited area in order to be able to measure what is successful and what isn’t. A number of issues will be reviewed during evaluation, including whether the service has increased protection for children and young people; levels of public interest and take-up of the service; the impact that providing the service has on local police forces; and the impact of the pilot on the overall management of child sexual offenders. Following evaluation, a decision will be taken as to whether to roll out the pilot nationally.

Pilot areas

The pilot areas are Cambridgeshire (Northern Division, including Peterborough and surrounding villages); Cleveland (Stockton District); Hampshire (Southampton); and Warwickshire (force-wide).

What to do if you're worried a child is at risk

If you ever think a child is in immediate danger, you should call the police on 999.

If you have a concern about any individual who has contact with your child – even if you are not living in a pilot area – you should raise these concerns with the police. There are already measures in place in all areas to ensure children are protected from sexual offenders, and the police may, in appropriate circumstances disclose information to you, even if you are not living in a pilot area.

Other help and advice

You can get help and advice from the following organisations -

Stop It Now!

 To find out more about what to look for if you suspect child sexual abuse, you can contact the Stop It Now! Helpline on 0808 1000 900. The confidential, freephone helpline is available from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm on Friday.

The helpline is for people who are worried about their own sexual thoughts and feelings towards children, or the sexual behaviour of others; for parents and carers of young people with sexually worrying behaviour; and for professionals needing help with difficult cases.

NSPCC Child Protection Helpline

The NSPCC’s helpline is a confidential and free service, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 0808 800 5000 for help or advice.
Help is also available in other languages:

• Textphone – 0800 056 0566
• Asian helpline service in English – 0800 096 7719
• Bengali/Sylehti – 0800 096 7714
• Gujarati – 0800 096 7715
• Hindi – 0800 096 7716
• Punjabi – 0800 096 7717
• Urdu – 0800 096 7718
• Cymru/Wales - 0808 100 2524

The NSPCC can also provide a response by email, within 24 hours: email them at

If you are emailing from Northern Ireland, email

More useful links

For information about staying safe online, visit Think U Know, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre's online safety hub. It provides advice for adults and children of all ages.

• Think U Know Website Opens new window