South London Child Sexual Abuse Therapeutic Service

NHS England - London (hereafter referred to as "the Authority") is seeking to commission a specialist therapeutic service for child victims of sexual abuse, covering the 12 South London Boroughs and two ICB regions (SEL and SWL) to meet the needs of this population in an area that historically has been underserved by such services. Initial development was supported through time-limited grant funding, enabling pathway design, stakeholder engagement and early learning. This service now sets out a refined, evidence-informed model suitable for sustained commissioning.
Key features of the service are:
• A specialist, trauma-informed service for children and young people (CYP) aged 4 - 24 affected by sexual abuse and rape across South London's 12 boroughs.
• The service will support CYP who have experienced sexual trauma and/or safeguarding needs in relation to CSA and will provide appropriate support to non-abusing parents and carers where clinically indicated, alongside sibling support where needed.
• The service will deliver specialist assessment, therapeutic interventions, safeguarding support and system navigation, recognising the significant impact of sexual trauma on emotional wellbeing, mental health, relationships and safety across childhood and adolescence.
• Safeguarding will be a core and continuous component of service delivery, operating alongside therapeutic clinical interventions rather than as a separate or sequential process.
• The service model has been developed in response to identified gaps in local provision, including increased demand for specialist sexual trauma support, pressure on statutory mental health pathways and the need to strengthen coordination between therapeutic care and safeguarding responses.
• The service will operate as part of a coordinated system response, working closely with children's social care and safeguarding partnerships, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and wider mental health provision, Sexual...