Delivering circles of support and accountability to protect communities from sexual harm and sexual reoffending
When an online sexual offence relating to children has been committed or suspected of having been committed, where there are children living in the household, a referral is made to […]
Due to our increasing reach across the south west and our diversifying projects we find ourselves once again recruiting. This has become an often enough occurrence that we have decided […]
Our Vision… No More Victims of sexual abuse Driven by an aspiration to prevent sexual abuse, Circles South West is a professional, forward-thinking independent charity, led by capable and committed […]
Working with people who have committed acts of sexual harm is a controversial issue. It understandably triggers strong reactions in most people, and particularly for victims and survivors of sexual […]
Circles South West is now live on Facebook! The page will keep you up to date on all the important news from Circles and feature interesting and relevant links to […]
Ernesettle in Plymouth is piloting a ground breaking new approach to prevent child sexual abuse. ‘Together for Childhood’ brings together the local community and partner agencies to prevent harmful sexual […]
In their 2021 threat assessment, the National Crime Agency estimated between 550,000 and 850,000 people in the UK pose a sexual risk to children, both online and offline, with evidence […]
Improving society’s attitudes and involving communities in rehabilitation programmes is key to preventing repeat sexual offences, say UWE Bristol researchers. Professor of Criminology Kieran McCartan worked with statutory and […]
In May 2021, a South West School contacted Circles South West requesting delivery of a series of educational workshops in relation to sex and the law for all boys in […]
Due to the escalation in Covid cases across the UK in January, most of the new Young People’s (YP) circles planned for the start of the year had to be […]
In January 2019 Circles South West received funding to establish the first Prison/Through the Gate Circles of Support and Accountability, to lead the development and delivery of a new pilot […]
I am hoping that it will not have escaped your notice that Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) has been highlighted in the latest report from Her Majesty’s Inspector of […]
Being a Circles coordinator is a multi-layered role that requires a specialist approach and a lot of experience in criminal justice. It is a careful balancing act between choosing the […]
Have you worked with young people with harmful sexual behaviour? Are you social work, youth justice, probation or similarly qualified? Do you want to work for an innovative, award winning […]
We are often asked about the connection between Circles of Support and Accountability and Restorative Justice. Circles do not practice a specifically restorative model. However, the reason that this is […]
The core member had grown up in challenging circumstances – from a very young age, he had struggled with a disability, with emotional and learning difficulties. Cut off from any […]
Circles South West is an award winning charity that prevents sexual abuse by reducing the risk of sexual re-offending. Circles enable volunteers to positively impact on the safe integration of […]
Over 50 delegates attended either the ‘Working with People Who Have Sexually Harmed’ training or ‘Living & Working In a Pornified World’ training. The courses were delivered by our experienced […]
Circles South West’ popular and successful summer training courses are coming to a close, with only one event left to run. ‘Working With People Who Have Sexually Harmed: A Theoretical […]
Our New Trustees: Our three new trustees bring a range of different experience and will be fantastic additions to our Board. Leonie Cole: Leonie is a lifelong resident of the […]
The Compliance Review included submission of a substantial evidence file, 3 x 1 day site visits (separate sites) and interviews with 22 individuals including service users, staff, volunteers, trustees, and […]
The RiP research highlights the statistically significant impact of Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) in reducing dynamic risk factors associated with sexual recidivism over the life of a CoSA, […]
Ernesettle in Plymouth is piloting a ground breaking new approach to prevent child sexual abuse. ‘Together for Childhood’ brings together the local community and partner agencies to prevent harmful sexual […]
Amazon have announced that their charity giving programme, Amazon Smile, is finally available when you make purchases through their app. Previously you could only take advantage of the scheme if […]
Today marks the beginning of the annual national Volunteers’ Week, celebrated across the country to highlight the wonderful and selfless work volunteers do and what they contribute to society. Circles […]
These 1 day training courses are being held face to face across the region to be as accessible to as many delegates as possible – with two interesting and highly […]
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) states, “what was already a recognised phenomenon has now cemented into a grave and widespread threat to our children”. The IWF processed a record number […]
As 2021 gets underway properly we are so pleased to be in a position to add new staff members to our team. We are recruiting the following: Circles Coordinator, Dorset. […]
Last month Peter Yates and I joined the CSA Centre team to host a virtual roundtable for policy makers and professionals, reflecting on our latest publication: Sibling Sexual Abuse: a […]
This is a testing time for Circles, when many of the things we and our core members want to do are not possible. My current Young Adult Circle had its […]
George Streatfeild, the High Sheriff of Dorset said: At my High Sheriff Declaration on 27th March 2020, I summarised my ambition for the year as being to “seek out and […]
Our trustees play a vital role in making sure that Circles South West achieves its core purpose. They strategically oversee the management and administration of the charity, as well as […]
A recent paper from the Lloyds Bank Foundation The Value of Small in a Big Crisis: the distinctive contribution, value and experiences of smaller charities in England and Wales during […]
Tony was one of the first volunteers to be recruited into Circles in Devon back in 2008 when it was still a pilot project delivered by the NSPCC. However, prior […]
Jamie Stephenson, our Devon & Cornwall coordinator, sat down with Kate to discuss the projects taking place in Cornwall and how Circles South West came into being in the county. […]
Findings from the bulletin uses data from the 10 to 15-year-old’s Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Main points Almost 9 in 10 children (89%) aged 10 to 15 […]
Last week [22nd January 2021] the Home Office released its new strategy to protect children from sexual abuse. The new strategy is a comprehensive look at the policies and practices […]
Let me start by asking you a question. Just bring your gut reaction to mind. It’s about the behaviour of people who have committed serious sexual offences, and ended up […]
Breaking the Cycle is a group-work programme designed to inform, empower and offer support for the non-offending partner or ‘significant other’ of a man who has been accused or convicted […]
Commissioning services for victims of crime in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is a big part of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s job and often this is the […]
Freedom of Information responses from 38 police forces in England and Wales show that 1,220 offences of sexual communication with a child were recorded in the first 3 months of […]
BBC Radio Devon covered the subject of sexual offending on 19th November on their breakfast show in response to a recent report showing that there are more people convicted of […]
Circles of Support and Accountability [CoSA] are groups of trained community volunteers who support people convicted of a sexual offence (usually contact offences against children) to integrate back into the […]
Setting up a charity and obtaining funds is a good start but in order to actually deliver a service you need to make sure it is well run, sustainable organisation. […]
Diane Wills, trustee of Circles South West, talks to us about what made her write her latest book on working with sex offenders. Published this month we asked her to […]
Successful schemes that reduce crime and transform lives for the better received national recognition on 20 October as the winners of the 2020 Howard League Community Awards were announced. The […]
Here at Circles South West we were keen to read the report published by The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse in July 2020: Key messages from research on […]
10 years ago, we established the charity, extending Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) across the South West, building on the successful projects already running in Devon and Dorset. Since […]
Back in 2016 we adapted the traditional Circles model to meet the needs of young people 14 years plus, and last year secured funding to work with children from the […]
It’s not systems, processes or procedures that change people. It is not even programmes or courses. In my view it is people that change people and this is done by […]
Subsequent action plans set out our response to the lockdown restrictions, including furloughing 7 of our 9 staff, alongside alternative, creative service provision. This ensured the best possible chance of […]
In accordance with Government guidance, Circles South West’s initial 30-day action plan applied the principles of social distancing across all aspects of our work i.e. avoiding non-essential contact with other […]
The presence of people who pose a risk to the community has, understandably, been a concern to communities across time, place, and culture. What can communities (and the concerned professionals […]
Websites like Pornhub are part of a daily routine for more than 120 million people. What happens when our daily routines are gravely disrupted due to an unseen, frightening worldwide […]
Action plan extension and interim changes to personnel Since our previous communication, restrictions have significantly tightened. We do not yet know how long the UK will remain in ‘lockdown’. Our […]
At Circles South West our circles work hard to support and hold to account core members, and one of the ways we do support is to help develop interests and […]
In drawing up our action plan, the health and well-being of our service users, volunteers and staff are paramount whilst we retain a practical commitment to alternative, creative service provision. […]
The lecture examined existing international research on Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) in order to theoretically define it and highlighted how CoSA fits into the prevention framework and how […]
Sara Radford, our coordinator for Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, spoke eloquently to host Graham Seaman about Circles South West; what we do and what we want to achieve, and in particular, […]
As our YPS expands across the region, we are now accepting referrals for a younger cohort in some areas, from 10 years upwards. All Circles of Support and Accountability for […]
Working alongside Jamie Stephenson, John joins us after a long and illustrious career in probation. A professionally qualified Probation Officer, John has extensive knowledge and experience in criminal justice, gained […]
AmazonSmile offers 0.5% of the net purchase price to charities and Circles South West has signed up to be one of the recipients. To support us sign up with AmazonSmile […]
Neil Claughton has joined us as the Circles Coordinator for Dorset and will manage our existing Circles in the County as well as leading on our newest initiative, Prison/Through The […]
Adele Robinson’s documentary ‘Special Report: Inside the Circle’ described how Circles of Support and Accountability uses community volunteers to help prevent sexual harm. The documentary questions many of the negative […]
This week our Circles Coordinator for Devon & Cornwall spoke to Cornwall’s Pirate FM about what the figures mean and more broadly about our work with people who have sexually […]
Maz spoke to us about what inspired her, the premise of the play and her plans for the play’s future. I have been a Circles South West Volunteer for just […]
Circles South West is an independent charity that works to prevent sexual abuse by reducing the risk of sexual re-offending through its innovative community-based approach. We provide Circles of Support […]
We were delighted to welcome Matthew Trerise, a specialist trainer with 15 years of experience in supporting people with Autism Spectrum Conditions. He currently works for a nationally recognised specialist […]
Circles South West is an independent charity that works to prevent sexual abuse by reducing the risk of sexual re-offending through its innovative community-based approach. As part of our sustainability […]
Our AGM was held on 12th September in Taunton to hear about our achievement of the previous year and enjoy presentations from some of our esteemed guests. The day began […]
Firstly, I had better tell you a little bit about me. I’ve been in prison twice for sexual offences and the second time was for an escalation in offences. However, […]
This year’s meeting will take place in Taunton on Thursday 12th September and we would be delighted to welcome anyone interested in our work. In 2018-19 we coordinated 55 Circles […]
We recommend that you read all about it here in our 2018-19 Annual Report CSW Annual Report 2018-19 Short on time? Take a whistle-stop tour of the main headlines and […]
Volunteers are the life blood of Circles South West and we regularly ask them to review our practices through their experience. It allows us to see where any improvements can […]
So what is the Volunteer Coordinator’s role within Circles South West? The Volunteer Coordinator role is really the first face of Circles South West. I’m the first contact that potential […]
Anna interviewed one of our Dorset volunteers who has participated in three Circles and talked about the purpose of Circles and the importance of the service provided. She also spoke […]
After 6 years Kate is off to pastures new. She will be sorely missed by both staff and volunteers alike. After training in the early 80s Kate worked as a […]
Determining the prevalence of female perpetrated sexual offending is difficult and has long been under-recognised and under-researched and remains the subject of much debate amongst academics. Historically, there has been […]
In 2016 CSW was awarded a 3 year grant by the National Lottery Community Fund to develop, establish and evaluate 3 new pilot projects, adapting the tried and tested Circles […]
It may come as no surprise to you that more women volunteer with us than men, by a majority of 3:1. We have always had an easier time attracting women […]
We are proud that a Circles South West Circle features prominently and are enormously grateful to the volunteers and core member who enabled this. We are grateful too, to the […]
The delegates arrived early as, unusually, the motorway seemed clear and smooth running. Everyone immediately entered into the spirit of cooperation and camaraderie and this atmosphere continued throughout the weekend. […]
The innovative risk management approach compliments and supports the work of public protection agencies, helping to facilitate the safe integration of people into the community. Recycling Lives, a social business […]
In the 6 months between May and November 2018 we coordinated 31 Circles across the region. This first chart shows those Circles by area. The second shows the those Circles […]
This has been very welcome news as Dorset was one of the original areas which fostered and promoted the work of Circles. Circles South West has always had a strong […]
It has been a turbulent year for our Dorset Project. When Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) match-funding for the half-time coordinator seconded by the National Probation Service (NPS) ceased in […]
“A wonderful review result… Well done on an excellent achievement! Riana Taylor, CEO, Circles UK, December 2018 The Review Report concluded that: “It is clear that CSW pride themselves on […]
In our December 2018 newsletter you can find out about: our multi-faceted and very successful Volunteer Conference the ‘shape’ of our work in 2018 our 2018 Dorset journey with new […]
This year we have been working with the company The Group of Seven to update our printed information, with them creating a unique template that we now are taking forward […]
