In everyday safeguarding practice, conversations about FGM often need careful preparation, clear language and activities that help children and families talk safely. The FGM Direct Work Toolkit supports social workers and related practitioners with structured session plans for direct work on female genital mutilation, children’s rights, body safety and safety planning.
Designed to help practitioners build protective factors with children, young people, parents and carers, the toolkit sets out a practical approach to FGM direct work within family safeguarding. It is aimed particularly at social workers in England and Wales who are assessing or supporting girls at risk of FGM, children who may have undergone FGM, and wider family members including boys, men and carers.
The contents show separate session plans for parent and carer work, including an introduction to FGM and safety planning, alongside child-focused sessions for ages 7 plus. Activities include My Rights, body mapping, introductions to FGM for different age groups, understanding psychological implications, and recognising that abuse is never acceptable. Time-limited session options are also included for practitioners who need a shorter intervention.
Preparation guidance encourages workers to attend FGM training, use assessment tools, share information between professionals, adapt sessions to the child’s maturity and keep siblings involved where helpful. The recording section gives prompts for tracking learning, such as asking children what they already know, recapping previous sessions and collecting drawings or activity sheets as evidence of understanding.
Parents and carers are also given careful attention, with visible practice tips around common ground, cultural competence, acknowledgement, listening, strengths-based work, empowerment, multi-agency working, whole-family approaches and integration. These make the pack useful for reflective supervision, direct sessions, child protection planning and family support work where sensitive, rights-based FGM education is needed. Produced by the National FGM Centre.
