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Part 6 — Using the Restitute Model Toolkit

Part 6 — Using the Restitute Model Toolkit

How the published Toolkit components hold and protect the model, with notes, quotation sources and bibliography.

Part 6July 2026

How the rest of the toolkit holds the model

The Restitute Model introduces the approach: the gap it addresses, the people it supports, how support works and the evidence behind it. It provides the foundation for the rest of the Toolkit by setting out the model’s purpose, principles and intended impact for families and loved ones.

Appendix A — Evidence Base, Outcomes and Detailed Findings holds the detailed service evidence, outcome findings, methodology and limitations that underpin the model.

Appendix B — Policy, Commissioning and Wider-System Alignment holds the system-change and commissioning case and shows how the model relates to wider policy, commissioning and multi-agency arrangements.

The Core Standards set the boundaries. They name the things that have to stay in place wherever the model is delivered. They stop the model becoming dependent on memory, personality or informal understanding, and they make clear what cannot be removed without changing the work.

Delivery Readiness and Assurance sets out the conditions for safe delivery. It deals with site readiness, governance, workforce, safeguarding, supervision, recording, practical support routes, therapeutic referral routes, quality, research and client-contribution arrangements. A service cannot safely deliver the Restitute Model just by liking the idea of it. The right conditions have to be in place.

The Delivery Readiness and Assurance Pack turns those requirements into practical readiness checks, evidence requirements and implementation-assurance tools.

Client Pathway Standards and Practice sets out the client pathway. It explains how people enter support, move from the waiting list into active work, receive the Six-Week Foundation Pathway, move into ongoing structured support, end support, return if needed and take part in long-term follow-up where they choose to. It protects the model from becoming vague, reactive or dependent on whatever one worker happens to do.

The Client Pathway Audit and Spot-Check Pack provides the tools used to test pathway fidelity, recording and safe practice.

Appendix C — Communication Templates provides controlled templates and example wording for consistent communication.

Appendix D — Functional Roles and Function Combination Map defines the functions the model requires and shows which functions may safely be combined.

Client Rights and Service Standards sets out what clients should be able to expect from Restitute support, wherever the model is delivered.

Notes and quotation sources

Published research, reports and other external sources are listed in the Bibliography. Notes are used where a quotation, statistic or specific finding needs to be linked to its source. Anonymised client quotations and Restitute practice material are described in a way that protects confidentiality, with fuller provenance retained in the controlled Source Register and Placement Map.

Note Page / paragraph Quotation or evidence Source
1 Page 8, paragraph 1 “All of a sudden, your world just changes overnight…” Finch and McCulloch, 2025, p.37
2 Page 8, paragraph 4 “We felt we were under investigation the whole time…” Finch and McCulloch, 2025, p.43.
3 Page 9, paragraph 4a “Parents and carers should also be recognised as victims of child sexual abuse…” Parkinson, 2022; Steel and Parkinson, 2026.
4 Page 9, paragraph 4a Evidence concerning caregivers’ experiences during the first 72 hours following disclosure Whitehouse, McKenzie and Hobbs, 2025.
5 Page 9, between paragraphs 4a and 5 “For the first two years post-disclosure I functioned on adrenaline alone…” Anonymised client quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
6 Page 11, paragraph 11 “It was not just that this was not what was wanted…” Restitute founder reflection based on lived experience. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
7 Page 11, evidence panel Evidence about the proportion of services supporting children, adult victims or survivors, and parents Steel and Parkinson, 2026.
8 Page 12, paragraph 16 “It isn’t therapy, but it is definitely therapeutic.” Anonymised former Restitute client quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
9 Page 12, evidence panel Estimated economic cost of child sexual abuse in England and Wales of £10.1 billion in 2019 Home Office report. Full title and publication details to be confirmed for the Bibliography.
10 Page 15, paragraph 27 “You think ‘I should have known’…” Howells, 2026, p.204.
11 Page 15, evidence panel Evidence about expectations of “good” motherhood, mother-blaming and assumptions that mothers should have known about abuse Zagrodney and Cummings, 2020.
12 Page 15, paragraph 26 “Were there things that I missed?… and that’s where Restitute came into their own…” Finch and McCulloch, 2025, p.38.
13 Page 17, paragraph 31 “In the casework sessions, I could just pour it all out there…” Finch and McCulloch, 2025, p.38.
14 Page 18, paragraph 33 “I didn’t want to ruin my brother’s life.” Howells, 2026, p.195.
15 Page 18, paragraph 34 Evidence that children may delay disclosure because they fear negative family reactions or disruption to the family Allnock, Miller and Baker, 2019; Scott, 2023.
16 Page 19, paragraph 35 “Now you’ve got to remember by this point I’d been having ten years of chaos with my daughter…” Anonymised client quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
17 Page 20, paragraph 38 Statistics stating that around 3% of police-recorded rape offences result in a suspect being charged or summonsed, and around one in eight concluded child sexual abuse investigations result in charge or summons Official criminal justice statistics. Exact datasets, reporting periods and publication details to be confirmed for the Bibliography.
18 Page 20, paragraph 38 “If she hadn’t said anything, my dad would still be here.” Anonymised family quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
19 Page 20, paragraph 38a Evidence concerning the pressures faced by non-abusing parents in private family-law proceedings, including abuse concerns being minimised or reframed through allegations of alienating behaviour Ministry of Justice, 2020; Family Justice Council, 2024; Dalgarno et al., 2024. See also Waxman, 2024 (submitted as Independent Victims’ Commissioner for London; appointed Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales in January 2026) and SHERA Research Group, 2026.
20 Page 21, paragraph 39 “I got over the sexual abuse, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over the bullying in school.” Anonymised quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
21 Page 22, after paragraph 41 “I woke up the next morning and realised nothing had changed…” Anonymised Restitute client or lived-experience quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
22 Page 23, Support in Action panel The five-four-three-two-one grounding technique using sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste Restitute practice material. An appropriate external practice source should be confirmed before publication.
23 Page 25, paragraph 51a “No-one told me my child was a young carer because no-one recognised that his sibling had eligible care needs.” Anonymised family quotation. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
24 Page 30, paragraph 68 “The people in Restitute have lived experience… they’ve walked similar paths…” Finch and McCulloch, 2025, p.40.
25 Page 31, paragraph 74 “It’s hard to take medication or therapy when your basic needs aren’t being met. Therapy can be challenging enough without a warm place to sleep at night.” Toral Thomas – Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
26 Page 32, paragraph 77 University of Suffolk evaluation finding that Restitute casework could have therapeutic effect while remaining distinct from therapy Finch and McCulloch, 2025.
27 Page 32, paragraph 78 Therapy referral rates of 11.6%, 8.6% and 9.2% across the three reporting years Restitute three-year service data, 2023–2026. Full report details to be included in the Bibliography.
28 Page 33, practice panel beside paragraph 80 Explanation of solution-focused therapy as identifying strengths, resources and small achievable steps Toral Thomas – Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
29 Page 33, paragraph 80 “It wasn’t until around 12 weeks into our work that the client disclosed that they had a problem with scratch cards.” Anonymised Restitute practice example. Exact provenance to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
30 Page 34, paragraph 82 Restitute began in 2020 expecting initially to support approximately six to twelve families Restitute organisational history and founder account. Exact documentary source to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
31 Page 34, paragraphs 83–84 Growth from a small service to supporting hundreds of families, alongside the development of systematic outcome recording and evidence collection Restitute service records, annual reports and monitoring data. Full details to be confirmed for the Bibliography.
32 Page 35, paragraph 87 University of Suffolk evaluation findings that Restitute’s work was complex, responsive and adaptable, could have therapeutic effect while not being therapy, and should be articulated more explicitly Finch and McCulloch, 2025.
33 Page 35, Section 14 Three-year total of 903 clients and evidence that the client group and pattern of need remained recognisable as the service grew Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
34 Page 35, Section 14 Evidence of improvements in wellbeing, carer confidence and health, together with emerging evidence that gains are maintained after support Restitute three-year service data; Finch and McCulloch, 2025; Restitute long-term follow-up data.
35 Page 39, after paragraph 126 “I am in a really different place to when I started and it’s a big part thanks to this service…” Finch and McCulloch, 2025, p.34.
36 Appendix A, A1 Headline findings: 903 clients; 85.3% female clients; 56% victims of crime themselves; 73% caring for a child victim; 85% of known perpetrators male Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
37 Appendix A, A1 Age, ethnicity and sexuality profile, including evidence that the client group remained broadly consistent across three years Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
38 Appendix A, A2 Evidence that family members were the largest perpetrator group and that most cases concerned harm within families or close relationships Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
39 Appendix A, A2 Gendered pattern of clients, primary victims and perpetrators, including fewer than ten recorded female perpetrators across the three-year period Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
40 Appendix A, A2 Evidence concerning recurring crime categories, overlapping needs and consistent pressures involving legal processes, education, caring, health, finance, safeguarding and crisis Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
41 Appendix A, A3 Description of the assigned one-to-one support-worker offer and the proactive, planned nature of support Restitute three-year service report, case-record evidence and practice evidence.
42 Appendix A, A3 468 practical-support grants worth just over £29,000, including 101 grants for food, fuel and electricity Restitute, Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026.
43 Appendix A, A3 Therapeutic-intervention referral rates of 11.6%, 8.6% and 9.2%, and the finding that clients receiving therapy showed the same overall pattern of wellbeing improvement as those who did not Restitute three-year service data; Finch and McCulloch, 2025.
44 Appendix A, A4 Improvements in wellbeing, physical health, carer confidence and satisfaction with services, including greater change among clients beginning with poorer scores and those receiving longer support Finch and McCulloch, 2025; Restitute three-year outcome data.
45 Appendix A, A4 Long-term findings: 81.4% of wellbeing improvement maintained, 112.5% of carer-confidence improvement maintained and 64.0% of health improvement maintained Restitute long-term follow-up cohort. Reporting period, cohort size and calculation method to be confirmed in the Source Register and Placement Map.
46 Appendix A, A5 Evidence methodology, including University of Suffolk evaluation, Restitute outcome measures, case records, interviews, client feedback and validated clinical measures used for therapy evaluation Finch and McCulloch, 2025; Restitute monitoring and evaluation records.
47 Appendix A, A5 Developing economic evidence and the need for further cost-benefit analysis, including University of Bristol/VISION work Finch and McCulloch, 2025; University of Bristol/VISION work in development. Full project and publication details to be confirmed.
48 Appendix A, A5 Evaluation finding that clients accessing therapy showed reductions in anxiety and depression Finch and McCulloch, 2025. Exact measures and findings to be checked against the final evaluation report.
49 Appendix B, B2 Evidence that non-abusing parents and carers affected by child sexual abuse need support in their own right and that there is a gap in provision Parkinson, 2022; Steel and Parkinson, 2026; Parkinson and Smeaton, 2026.
50 Appendix B, B2 Alignment with Child House, Barnahus and Lighthouse-style principles Relevant official Child House, Barnahus and Lighthouse frameworks. Exact documents and publication details to be confirmed for the Bibliography.
51 Appendix B, B2 Alignment with safeguarding, health, carer support, trauma-informed practice and family-systems approaches Glinski and Sabin, 2025; Scott and McNeish, 2017; McNeish, Kelly and Scott, 2019.
52 Page 12, Section 3 Whole-family impact where a parent is investigated for accessing child sexual abuse material, including trauma, practical disruption, financial loss and safeguarding complexity Sabin and Sheath, 2023.
53 Page 9, paragraph 3; page 21, paragraph 41 Evidence that supportive responses from non-abusing carers can improve the child’s recovery environment, while support does not guarantee recovery Scott, 2023; McNeish, Kelly and Scott, 2019.
54 Pages 22–23, Section 8 Evidence concerning sibling sexual abuse, sibling relationships, whole-family impact and the need to support all affected family members Yates and Allardyce, 2021 (corrected 2025).
55 Pages 24–26, Sections 9–10 Evidence-informed principles of parent support, including needs-led, relational, strengths-based, non-judgemental, flexible and coordinated support Scott and McNeish, 2017; Parkinson, 2022.
56 Page 33, Section 15; Appendix B Strategic and commissioning guidance supporting coordinated, evidence-informed, multi-agency responses and a comprehensive specialist offer for parents and carers Glinski and Sabin, 2025; Parkinson and Smeaton, 2026.

Bibliography

  • Allnock, D., Miller, P. and Baker, H. (2019), Key messages from research on identifying and responding to disclosures of child sexual abuse. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • Dalgarno, E., Bramwell, D., Verma, A. and Ayeb-Karlsson, S. (2024), “Let’s excuse abusive men from abusing and enable sexual abuse”: Child sexual abuse investigations in England’s private family courts, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 46(3), pp. 345–365. View source.

  • Family Justice Council (2024), Guidance on responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour. View source (Accessed: 19 July 2026).

  • Finch, J. and McCulloch, K. (2025), An evaluation of the services offered by Restitute: well-being, confident parenting & caring and physical health. Project report. Restitute. View source (Accessed: 1 July 2026).

  • Glinski, A. and Sabin, N. (2025), Developing your strategic response to child sexual abuse: A guide for safeguarding children partnerships. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • Home Office (publication details to be confirmed), report estimating the economic and social cost of child sexual abuse in England and Wales in 2019.

  • Howells, A. (2026), “The messy stories are the real ones”: Exploring narratives of mothers whose children are impacted by child sexual abuse and social workers’ perspectives. Doctoral thesis. University of Essex. View source (Accessed: 1 May 2026).

  • McNeish, D., Kelly, L. and Scott, S. (2019), Effectiveness of services for sexually abused children and young people, Report 1: A knowledge review. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • Ministry of Justice (2020), Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases. Final report of the Expert Panel. View source (Accessed: 19 July 2026).

  • Official criminal justice statistics concerning police-recorded rape and child sexual abuse investigations, charges and summonses. Exact datasets, reporting periods and publishers to be confirmed.

  • Parkinson, D. (2022), Supporting parents and carers: A guide for those working with families affected by child sexual abuse. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • Parkinson, D. and Smeaton, E. (2026), Specialist support for parents and carers of sexually abused children: A guide for funders and commissioners of support services. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • Restitute (2026), Three Years of Restitute: Growth, Need and Impact, 2023–2026. Internal service report.

  • Restitute (2026), long-term follow-up findings for former clients. Internal evaluation dataset.

  • Restitute, annual monitoring data, client outcome records, anonymised case records, client feedback and service evaluation material, 2021–2026.

  • Sabin, N. and Sheath, M. (2023), Managing risk and trauma after online sexual offending: A whole-family safeguarding guide. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse; corrected December 2024. View source.

  • Scott, S. (2023), Key messages from research on intra-familial child sexual abuse (second edition). Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • Scott, S. and McNeish, D. (2017), Supporting parents of sexually exploited young people: An evidence review. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source.

  • SHERA Research Group (2026), Written evidence submitted to the Public Bill Committee on the Courts and Tribunals Bill (CTB0054), 9 March 2026. UK Parliament. View source (Accessed: 19 July 2026).

  • Steel, M. and Parkinson, D. (2026), Support matters for parents: An overview of services supporting parents and carers of sexually abused children in England and Wales. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse. View source (Accessed: 1 July 2026).

  • University of Bristol/VISION (work in development), economic analysis of the Restitute Model. Full project and publication details to be confirmed.

  • Waxman, C. (2023), Response to the Family Justice Council consultation on alienating behaviours. Office of the Independent Victims’ Commissioner for London. View source (Accessed: 19 July 2026).

  • Whitehouse, C., McKenzie, P. and Hobbs, C. (2025), “The First 72 Hours After Child Sexual Assault: Reporting Children, Young People, and Mothers’ Experiences of Police, Hospital, and Psychosocial Care in Victoria”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, first published online 17 March 2025. View source.

  • Yates, P. and Allardyce, S. (2021), Sibling sexual abuse: A knowledge and practice overview. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse; corrected July 2025. View source.

  • Zagrodney, J. L. and Cummings, J. A. (2020), “Qualitatively Understanding Mother Fault After Childhood Sexual Abuse”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(23–24), pp. 5589–5606. View source.

Additional frameworks and guidance still to be confirmed

  • Official Child House, Barnahus and Lighthouse frameworks.

  • National safeguarding, health, carer-support, trauma-informed-practice and family-systems guidance relevant to the Restitute Model.

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