London’s Violence Reduction Unit Online Harms Trusted Adults Training Programme

London Violence Reduction Unit

Programme Title: Online Harms Trusted Adults Training Programme

Indicative Contract Value: £850,000

Contract Duration: October 2026– October 2029

The London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is undertaking a virtual market engagement exercise on Thursday 25 June at 10:00, via MS Teams, to inform the commissioning of an Online Harms Trusted Adults Training programme.

The London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is committed to understanding the factors that place children and young people at risk of violence, exploitation and harm, and to working collaboratively with partners to deliver long-term, sustainable solutions. We work across communities and sectors, including youth services, local government, education, health, policing and the voluntary and community sector, championing a public health approach that combines prevention, early intervention and effective support for those experiencing the greatest levels of risk and vulnerability.

At the heart of our approach is the belief that violence is preventable, not inevitable. We recognise, however, that many children and young people are already navigating the impacts of trauma, exploitation, abuse and complex community dynamics. As such, our work seeks not only to prevent harm before it occurs, but also to strengthen the systems, services and trusted adults responsible for safeguarding, supporting and intervening with those most affected. Central to this approach is a commitment to partnership working, evidence-informed practice and ensuring that the voices, experiences and expertise of young people and communities shape the solutions designed to support them.

Background

The Mayor's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is seeking to engage with the market in advance of a forthcoming procurement opportunity relating to the delivery of its flagship Online Harms Trusted Adults Training Programme.

The programme forms part of the VRU's wider public health approach to violence reduction and sits within a London-wide model developed following extensive consultation with young people, practitioners, safeguarding professionals, academics and sector experts.

The VRU recognises that online harms are increasingly a public safety, safeguarding and public health concern. Children and young people are navigating identity, relationships, influence, exploitation and conflict across interconnected online and offline environments. However, systems, services and safeguarding responses have often struggled to keep pace with the rapidly evolving nature of digital spaces.

The VRU is therefore seeking a specialist delivery partner capable of strengthening the confidence, capability and safeguarding practice of trusted adults working with young people at the sharpest end of risk.

The successful provider will be expected to design and develop a comprehensive curriculum focused on online harms, demonstrating expertise in the intersection between online and offline harm, including VAWG, violence, vulnerability, exploitation, and emerging digital risks. The curriculum should equip trusted adults with the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to identify, understand and respond to evolving forms of harm, including those facilitated or amplified through artificial intelligence (AI), social media platforms and other digital technologies.

Description of the service

This programme seeks to move beyond traditional awareness-raising approaches and contribute to sustainable workforce development, organisational learning and systems change across London's safeguarding landscape.

The VRU welcomes bids from individual organisations as well as collaborative partnerships and consortia. We recognise that expertise may be distributed across different organisations, and we encourage applications that bring together complementary skills, knowledge and experience. Providers do not need to demonstrate strength across every area independently, provided that the partnership as a whole can evidence the required expertise and capacity to deliver the programme. This may include, for example, combining specialist knowledge in VAWG, contextual safeguarding, workforce development, online harms, learning and evaluation, cross-sector partnership working, and violence reduction approaches.

The successful provider (can be a partnership or consortium bid with a lead provider) will support the development of a more informed, confident and resilient workforce capable of recognising, preventing and responding to emerging online harms affecting children and young people.

The programme will contribute to:

Strengthening safeguarding capability across London in relation to online harms and their impact on young people's wider lives and experiences.

Embedding contextual safeguarding approaches that recognise the interplay between online and offline harms, risks and protective factors.

Contributing to the prevention and reduction of violence against women and girls (VAWG), recognising the role that online environments can play in shaping attitudes, behaviours and experiences of harm.

Improving practitioner confidence, professional curiosity and decision-making in responding to emerging harms across both digital and physical contexts.

Supporting violence reduction and prevention objectives by addressing the interconnected nature of online and offline harm, exploitation and vulnerability.

Developing sustainable learning resources and sector-wide guidance to strengthen responses to online harms and related safeguarding concerns.

Informing future policy, commissioning and practice development in relation to online harms, exploitation and violence affecting children and young people.

Target Audience

The programme will focus on tertiary practitioners working directly with young people experiencing heightened vulnerability including those affected by VAWG, violence, trauma, exploitation, adverse childhood experiences, and neurodivergent young people who may face additional barriers, risks or vulnerabilities online.

Potential cohorts may include:

Youth Justice Teams.

Social Work Teams.

Independent Domestic Violence Advocates.

Designated Safeguarding Leads.

Specialist youth workers.

Hospital-based youth workers.

Custody-based practitioners.

Contextual safeguarding and exploitation specialists.

Scope of Delivery

The successful provider will be expected to design and deliver a specialist, evidence-informed and scenario-based workforce development programme focused on four mandatory thematic areas:

Social Media and AI Risks

Supporting practitioners to understand the role of social media and AI risks, platform design, algorithms and emerging technologies in shaping young people's experiences of harm, conflict, exploitation and vulnerability. This should include awareness of the growing use of AI chatbots and conversational AI tools, and the potential risks they may present in influencing attitudes, reinforcing harmful narratives, facilitating grooming or exploitation, and shaping young people's understanding of relationships, identity, violence against women and girls, and other forms of vulnerability.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Supporting practitioners to identify and respond to online misogyny, image-based abuse, AI-enabled harms, online harassment and the growing intersection between online harms and violence against women and girls.

Grooming, Exploitation and Criminal Networks

Supporting practitioners to identify, prevent and respond to online grooming, exploitation, coercion and criminal influence operating across multiple digital platforms.

Systems Change and Sustainability

The VRU is particularly interested in approaches that move beyond standalone training delivery and contribute to sustainable systems change.

Providers (either individually or collectively through a partnership/consortium) should demonstrate experience of:

Workforce development and capacity building.

Safeguarding practice improvement.

Contextual safeguarding.

Youth participation and co-production.

Learning and evaluation.

Policy and practice development.

Cross-sector partnership working.

The successful provider will be expected to support participants translate learning into organisational practice and practical ways of working with young people. This could also include the development of sustainable resources, learning materials, and sector-wide learning that can continue beyond the life of the commission.

Indicative Outcomes

The programme is expected to:

Engage approximately 2,000 practitioners across the life of the programme.

Deliver more than 100 learning and engagement sessions across London.

Strengthen practitioner confidence, capability and safeguarding practice.

Contribute to long-term improvements in policy, practice and systems responses to online harms.

Timeframe and Budget

The maximum estimated budget for this work is up to £850,000 over a potential 3-year contract term (2 years +12-month extension), subject to confirmation of funding, internal governance, and approvals.

Market Engagement /Response

The VRU welcomes engagement from organisations with expertise in online harms, VAWG, safeguarding, contextual safeguarding, violence reduction, workforce development, youth participation and systems change.

If you are interested in the opportunity and meet the core capabilities as set out above, then please email vruprocurement@london.gov.uk and you will be asked to fill in a short questionnaire.

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