New resource for Lent 2026!

Why Children in the Shadows?

The original Children in the Shadows Lent course was released in 2022, when we were still living in the aftermath of the Covid Pandemic and lockdown periods. Since then, schools and communities have opened up, but many families have been crippled by the cost of living and vulnerabilities have increased. 

This has combined with further fragmentation in our communities and an increased hostility towards refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Against this backdrop, criminal gangs have become increasingly sophisticated, and many children have got drawn into a dark online and offline world which organised crime has sought to capitalise on. 

Children in the Shadows Revisited aims to understand the current landscape and explore how churches and communities can unite to nurture children and protect them from harm. 

Grassroots insight! 

We are thankful to 

• county lines educator, Sabrina Hewitt
• county lines educator, Leo Powell
• county lines educator, Careena Thompson
• international law enforcement advisor and modern slavery trainer, Tony Dunkerley
• Holly Jones, University of Nottingham Rights Lab Doctoral Research Fellow and frontline practitioner
• Ruth Dearnley, the founder of Stop the Traffik
• Imogen Spencer Chapman, the Head of Training & Practice Development at ECPAT UK and 'Amira', a member of ECPAT’s lived-experience Youth Advisory Group

for sharing their wisdom and expertise in the films. 

Each week has a different theme:    

Week 1 - The shocking truth about children & modern slavery in the UK 

Week 2 - The generational impact: how children of modern slavery victims are affected 

Week 3 - Behind the Screen: protecting children from online grooming and exploitation 

Week 4 – County lines in 2026 and how parents can respond  

Week 5 – Fighting county lines in our schools 

Week 6 - The global picture: children & modern slavery across the world  

Each session includes: 

• definitions, statistics and insight from frontline experts (both written and on film)
• examples of good practice
• a reflection on Luke 18 by Bishop Alastair Redfern
• group discussion questions
• a prayer
• action points 

This is the sixth Lent course written by The Clewer Initiative and we hope many churches and communities will use it throughout the season of Lent to understand more deeply and reflect on the urgent need to protect children in our communities from exploitation. 

The resource will be available for free in January 2026 at www.clewer.org.uk