We’re really proud to share an important milestone for the Social Work Age Estimation Framework (SAEF) as the Helen Bamber Foundation has formally endorsed the framework, recognising its role in shaping a more ethical, trauma‑informed and practitioner‑led approach to age assessment across the UK.
For many years, the Helen Bamber Foundation has been a leading voice in safeguarding, clinical care and human rights advocacy for survivors of trafficking, torture and other forms of extreme human cruelty. Their endorsement carries real weight and reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that young people are met with dignity, cultural humility and professional expertise at every stage of the age assessment process.
In their statement, the Foundation said:
“The Helen Bamber Foundation is pleased to endorse the Social Work Age Estimation Framework (SAEF). SAEF represents a significant step forward in ensuring that age assessments in the UK are ethical, trauma‑informed and grounded in social work expertise. Its emphasis on safeguarding, cultural humility and multi-agency judgement aligns closely with our commitment to upholding the dignity and rights of survivors of trafficking, torture and other forms of extreme human cruelty, as well our clinical and research experience with young people. We welcome SAEF’s focus on reflective practice, calibration, and the centrality of the young person’s voice, and we support its adoption as a consistent, practitioner‑led standard across the sector.”
SAEF was developed to bring clarity, consistency and defensibility to age assessment practice, while keeping the young person’s experience at the centre. Its focus on reflective discipline, calibration and multi‑agency judgement supports practitioners to make balanced, evidence‑informed decisions in complex circumstances.
The Helen Bamber Foundation’s endorsement reinforces what many across the sector are already recognising. SAEF is becoming the emerging national standard for age assessment, shaped by practitioners, grounded in evidence and designed to safeguard young people with dignity and care.
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