ICMEC Child Safeguarding and Protection Training for Schools - 2023-2024 CatalogRead More

(ICMEC) Your Role as a Mandatory Reporter - published by ICMEC to support youth serving professionals in identification of signs and indicators, grooming behavior and trauma informed response to child disclosure.  Additional support for training on identifying grooming is available in these additional resources.Read More

All ICMEC resources are applicable to children with different abilities and needs.  Some resources are written to address specific vulnerabilities of children with commuication or psychosocial disabilities, in particular Austistic Spectrum Condition (ASC).  These research-informed resources were compiled by trusted child protection partners such as NCMEC (US), NAS (US), NSPCC (UK), SWGfL (UK), and INEQE (UK).Read More

Student safety surveys are used to identify child protection risks to be mitigated.  They should not be used if staff are not trained to respond to student disclosre, there is no child protection policy, or clear reporting pathway for students to disclose abuse.  A lack of action following a safety survey could exacerbate existing instances of abuse.Read More

We are currently developing resources in Chinese versions.  Please share applicable resources to EdPortal@ICMEC.org.Read More

(ICMEC) Safeguarding challenges of online school can be overcome with risk mitigating codes of conduct and child protection policies and procedures.  Ensure staff are aware of their professional responsibilities to maintain appropriate boundaries with students.  Usual school principles of avoiding 1-on-1 contact with students and supervised, observable and interruptable contact with vulnerable students should be in place in online learning environments.Read More

(Redwoods Group) Infographic on features of grooming process in institutional sexual abuse and employee sexual misconduct as seen in Sandusky case.  Available in Spanish and Chinese.Read More

(ITFCP) - Form that incorporates the new accreditation standards for child protection into policy planning for educational institutions.Read More

(ICMEC) Infographic for parents evaluating supervisory programs for children from a child protection perspective. This document provides tips for what parents can ask about, observe and challenge when evaluating child-serving organizations or programs.Read More

(Keeping Children Safe Coalition, 2014) The first Child Safeguarding Standards were launched over 12 years ago by a coalition of relief and development charities that later became known as Keeping Children Safe. Since then there has been a growing recognition that, as well as risks to children from staff and associates, inappropriately designed programmes and poor operational management can also create the possibility of risks to children. Keeping Children Safe represents a commitment by those working in this sector to ensure that their organisations “do no harm” and that they meet the responsibilities set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect children from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence. An online audit tool is available, and this pdf is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Korean.Read More

(ICMEC) Infographic outlines phases of comprehensive child protection planning for schools including abuse prevention education and the professional development needed by staff. Through ICMEC's Education Portal and Global Training Academy, educators are equipped to help prevent, identify and intervene in cases of child abuse, neglect and exploitation.Read More

(ICMEC, combined and derived with permission from Education Portal resources from NCTSN, CfC, UKCCIS, AISA)  Know who is at risk, the facts about abuse, the signs and indicators of abuse and how to protect children in your care. Information for school staff, volunteers and families to prevent abuse and identify and respond to it should it occur.Read More

(ICMEC Summary from LSCB Serious Case Review) Review of policies and actions that foster abuse resistant environments in international schools. Summary of lessons learned from serious case review commissioned on behalf of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster LSCB, following the reported sexual abuse of at least 54 pupils at an independent international day school in London. The source report was prepared by two lead reviewers, both experienced in writing serious case review reports. The abuse, which occurred over a period of four years was perpetrated by a teacher known to have been a prolific sex offender in multiple international schools. Link to full report included in summary.Read More

(UNICEF) UNICEF commissioned this report to better understand online risks faced by children, identify gaps in legislation, ensure removal of harmful materials, support investigation and law enforcement and to identify services for victims of online exploitation and abuse. The aim was to identify priorities for government, NGOs, IT companies and other international agencies and determine appropriate interventions.Read More

(UKCCIS) Produced by the UK Counsel for Child Internet Safety, this cornerstone advice is for school heads and child protection designates or designated safeguarding leads on youth produced sexual imagery. Research found that 61% of secondary school head teachers reported this as a greater concern than smoking, drugs, obesity or offline bullying. This advice covers responding to disclosures, handling devices and imagery, assessing risk, reporting protocols, recording incidents, involving parents, supporting victims and victimizers, and preventative safeguarding and IT education. Resource lists, reporting forms, incident flow charts and staff training materials are included.Read More

(ITFCP) The work of the International Task Force on Child Protection has been undertaken by a coalition of 90+ volunteers, leaders of international education organizations, school leaders, counsellors, business and security managers and teachers, school accreditation, inspection and recruitment professionals, working collaboratively across professions with dedicated law enforcement officials and the medical community. This broad collaboration and diverse perspective from a variety of roles resulted in the creation of ICMEC's Education Portal, accreditation and inspection agency New Standards for Child Protection, and Essential Recruiting Practices following a pilot at 75 international schools. The ITFCP continues to work towards an Interpol International Police Certificate for educator background checks.Read More

(Lanning and Dietz, 2014) Article dispels myths and addresses misconceptions about acquaintance molesters and enables youth-serving organizations to recognize barriers to identification and adoption of best practice in order to do the most the law allows rather than the least the law requires. Published online 23 May 2014 "Journal of Interpersonal Violence," 29, 2815-2838Read More

(Association of International Schools in Africa, AISA) Foundation resource for international schools developed with content experts. Contains modules on recruitment, policies and procedures, multi-disciplinary teams, abuse prevention curriculum, and self-audit tools. Guidance is applicable to all child-serving organizations, but also includes regional resources.Read More

(CANW) This article focuses on international implementation of the Children's Advocacy Center model in cases of child maltreatment, and examines the usefulness of community collaboration on abuse cases, with international examples.Read More

(NCMEC & OJJDP) This publication hopes to address and improve this situation for the benefit of the victims, investigators, and prosecutors. While society has become increasingly more aware of the problem of the acquaintance molester and related problems such as child pornography, the voice calling the public to focus only on “stranger danger” and many child-abuse professionals to focus only on intrafamilial sexual abuse still persists. Sexual-exploitation cases involving acquaintance molesters present many investigative challenges, but they also present the opportunity to obtain a great deal of corroborative evidence, get solid convictions, and prevent continued victimization.Read More

(UNICEF) This Working Paper provides an examination of key concepts and considerations of a systems approach, as opposed to an issues focus in child protection internationally. It assesses child protection and related systems at the regional, national, and international level; and defines key concepts and commonalities internationally.Read More

(ISPCAN) Lois J. Engelbrecht with MSW Center for the Prevention & Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse, Philippines Protect & Save the Children, Malaysia Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Project, Hanoi - Report explores victimization experiences of expatriate students in international schools using the juvenile victimization questionnaire with American international school students and explores features of the expat student population that increases their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.Read More

(APSAC) The sexual victimization of children is a highly emotional issue. Publicity and controversy over complex topics such as repressed memory, satanic ritual abuse, and suggestibility of children have divided and polarized many child advocates, the media, and the American public. In addition to explaining the characteristics of 'backlash' and 'witch hunt' phenomenons, the author describes the key professional qualities needed when running an internal investigation into abuse allegations.Read More