ICMEC Level II Child Protection Workshop: Engaging Students in Safeguarding: 07 April

Tuesday 07 April 2026 (09:00 – 10:30 GMT/London)

Training for School Child Protection Team Members: Level II (Synchronous)

International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC)

Facilitated by Debbie Downes, Director of Global School Initiatives, ICMEC

About this Course

This course focuses on student engagement in safeguarding, emphasizing the importance of understanding student experiences to engage in meaningful and effective safeguarding practice. Participants will learn strategies to give students voice and ownership in safeguarding at their school, including anonymous reporting pathways, focus groups, location mapping, and youth participatory research. These approaches will allow you to gather insights and foster student involvement in issues that affect their everyday safety and well-being. By applying learned concepts to real-life case studies, participants will be equipped to foster a culture of active participation, ensuring that students’ perspectives are acknowledged and integrated into safeguarding practices.

Target Audience

• Level II workshops are geared towards child protection team members. We recommend school child protection teams work together to choose different training for members based on their role at the school, role on the team, and interest so that the team represents a range of expertise.

Prerequisites

• Level II courses are for child protection team members who have established child protection programs and have completed Level I or a comparable foundation-level training.

Fees

• £75 per person

This course will be split into 1 x 1.5 hour sessions and will be delivered virtually via Zoom.

About the Facilitator

In August 2022, Debbie Downes joined The International Centre of Missing and Exploited Children as the Director of Global School Initiatives. In this role, she develops and provides child protection training, support, and resources to schools around the world. She has been supporting ICMEC’s work as a regional trainer since July 2020. Debbie has worked in international education for 18 years, first as an elementary teacher, then as school principal, and then as Accreditation and Child Protection Lead for Quality Schools International. She developed and revised handbooks, policies, and resources to support child protection efforts at a group of 36 international schools. She also supported schools with on-site and virtual professional development. Debbie’s background in child protection includes an MSW from the University of California at Berkeley and several years of experience working in the court unit of Children and Family Services in Contra Costa County, California. Debbie’s overseas career began with 3 years as a health education volunteer with the Peace Corps in Kolda, Senegal. She has since lived with her husband, 2 children, and 2 rescue dogs in Thailand, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, and her current location of Minsk, Belarus.