Environmental Audit For Child Protection (ICMEC).pdf

The International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children provides guidelines for conducting a school environmental audit for child protection purposes. The audit focuses on physical and temporal safeguarding concerns, and its effectiveness relies on audits of school safety, supervision, and child protection policies and procedures. Key considerations include:

Capturing student experience through surveys and including students in physical reviews
Exceeding minimum safeguarding requirements and striving to prevent all abuse
Evaluating risk-benefit assessments and allocating resources to situations presenting the highest risk to vulnerable populations
Considering contextual safeguarding, including physical spaces, cultural attitudes, and environmental problems
Providing adequate resources and authority to those conducting the audit
Mitigating risks without compromising students' healthy development and right to privacy

The audit should occur separately from comprehensive audits or inspections, and multiple evaluations of the physical space are required at different times of day. Temporal and seasonal considerations, such as vulnerable times in the school schedule and changes to routine use or physical space, should be considered. The audit should also examine timing and location of previous complaints, reports, or incidents through a safeguarding lens.

Cultural considerations include conveying a school position that sexual harassment is not inevitable, fostering healthy relationships, and challenging unacceptable behaviors. Barriers to reporting should be discussed, and signposting to local and online resources for reporting and support should be provided. Protective practice should reflect cultural norms that may increase student vulnerability.