Child Protection and Safeguarding Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Child Protection Officers, Safeguarding Focal Points and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-HR-047

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with humanitarian programmes, development projects, social services or safeguarding responsibilities.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Humanitarian programmes can expose children to exploitation, abuse, neglect, family separation, recruitment, trafficking and harmful practices. Teams must identify risks early, prevent harm through programme design, respond safely when concerns arise, and coordinate with statutory authorities and specialist services. Weak safeguarding arrangements can cause further harm, compromise investigations, damage community trust and place staff and partners at risk.

This course develops the practical child protection and safeguarding capability required in humanitarian response. Participants apply the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, the Core Humanitarian Standard and Inter-Agency Standing Committee guidance to assess risks, establish reporting pathways, manage disclosures, conduct safe referrals and strengthen partner controls. The syllabus addresses safeguarding governance, survivor-centred case management, child participation, family tracing and reunification, monitoring, information management, staff conduct and investigation boundaries.

Training combines focused instructor briefings with humanitarian case work, role-based simulations, group analysis and structured application planning. Participants work progressively on a child protection and safeguarding package for a realistic response scenario, such as displacement following conflict, flooding or disease outbreak. They leave with a completed safeguarding risk assessment, reporting and referral pathway, case management tools, partner due-diligence controls and an implementation plan. The course is delivered over 10 days, from 08:30 to 16:30, in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online, and includes a certificate of completion.

The course suits professionals responsible for programme quality, safeguarding, protection services, field operations, grants, partnerships and people management in humanitarian organisations.

What you will be able to do

  • Conduct child protection risk assessments using the Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action
  • Design safeguarding reporting, referral and escalation pathways for humanitarian programmes
  • Apply survivor-centred principles when receiving disclosures and managing child protection cases
  • Develop child safeguarding policies, codes of conduct and implementation controls
  • Assess partner safeguarding capacity through due diligence and corrective action planning
  • Use inter-agency case management procedures, consent protocols and information-sharing controls
  • Plan child participation and community feedback mechanisms that prevent harm
  • Produce and present a complete child protection and safeguarding response package

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence receiving and escalating child safeguarding concerns without causing further harm
  • Practical evidence for leading safeguarding improvements within programmes and partner networks
  • A structured method for assessing child protection risks before activities begin
  • Clearer judgement on case-management roles, referral thresholds and confidentiality limits
  • A completed professional portfolio of safeguarding tools for field deployment

For your organisation

  • Stronger prevention controls against abuse, exploitation, neglect and unsafe programme practices
  • More reliable reporting and referral arrangements for children at immediate or continuing risk
  • Improved compliance with donor, partner and inter-agency child safeguarding expectations
  • Better partner oversight through documented due diligence and corrective action plans
  • More consistent incident records, case coordination and management assurance

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain child protection responsibilities and priority risks within humanitarian response.

  • Child protection threats during conflict, displacement, disasters and public-health emergencies
  • Humanitarian principles applied to child protection decisions and service delivery
  • Duty of care, best interests and non-discrimination foundations
  • Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action structure
  • Core Humanitarian Standard commitments relevant to children and caregivers
  • Distinguishing child protection, safeguarding, gender-based violence and psychosocial support

Participants can establish clear safeguarding accountability, authority and governance arrangements.

  • Board, senior management and field-level safeguarding accountabilities
  • Safeguarding focal point terms of reference and escalation authority
  • Policy hierarchy: safeguarding policy, code of conduct and procedures
  • Risk appetite statements for child protection and safeguarding decisions
  • Governance dashboards tracking incidents, actions, trends and overdue cases
  • Document control, policy review cycles and approval responsibilities

Participants can assess child safeguarding risks and select proportionate controls.

  • Risk assessment scope covering activities, locations, personnel and partners
  • Hazard identification through child journey mapping and service touchpoints
  • Likelihood-impact matrices calibrated for child safeguarding harm
  • Existing control testing using preventive, detective and corrective categories
  • Residual risk ratings linked to named control owners
  • Risk registers with actions, deadlines, evidence and review triggers

Participants can embed child safeguarding measures into programme design and delivery.

  • Theory of change assumptions tested for unintended child protection harm
  • Safe activity design for distributions, cash transfers and outreach
  • Site assessments covering privacy, access, supervision and transport
  • Child-safe communication materials reviewed for language, imagery and consent
  • Inclusion measures for children with disabilities and minority identities
  • Programme adaptation triggers following incidents, feedback and changing risks

Participants can create safe participation and feedback arrangements for children.

  • Child participation principles: voluntary involvement, inclusion, safety and influence
  • Age-appropriate consultation methods for different developmental stages
  • Informed assent and caregiver consent documented appropriately
  • Community feedback mechanisms accessible to children and caregivers
  • Closing feedback loops through visible actions and explanations
  • Managing retaliation risks after complaints or community consultations

Participants can apply prevention measures for sexual exploitation and abuse involving children.

  • PSEA obligations within child safeguarding systems and staff conduct
  • Six Core Principles relating to sexual exploitation and abuse
  • Power analysis of aid relationships, gatekeepers and access decisions
  • Prohibited conduct defined through codes of conduct and policies
  • Safe complaint channels for sexual exploitation and abuse concerns
  • Preventive supervision of staff, volunteers, contractors and community workers

Participants can implement personnel controls that reduce safeguarding risks.

  • Role risk classification for positions involving contact with children
  • Vacancy notices stating safeguarding commitments and applicant screening requirements
  • Structured interviews testing values, boundaries and child-safe judgement
  • Reference checks focused on conduct history and safeguarding concerns
  • Criminal record checks within lawful and context-appropriate procedures
  • Induction, probation and supervision controls for safeguarding compliance

Participants can operate a safe reporting and initial response process.

  • Reporting pathways for children, caregivers, staff, partners and communities
  • Immediate safety triage using danger indicators and urgent actions
  • Receiving disclosures without leading questions, promises or blame
  • Mandatory reporting duties assessed against national law and policy
  • Escalation matrices defining decisions, timeframes and responsible roles
  • Whistleblowing protections and anti-retaliation measures for reporters

Participants can respond to safeguarding concerns using survivor-centred principles.

  • Safety, confidentiality, respect and non-discrimination in every response
  • Best interests determinations for children facing serious protection risks
  • Consent, assent and evolving capacity in child protection decisions
  • Caregiver involvement assessed against safety and child preference
  • Psychological first aid boundaries for non-clinical humanitarian personnel
  • Avoiding repeated interviews, harmful questioning and unnecessary information collection

Participants can apply core child protection case management procedures and tools.

  • Case management stages: identification, assessment, planning, implementation and closure
  • Case action plans built with children, caregivers and service providers
  • Standardised assessment tools identifying needs, risks, strengths and priorities
  • Case conferencing protocols for complex or high-risk protection concerns
  • Supervision structures supporting safe decisions and staff wellbeing
  • Case closure criteria, follow-up checks and reopening thresholds

Participants can design safe referral pathways linked to available specialist services.

  • Service mapping for health, legal, psychosocial, education and alternative care
  • Referral criteria based on risk level, eligibility and informed consent
  • Warm referrals that confirm safe transfer and service acceptance
  • Referral directories verified for quality, accessibility, cost and capacity
  • Cross-border referrals managed through legal, safety and confidentiality checks
  • Referral pathway testing through scenario-based gap identification

Participants can support safe family tracing and reunification decisions.

  • Unaccompanied and separated children identified through standard registration procedures
  • Family tracing requests assessed for consent, safety and feasible methods
  • Interim care options screened against protection standards and risks
  • Reunification assessments considering family capacity, safety and child wishes
  • Post-reunification monitoring schedules matched to assessed protection risks
  • Alternative care decisions guided by necessity and suitability principles

Participants can manage child protection information safely and lawfully.

  • Information-sharing protocols defining purpose, necessity, consent and recipients
  • Data minimisation applied to case files, incident reports and referrals
  • Role-based access controls for paper records and digital systems
  • Confidentiality exceptions documented when serious harm requires disclosure
  • Data breach response procedures for lost, accessed or disclosed records
  • Anonymised trend analysis used without identifying children or families

Participants can manage allegations while preserving safety, fairness and evidence.

  • Allegation classification by safeguarding concern, misconduct and criminal risk
  • Initial response plans separating safety actions from fact-finding
  • Administrative measures including reassignment, suspension and restricted contact
  • Investigation boundaries for managers, safeguarding leads and external specialists
  • Evidence preservation using contemporaneous notes, records and secure storage
  • Outcome communication respecting confidentiality, due process and survivor safety

Participants can assess partner safeguarding capacity and manage improvement actions.

  • Due diligence questionnaires covering policies, personnel, reporting and case procedures
  • Document review against minimum safeguarding requirements and contractual clauses
  • Capacity assessments distinguishing policy existence from operational implementation
  • Corrective action plans with milestones, evidence and escalation consequences
  • Partner monitoring visits using interviews, observation and record sampling
  • Grant agreements assigning notification duties, audit rights and remedies

Participants can monitor safeguarding performance and use findings to improve controls.

  • Safeguarding indicators measuring prevention, reporting, response and organisational learning
  • Disaggregated data reviewed by age, gender, disability and location
  • Quality assurance sampling for case files, referrals and action plans
  • Incident trend analysis identifying recurring risks and control failures
  • After-action reviews structured around facts, decisions, lessons and actions
  • Management reporting that protects confidentiality while enabling oversight

Participants can support ethical decision-making and staff wellbeing in protection work.

  • Professional boundaries maintained during home visits, transport and digital contact
  • Secondary trauma signs recognised among child protection personnel
  • Reflective supervision supporting judgement, accountability and emotional containment
  • Ethical dilemmas analysed through safety, rights, proportionality and best interests
  • Staff wellbeing plans incorporating workload, peer support and referral options
  • Security protocols adapted for child protection visits and outreach

Participants can coordinate child protection actions with national and inter-agency systems.

  • National child protection laws mapped against humanitarian response procedures
  • Government coordination roles, mandates and referral responsibilities clarified
  • Child Protection Area of Responsibility coordination structures and functions
  • Inter-agency standard operating procedures for referrals and information sharing
  • Coordination meeting contributions based on gaps, trends and agreed actions
  • Localisation approaches strengthening community and national service-provider capacity

Participants can prepare child safeguarding systems for rapid humanitarian scale-up.

  • Preparedness plans identifying surge roles, referral partners and essential supplies
  • Rapid child protection assessments informing immediate programme priorities
  • Minimum safeguarding controls activated during first-response operations
  • Contingency reporting channels maintained when normal systems fail
  • Remote safeguarding protocols for digital services and dispersed teams
  • Scale-up triggers linked to caseloads, incident trends and service capacity

Participants can build, review and present a complete child protection and safeguarding response package for a humanitarian programme.

  • Response scenario analysis defining child protection threats, actors and constraints
  • Safeguarding risk assessment completed with prioritised controls and owners
  • Reporting, referral and escalation pathway designed for the response area
  • Partner due diligence and corrective action plan integrated into delivery
  • Case management, information-sharing and monitoring procedures aligned coherently
  • Peer review against minimum standards, followed by implementation presentation

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Child safeguarding risk assessment template
  2. Safeguarding reporting and escalation flowchart
  3. Child protection referral pathway map
  4. Partner safeguarding due-diligence checklist
  5. Case management action-plan template
  6. Humanitarian safeguarding implementation plan

Who should attend

  • Child Protection Officers — need consistent methods for prevention, response and case coordination
  • Safeguarding Focal Points — need workable reporting systems and incident-management controls
  • Humanitarian Programme Managers — need to embed child protection measures in programme delivery
  • Protection Coordinators — need inter-agency standards for referrals, case management and quality assurance
  • Partnerships Managers — need to assess and strengthen partner safeguarding arrangements
  • Human Resources Managers — need safer recruitment, staff conduct and allegation-handling procedures

Skills and tools covered

Safeguarding risk assessmentCase management practiceSafe referral designPartner due diligenceIncident responseProtection programme monitoring

Tools and standards

Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, Core Humanitarian Standard, IASC Six Core Principles Relating to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Child Protection Area of Responsibility Case Management Guidelines

How the course runs

Training methodology

Instructor-led sessions combine short technical briefings with realistic humanitarian cases, small-group analysis, guided simulations and application planning. Participants examine scenarios involving displacement, family separation, allegations against staff, unsafe referrals and partner compliance failures. They practise using reporting forms, risk matrices, referral maps and case-management decision tools while receiving structured feedback. Throughout the course, each participant develops a child protection and safeguarding package relevant to a current or anticipated programme, with peer review before final presentation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with humanitarian programmes, development projects, social services or safeguarding responsibilities. Experience working with communities affected by displacement, conflict, disaster or public-health emergencies is useful. Participants should understand their organisation's reporting lines and have read any existing safeguarding or child protection policies relevant to their role. Prior case management experience is helpful but not essential. The course does not require a law degree, clinical qualification, investigation certification or previous specialist child protection training.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic humanitarian, development or social-service work and be familiar with your organisation's reporting lines. Specialist case management, legal or investigation experience is not required.

Bring your organisation's safeguarding policy, code of conduct, reporting procedure or partner requirements if you can share them appropriately. You may also bring a current programme concept note or anonymised risk scenario for use in application planning.

It is designed for child protection staff, safeguarding focal points, programme managers, protection coordinators, partnership staff and HR personnel. It is particularly relevant for people with responsibility for programmes involving direct or indirect contact with children.

General safeguarding courses often focus on staff conduct and reporting obligations. This course goes further into child protection risk assessment, survivor-centred response, case management, family reunification, referrals, partner controls and humanitarian coordination.

Participants develop tools that can be adapted to a live programme, including a risk register, reporting flowchart, referral map and partner improvement plan. The final response package provides a structured basis for discussions with managers, colleagues and implementing partners.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part establishes safeguarding foundations and core tools; the later modules deepen case response, partnerships, quality assurance and preparedness before the capstone presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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