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FAQs

These pages are designed to provide a list of answers to frequently asked questions about NCA-CEOP and our education programme. You can find information and links to relevant resources in the FAQs below. If you still can't find what you're looking for, please email the education team at ceopeducation@nca.gov.uk

Working with children and young people

Do NCA CEOP visit schools to run sessions with children and young people?

NCA CEOP receives a large number of requests to visit schools. Unfortunately, we are a very small team so are unable to make special visits to speak at your school.

Occasionally we will run sessions across the UK when we are out delivering our Ambassador training courses so if you know we’re visiting your area for training and you work in a school – do drop us an email at ceopeducation@nca.gov.uk

What other reputable organisations can I go to for online safety advice and resources?

For other online safety advice and resources, we recommend:

  • NSPCC, resources with an online focus include their Share Aware videos (and accompanying lesson plans) and information for children, parents and carers through their online safety hub
  • The UK Safer Internet Centre, a partnership between the Internet Watch Foundation, South West Grid for Learning, and Childnet
  • The Professionals Online Safety Helpline run by the UK Safer Internet Centre
  • Internet Matters for advice for parents on issues such as cyberbullying, inappropriate content, online privacy and reputation
  • Parent Zone, advice and information for parents and carers on all aspects of children's safety and well-being, with a focus on digital safety.
Can I use CEOP Education resources outside of their stated age range, if I feel this is appropriate?

Yes, you can use resources outside of the age bracket for the children/young people you work with if you feel this is appropriate, given their developmental ability or activity online.

Use your own professional judgment when deciding which resources best suit the needs of the children and young people in your setting. 

Our educational resources are not appropriate to use with adults.

Can I deliver CEOP Education materials in assemblies?

CEOP Education materials are designed for delivery in group and classroom formats. It is not suitable to deliver online CSA education in assemblies for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it is not possible to effectively ensure understanding, safeguarding and the management of disclosures with assembly delivery.

Find out more about this here

Working with parents and carers

Where can I find information for parents and carers?

You can search the Resource Library for resources specifically for parents and carers.

Parents and carers can also be signposted to our Parents and Carers website, where there is advice to help keep their child safer online, tips on being engaged in a child’s online life, and information on where and how to report concerns.

How can I best engage parents and carers?

Delivering an online safety session provides an excellent opportunity to engage parents and carers in their child's online safety. If you have struggled with attendance at these types of events in the past, consider linking them with other events such as parents evenings, plays, trips or transition events. Turnout to online safety sessions can also been improved by involving children in their production or presentation.

A newsletter, letter or social media post could be sent to parents/carers to inform them of planned online safety sessions and what topics will be covered. It can reassure families if you let them know what you will be covering and confirm that the sessions will be age-appropriate. Direct them to our Parents and Carers website for further information and advice.

Questionnaires and polls with young people and parents/carers can also be a great way to find out popular apps or worries children and young people may have. Compare results to those from parents and carers to identify gaps and ways to make the content relevant and engaging to parents.

Our training

The website says the training dates are all fully booked. When are you going to be releasing more dates? Can I join a waiting list?

Our training dates are in demand across the whole of the UK so we try to spread out our events to span the country. We understand that they get booked up quickly so please look out for our Global as well as keeping a watchful eye on the Training area of this website where we’ll post new dates.

We hold limited waiting lists for some courses. If this option is available, you can add yourself by clicking the 'add to waiting list' button for the specified course.

When should I update my training record?

How often should I update my record?

As a requirement of using our resources, you agree to update your training record at a minimum of every three months. We ask for these figures as we report to the Home Office on the number of children and young people reached by our education programme each quarter. These reports are essential for us to be able to demonstrate the value and need for more education and resources to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse. Doing this on a quarterly basis helps to keep our records up to date and reflects the great work you are doing.

Should I back-date by training figures?

When we report to the Home Office on the numbers of children and young people who have accessed our educational resources, we are not able to back-date these figures more than the current financial year. Therefore it is essential that you record your figures every three months so that our records are up to date, and that you do not back-date your figures by any more than the current financial year.

I am an independent consultant, can I use CEOP Education resources? How should I report my figures to CEOP?

If you are an independent consultant you can use CEOP Education materials but you cannot make any financial gain from their use. You should still update your figures at a minimum of every three months.

Should I back-date by training figures?

When we report to the Home Office on the numbers of children and young people who have accessed our resources, we are not able to back-date these figures more than the current financial year. Therefore it is essential that you record your figures every three months so that our records are up to date, and that you do not back-date your figures by any more than the current financial year.

What are the expectations of me if I deliver CEOP Education resources?

All CEOP Education resources including films, presentations and lesson plans, are provided for free for professionals in the United Kingdom. We are keen for as many children and young people to access the resources as possible. 

It is important, however, that the messages contained within the resources are delivered within their proper context. Children and young people’s safety online is an area which requires a degree of sensitivity. As a result we ask that you only use these resources in the form in which they are provided to you. We ask that you do not display the films separately from the accompanying materials.

By downloading and using NCA-CEOP materials you agree to our terms of use and code of conduct.

The Professionals website

I've moved schools / organisations and my email has changed, do I need to create a new account?

No, please don’t create a new account. You can email the CEOP Education team and we can change the email linked to your account for you. Ensuring you only have one active account will help us to keep your account up-to-date with training and access to the latest resources.

What is the Ambassador community?

The community is an area of this website only accessible by CEOP Education Ambassadors. This area enables Ambassadors to share knowledge and connect with other local Ambassadors. The community helps you to stay up to date with developments in online safety as well as build knowledge through discussion.

As an Ambassador, do I need to create a public profile?

You do not have to have a searchable profile within the Ambassador community. You will only have a profile that other ambassadors see if you select to opt in to the 'Peer Search' function. This function enables users to find other Ambassadors locally or those who work with specialist groups, and can then request to contact them. You can opt in or out to the Peer Search by going to 'My Account' and 'Update details'.

Will my personal details and email address be shared if I opt into Peer Search?

No, your personal details and email address will not be shared if you opt into Peer Search. All that will be shared is your first name that you registered with, along with your selected list of specialisms, training record and events you are hosting. Any initial contact made by another user is done via the community platform without your email address being shared. You can then choose if you want to continue the conversation outside of the community and exchange email address.

I can't find the Ambassador resources

The Ambassador resources for training and delivering Thinkuknow Introduction courses can be found in the Community area of the site. You can access them from the community homepage or via this link if you are logged in and are a trained CEOP Ambassador. 

Reporting to CEOP

What types of concerns should be reported to CEOP?

NCA CEOP works to keep children safe from sexual abuse and sexual grooming online. Children and young people report to us if you are concerned that they, or another child, is being sexually abused or groomed online. This can be from someone they know in person, or someone they have only ever met online.

Education professionals do not need to report to NCA CEOP if they have already followed their safeguarding procedures and reported to statutory services. If you think a child is in danger right now, please call 999.

For more information, please visit the CEOP Safety Centre.

What happens when a report is made to CEOP?

When a person makes a report to CEOP, they will be contacted by a Child Protection Advisor (CPA) at CEOP via phone or email. If a professional reports to CEOP, the CPA will provide you with specialist advice and guidance on how you can safeguard the child and discuss with you the steps you may have already taken to make sure the child is safer. They will work with you to formulate a plan on how to safeguard the child or young person you have reported about and ensure that wider safeguarding has been achieved. This may involve us making a referral to local Children's Social Care or the local police Child Protection Unit.

For more information please visit the CEOP Safety Centre.

Do CEOP deal with cases of cyberbullying?

The role and remit of NCA CEOP is child sexual exploitation on and offline. If you have had an incident of cyberbullying which has not resulted in the sexual exploitation of a child, please do not report to NCA CEOP and refer to your policy on bullying and take the appropriate action. You can refer children to Childline, where they can speak to counsellors anonymously.

How do I add the Click CEOP reporting button to my organisation's website?

The Click CEOP button can be added to a school or organisations website in order to provide children and young people with information, advice and a direct reporting route to CEOP.

If you would like to add the Click CEOP button to your site, please email your website URL to ceopeducation@nca.gov.uk. We will then be able to provide you with the necessary guidance and assets.

Guidance

Guidance

Stay informed with legal, policy and research based guidance on how to support young people and help prevent online child sexual abuse.

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