Deliverable 1 · Document 2 of 3
Course Outline, Module Structure and Learning Objectives
1. Course overview
| Attribute | Specification |
|---|---|
| Audience | Law enforcement and justice-sector practitioners across the Eastern Caribbean |
| Format | Eight self-paced interactive modules + course final assessment, delivered as a SCORM package in the client LMS |
| Estimated duration | Approximately 15 to 20 minutes per module; 2.5 to 3.5 hours total including the final assessment |
| Level | Foundational awareness (not specialist practitioner certification) |
| Assessment | Formative knowledge checks per module; scored course final assessment with an 80% pass mark and unlimited resits |
| Certificate | Awareness-level certificate of completion carrying the specialist-practice safeguard disclaimer |
Every module follows the same eleven-part screen template demonstrated by the sample module: cover, learning objectives, key clarification or framing, taught content with reveal interactions, applied sorting interaction, concept check, branching scenario, procedural flow, practitioner tool, knowledge check and recap. Every screen is narrated with synchronised captions.
2. Module structure and learning objectives
Module 1: Foundations, child rights, law and ethics in policing and justice
Purpose: ground participants in their safeguarding obligations and role boundaries.
Content: child rights principles; best interest of the child; mandatory reporting duties; legal and ethical obligations toward victims, witnesses and children; professional boundaries; role distinction between frontline practitioners and specialist forensic roles; interagency roles.
Learning outcomes: participants can state their safeguarding responsibilities, explain the best-interest principle, and distinguish their role from specialist functions.
Module 2: Child development and communication
Purpose: build awareness of age-appropriate engagement.
Content: cognitive development stages; communication differences by age; suggestibility risks; emotional regulation capacity; understanding fear-based behaviour.
Learning outcomes: participants understand how developmental stage impacts communication and can adjust engagement accordingly.
Module 3: Trauma-informed practice
Purpose: build awareness of trauma impact on behaviour in both witnesses and children.
Content: trauma responses (fight, flight, freeze); memory fragmentation; fear-based compliance; avoidance behaviour; trauma and memory in children; delayed disclosure; emotional shutdown; hypervigilance; impact of authority figures; secondary trauma risks for officers.
Learning outcomes: participants recognise behavioural patterns of trauma in vulnerable witnesses and children and apply trauma-informed communication principles.
Module 4: Recognising risk, threat, vulnerability and red flags
Purpose: introduce structured risk thinking and improve early identification.
Content: threat versus vulnerability; static versus dynamic risk factors; gang-related intimidation indicators; coercion patterns; family exposure risks; digital and social media threats; signs of abuse or coercion; grooming indicators; emotional withdrawal; sudden behavioural changes; reluctance to disclose.
Tools: Witness Risk Identification Checklist; Child Safeguarding Red-Flag Checklist.
Learning outcomes: participants can identify early warning signs of intimidation, coercion and safeguarding concern.
Module 5: Managing disclosures safely (built sample module)
Purpose: provide structured response guidance when a child discloses.
Content: how to respond when a child discloses; what not to say; avoiding leading questions; avoiding contamination; immediate safeguarding steps. Includes the explicit clarification that this module does not teach forensic interviewing.
Tool: Child Disclosure Response Checklist (built, including print edition).
Learning outcomes: participants respond appropriately to a child's disclosure while maintaining safeguarding integrity and avoiding actions that could compromise subsequent investigations.
Module 6: Witness care and safety planning
Purpose: establish the witness care role and a structured response framework.
Content: definition of witness care; difference between victim support and witness care; the practitioner role in safeguarding witnesses; basic safety planning principles; escalation protocols; when to involve police; when to involve child protection; multi-agency coordination.
Tool: Witness Safety Planning Checklist.
Learning outcomes: participants understand the witness care framework and can structure an initial response appropriately.
Module 7: Documentation, confidentiality and evidence integrity
Purpose: improve professional record-keeping.
Content: recording disclosures accurately; avoiding interpretive language; maintaining evidential neutrality; data protection principles; secure storage practices.
Tool: Witness Interaction Documentation Template.
Learning outcomes: participants understand how documentation affects legal outcomes.
Module 8: Safe environments and professional conduct
Purpose: strengthen safeguarding environment awareness.
Content: safe meeting environments; presence of guardians; recording protocols; gender sensitivity considerations; cultural awareness.
Tool: Child-Safe Environment Assessment Checklist.
Learning outcomes: participants understand how professional conduct and the physical environment influence safeguarding and can identify the key safeguards required when interacting with children in professional settings.
3. Course final assessment and certification
- Scored final assessment combining knowledge questions and scenario-based decision items drawn from all eight modules; defined pass mark of 80%; unlimited resits with item variation.
- Completion rule: all eight modules viewed to completion and the final assessment passed.
- Certificate carries the required safeguard: this programme provides foundational safeguarding awareness only; completion does not qualify the participant to conduct specialist child forensic interviews or independently manage high-risk safeguarding cases without supervised practitioner training.
Techbase Solutions Inc. · Contract 43461989 · Prepared for UNICEF Eastern Caribbean Area Office