Pilot evaluation of ‘Send Me a Pic?’

About the study

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Education Team, which is part of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Threat Leadership Command, are responsible for developing and delivering a national education programme, which aims to protect children and young people from the threat of online child sexual abuse, reducing their vulnerability to abuse, and increasing their confidence and ability to seek help from an appropriate source when they need it.

'Send me a pic?' (SMaP) is an education resource developed by the CEOP Education Team and provided as part of the national education programme. The SMaP resource is a set of lessons designed to engage young people aged 11-14 in exploring attitudes and behaviours relating to consensual and non-consensual nude image sharing. In 2019, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) was commissioned by the NCA to conduct a pilot evaluation of the SMaP education resource to explore the feasibility to a full randomised control trial (RCT). As part of this, the implementation of the SMaP resource (i.e. uptake and delivery) was explored and the findings used to inform the final design of an RCT. This report presents our findings. 

Findings

• Teachers appreciated the clear and comprehensive guidance provided by the NCA and thought that the lesson plans were well structured. However, teachers found the length of the lessons was too long, which meant that some SMaP content couldn’t be covered and/or content was covered in less depth than intended.
• Pupils described the lessons as enjoyable and informative, and they found the open discussion element of the SMaP lessons to be valuable.
• Evidence of promise analysis of pupil questionnaire responses showed a statistically significant decrease in victim blaming following the SMaP lessons. However, none of the other outcomes showed any statistically significant change.
• Within the qualitative data, pupils also reported a greater awareness of the impacts that non-consensual nude image sharing can have on victims, including negative impacts on mental wellbeing and complications with future relationships.
• Following the SMaP lessons, pupils described feeling more confident to tell someone (such as a friend or adult) if they experienced non-consensual nude image sharing, and reported an improved awareness of the organisations available to individuals who may require support. They also explained how, as part of SMaP lessons, they had learnt to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships.
• Drawing on findings from the pilot evaluation, we proposed a cluster RCT, randomising at the level of schools. For the control group, we recommended relationships and sex education as usual, with the option of the control group delivering SMaP material after endpoint data collection.
• NatCen is currently running an RCT of SMaP; more details can be found on the study webpage here: natcen.ac.uk/sendmeapic.

Methodology

The pilot study was a small-scale qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the delivery of SMaP in schools; teachers’ and pupils’ views and experiences of the resource; whether the resource improves teachers’ and pupils’ understanding of the issues around nude image sharing; and how impact could be most effectively evaluated as part of an RCT.

Data was gathered from pre-and-post-delivery questionnaires and lesson observations, as well as interviews with teachers and discussion groups with pupils after delivery of the lessons was completed. Drawing on learning from the pilot study, in this report we also present our proposed design for an RCT of SMaP as well as practical considerations for running an RCT of a school-based programme.