Statement by Department of Children and Youth
Affairs to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health
and Children
Good afternoon, Chairman and members. I would like to thank the Chairman and the
Committee for the opportunity to address you today on this important issue. I am
Elizabeth Canavan, Assistant Secretary with responsibility for Child Welfare and
Protection in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
Background
The purpose of child protection policy and legislation is to protect children from
abuse and neglect. The aim of the Minister in advancing this legislation is to
strengthen the protections already in place and to ensure that, regardless of the
setting, there is no doubt as to what to do or who to go to if you have a concern
regarding the welfare or protection of a child. Key to the delivery of this policy is
ensuring that, not only professionals working with children but society in general is
aware of the possibility of abuse and neglect of children and of the reporting
procedures available where concerns are identified.
Child abuse takes place in a variety of settings. International research shows that
most child neglect and physical abuse takes place in the home. Abuse also takes
place in other settings e.g. school, recreational etc. Ireland is no different than many
jurisdictions as regards the patterns or prevalence of abuse and neglect of children.
Recent data on reporting shows over 29,000 reports made annual regarding child
welfare and protection. Of these over 16,000 related to welfare concerns and
around 13,000 related to protection concerns. It is worth noting that many of these
reports are made based on the existing Children First guidance and this is very
important to emphasise.
Children First 1999
The ‘Children First’ Guidelines were first published in 1999 and since then they have
operated as the over-arching national guidelines for all individuals and agencies that
come into contact with children. The aim of Children First is to give direction to the
identification, investigation, assessment, reporting, treatment and management of
child abuse.
The guidelines specifically highlight the roles and responsibilities of the HSE and An
Garda Síochána, as the two agencies with statutory responsibility for child
protection. The Guidelines are also intended to assist organisations in ensuring that
children under their care are safe, that staff / volunteers can identify possible abuse
within the organisation or elsewhere and that there is in place the appropriate
structure for reporting to relevant statutory bodies.
Revision of Guidelines
A number of reviews of Children First, including reviews undertaken by the then
Office for the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs and the Office of the
D:\116101739.doc
1
Ombudsman for Children, identified that while there were no fundamental issues
with the Guidelines themselves, there were issues with their consistent
implementation. In this context it was decided to revise the Guidelines to reflect the
findings of the various reviews, the findings of a number of reports into child
protection issues generally and to reflect the changed environment for the delivery
of services, in particular the establishment of the HSE.
The key message from the revised Children First Guidance is that the safety and
welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Children will have safer lives where
everyone is attentive to their wellbeing and where people who work with children
across a range of areas understand their personal responsibility for safe practices
and reporting concerns.
The revised Guidance was published by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in
2010 along with a companion Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook
aimed, in the main, at professionals working the area of child welfare and
protection.
Sectoral Developments
The publication of the revised Guidance was followed by the publication of specific
sectoral guidance. Given the important role of the education sector it is worth
noting the particular developments in that sector In September 2011 the
Department of Education published updated Child Protection Procedures for Primary
and Post-Primary Schools based on the updated Children First 2011. This was done
following a consultation process with all the relevant stakeholders in the education
sector, the HSE and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The updated
procedures incorporate significant improvements to the previous school guidelines,
including strengthening the local oversight arrangements, all of which are intended
to better ensure consistent and uniform implementation of Children First across all
schools. The updated procedures recognise that child protection and welfare
considerations permeate all aspects of school life and should be reflected in all of
the school's policies, practices and activities. The procedures also specifically require
that a school's child protection policy confirm that all school policies, practices and
activities will adhere to certain principles of best practice in child protection and
welfare. The feedback from schools on the updated child protection procedures has
been very positive.
You will be hearing later in the week from colleagues in the Irish Sports Council who
have taken a strong lead in developments to support implementation of Children
First within the Sports sector since its introduction in 1999 as well as measures to
further embed the revised Guidance published last year.
Implementation
In order to address issues around the consistent implementation
Guidance Minister Fitzgerald committed to the establishment
Departmental Committee, chaired by her Department, to
implementation of the Guidance. In this regard, there is a need for
D:\116101739.doc
of the revised
of an intermonitor the
each sector to
2
have appropriate systems in place of support and assurance in place to ensure that
the guidance is being implemented in practice by organisations within its sector
involved with children.
Therefore, the support of individual Government Departments is key to promoting
greater awareness of Children First and consistent implementation of the provisions
of the Guidance across sectors.
The work of the Inter-Departmental Group has initially focussed on identifying the
structures in place across Departments, and their agencies, to facilitate the
safeguarding and protection of children, having regard to the provisions of Children
First. Departments have identified agencies operating in their sector which will be
covered by Children First and have described existing structures in place in this
regard, which may be of use in progressing consistent implementation of the
Guidance. This phase of the work has been largely completed.
The next phase requires, in the case of each sector, the preparation of a Children
First Implementation Plan, setting out the mechanisms in place, or to be put in place,
to support the Guidance at sectoral level. This work is now beginning in
Departments.
Legislation
Notwithstanding these developments, there has been a commitment to further
strengthen the place of the policy by giving explicit statutory expression to key
elements of the Guidance. The commitment to put the Children First National
Guidance for the Welfare and Protection of Children has its genesis in the
Implementation Plan prepared following the publication of the Report of the
Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in 2009 (“Ryan” Report). Action 85 of the
Implementation Plan provided, inter alia, that legislation would be drafted to
provide that all staff employed by the State and staff employed in agencies in receipt
of funding from the exchequer will have a duty to comply with Children First. The
implementation Plan also provided that a revised edition of Children First itself
would be published.
In this context, the Government recently published the Draft Heads and General
Scheme for the Children First Bill 2012 and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of
Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012.
Separately the Minister for Justice and Equality is preparing legislation to provide
that persons working with children will be legally required to be vetted. When taken
together, the suite of new legislation will serve to significantly strengthen the
legislative base upon which the provision of child welfare and protection services in
Ireland are delivered.
Rationale for legislation
The policy objectives of providing a statutory basis to underpin Children First are to
provide an improved and safer environment for children within organisations, to
underpin the Guidance regarding safe practices within organisation and in respect of
D:\116101739.doc
3
the reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect, to provide for appropriate
structures for reporting of child abuse, regardless of where it occurs, and to provide
for improvement of the management of child safety concerns.
To emphasise that everyone has a responsibility to report child welfare and
protection concerns to the Health Service Executive, the proposed legislation will
make it clear that nothing in the Children First Bill shall preclude a person from his or
her existing obligations under Children First.
Main Provisions of the Bill
Head 1 is to provide for the short title to the Bill and for its commencement.
Head 2 defines key terms in the Bill including abuse which encompasses sexual
abuse, physical abuse and neglect.
Head 3 provides that the Minister may make Regulations on any matter referred to
in the Bill and for the laying of those Regulations before the Houses of the
Oireachtas.
Head 4 provides for the administration costs of the Bill to be paid out of moneys
provided by the Oireachtas.
Head 5 provides that the welfare and protection of the child is to be the first and
paramount concern. Head 5 covers the policy intent that obligations arising under
Children First: National Guidance for Protection and Welfare of Children (hereinafter
referred to as Children First) are to operate in conjunction with the proposed Bill. A
further objective of this Head is to confirm and affirm that the principles and
guidelines set out in Children First remain operative and are to be implemented in
conjunction with the Bill’s provisions. In particular, it is intended that this Head
ensures that the reporting principles and guidelines set out in Children First continue
to apply.
Head 6 provides for those organisations coming within the meaning of the Bill that
will have a statutory obligation to report a concern or an allegation of child abuse to
the HSE. Head 6 lists the type of services provided by those organisations as services
where children would attend, including services under Part 7 of the Child Care Act
1991 (i.e. pre-school and after-school services), recreational, educational, cultural,
religious, spiritual or charitable pursuits, health care, therapeutic or disability
services, services with a residential component, and transport services provided
specifically for children. State, community, voluntary and private services for
children are included in the Head.
Head 6 also lists services which are excluded i.e. those which have general public
access e.g. shops and cinemas; services provided to a child by a person directly
employed by the child’s parent or guardian; services provided by a person employed
in the child’s own home; services provided by an organisation which employs
children e.g. apprentices (unless it is an organisation included under the legislation);
D:\116101739.doc
4
and services provided by gyms, beauty and leisure facilities which cater for adults
but allow children to use their facilities. The principle of a parent providing the best
protection for his or her child and in so doing supervising the service his or her child
receives, underpins these exclusions.
Head 7 provides for the responsibilities of organisations which come under the Bill
including the appointment of a Designated Officer; the publication of the Keeping
Children Safe Plan (a published plan specific to each organisation’s services) and in
general, promoting awareness in best practice in child welfare and protection. Head
7 provides that an organisation coming under the legislation is one that provides
services which may be attended by a child, without the attendance of that child’s
parent or guardian or other adult to whom the parent or guardian has entrusted the
child, and where a person working in the organisation has access to a child or works
directly with a child availing of the organisation’s service.
Head 8 provides for the arrangements for an organisation which comes under the
Bill to notify the HSE of its existence, the service to be provided by it to children, and
sets out details of information an organisation is required to hold and make available
to the HSE on request.
Head 9 provides that an organisation which comes under Head 6 is to appoint a
Designated Officer who is to be the most senior person in the organisation. The Head
provides for the functions of the Designated Officer which include receiving, from
employees or volunteers, concerns or allegations of child abuse and reporting of any
such concerns to the HSE, and in so doing the Designated Officer must act in
accordance with the Guidance for the Reporting of Abuse (provided for under Head
15). It is intended that concerns or allegations of child abuse are to relate to abuse a
child may have encountered while in the organisation and also to abuse which may
have happened in other circumstances outside of the organisation but where the
information has come to the employee’s or volunteer’s attention while involved in
the work of the organisation. The Designated Officer’s functions may be delegated to
one or more employees or volunteers of senior management rank with the authority
and competence to undertake the role. However, it is intended that the Designated
Officer remains the person responsible for ensuring that cases of child abuse or
neglect are reported and for compliance generally with the proposed legislation.
If the Designated Officer decides not to report a concern or allegation of child abuse
which has been brought to his or her attention, he or she must record, at the time of
making the decision not to report, the reasons for not reporting and any action he or
she takes in relation to the case.
Head 9 also emphasises the wider role of the Designated Officer in ensuring the
implementation of the Keeping Children Safe Plan for the organisation. These are
wider safeguarding duties to do with recruitment, vetting, training and other internal
processes for good safe practice within organisations. It also provides for the
Designated Officer to assist the HSE and to participate, on request, in the assessment
D:\116101739.doc
5
of risk; in the investigation of concerns or allegations of child abuse undertaken by
the HSE and in any related matter.
Head 10 provides for the duties of employees or volunteers working in organisations
to report concerns and allegations of child abuse to the Designated Officer in
accordance with criteria set out in the Keeping Children Safe Plan. It also provides for
concerns or allegations of abuse to be reported directly to the HSE by employees or
volunteers rather than to the Designated Officer, if to do so would be in the child’s
best interest.
Head 11 sets out that certain persons/professionals (as set out in Schedule 1 of the
Heads of Bill) are to be statutorily required to report concerns or allegations of child
abuse if working in an organisation coming under the proposed legislation to the
Designated Officer. The Designated Officer is to be statutorily required to report any
such concerns or allegations of abuse to the HSE. The reporting of concerns or
allegations of abuse is to be made in accordance with criteria to be set out in the
Guidance for Reporting of Abuse (Head 15 refers). The Head sets out that
persons/professionals (as set out in Schedule 1 of the Heads of Bill) who work
outside of such organisations and are sole practitioners or self-employed are to be
statutorily required to report concerns and allegations of abuse to the HSE. Head 11
provides that persons who are statutorily required to report and who fail, without
reasonable excuse, to comply are guilty of an offence and the liabilities arising are
set out in Head 20.
Head 12 sets out the HSE’s responsibilities under the Bill to promote awareness and
best practice in the area of child welfare and protection for organisations and
persons coming under the Bill. Head 12 also provides for the HSE to examine
organisations when non-compliance with the Bill is brought to its attention.
Head 13 sets out the responsibilities of the HSE in relation to monitoring and dealing
with reports of concerns or allegations of abuse it receives. The Child Care Act 1991
provides that the HSE shall take such steps as it considers requisite to identify
children who are not receiving adequate care and protection and ensure that any
reported cases of abuse received are assessed.
Head 14 provides for the HSE to have the power to examine whether an organisation
is complying with the provisions of the Bill and to determine whether there is, or
may be, a failure on the part of the organisation to implement the legislation. Where
the HSE believes an organisation is not in compliance, it may issue a written direction
to the organisation seeking an Improvement Plan. Where the organisation does not
submit an Improvement Plan, or fails to implement it, the HSE may issue a written
Improvement Notice to the organisation’s Designated Officer who may appeal the
Notice to the District Court. The Head also provides that where the HSE believes
there is, or may be, a serious risk to the safety or welfare of a child in an
organisation, it may serve a Prohibition Notice on the Designated Officer, to take
immediate effect and which will seek to have the matter giving rise to the risk
remedied within a specified time period. The Prohibition Notice may prohibit the
D:\116101739.doc
6
carrying on of part or all of the services provided to children. The Prohibition Notice
may be appealed to the District Court and a request may be heard to have the
Notice suspended.
Head 15 provides for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to publish
guidance entitled Guidance for the Reporting of Abuse. The guidance will provide
advice on all aspects of the reporting of concerns and allegations of child abuse by
persons statutorily charged with reporting child abuse and it will be provided to all
relevant organisations and be made available to the general public.
Head 16 provides for criteria to be used by a Designated Officer or a person
statutorily required to report child abuse, in deciding if they should make a report, in
relation to a concern or allegation of child abuse, to the HSE. The report must be
made to the HSE but if the case has already been reported to An Garda Síochána
there is no requirement to report to the HSE. This is to avoid reporting to both the
HSE and An Garda Síochána unless that is what is required in the circumstances. The
Head also provides for reports to be made by An Garda Síochána in respect of
relevant reports it receives in respect of child abuse or concerns for the safety of the
child.
Head 17 provides for the HSE to inform a Designated Officer or any person
statutorily charged with reporting child abuse, who has made a report of a concern
or allegation of child abuse to the HSE, if the report is being referred for attention by
the HSE to An Garda Síochána. Head 17 provides that the HSE and An Garda
Síochána will co-operate to ensure that the best interests of the child are upheld and
provides that the HSE and An Garda Síochána will agree protocols and procedures
for the implementation of this Head.
Head 18 provides for the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 to apply in relation to
data collected, processed, kept and used in accordance with the Bill but that the
Data Protection Acts are not to prevent the exchange of information under this Bill
which is exchanged for the purpose of protecting a child.
Head 19 provides that the Ministers for Education and Skills, Health, Justice and
Equality, Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, Environment, Community and Local
Government, Social Protection, Transport, Tourism and Sport are to provide, at the
request of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, information in relation to the
implementation of the proposed legislation by their Departments and in respect of
agencies under their remit.
Head 20 provides for offences under the Bill and for the liabilities attaching. A person
is guilty of an offence if he or she is required to report concerns or allegations of
abuse under the proposed Bill to the HSE and fails to do so (Head 11(3) refers). A
person guilty of an offence will be liable, on summary conviction, to a class A fine or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or on conviction on
indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.
D:\116101739.doc
7
Issues for consideration
This particular legislation is a key priority of the Government and the Minister. The
Minister is, however, particularly mindful of the complexity of the issue. The societal
“shift” being sought in ensuring that there is greater public awareness of the risks of
abuse and neglect and a more clearly articulated, widely shared responsibility to
report abuse to secure the protection of all children present particular challenges in
framing this legislation.
Giving statutory effect to key elements in the existing Children First National
Guidance is an important step but is also one which will bring with it a level of
concern across stakeholders as to the impact of the legislation on their day-to-day
work and practice as well on their volunteering activities. For that reason, the
Minister has selected to provide the Heads of Bill at as early a stage as possible to
this Committee as part of the vital process of early consultation on legislation which
will have such a wide reach.
In this context, I would stress that the Children First legislation is at ‘Head of Bill’
stage. The Minister is of the view that it is beneficial to have the legislation
examined by this Committee at an early stage to assist in identifying specific areas
which will require examination as the process continues. Following the Committee’s
consideration and further inputs from Departmental colleagues, Heads of Bill will be
finalised for the purposes of drafting of the Bill.
There are a number of issues worth specific mention as they present particular
challenges. That is, the roles to be played under the legislation by organisations and
designated persons within organisations. In this regard further detailed
consultations are ongoing to ensure clarity and to properly emphasise the most
appropriate focal point for responsibilities under the legislation. The challenge is to
ensure appropriate accountability at designated person/named professional and
corporate level whilst balancing this in the context of a very wide range of
organisations and individuals potentially covered by the legislation. In this context, it
is critical to note that the legislation is an adjunct to existing responsibilities
contained with Children First National Guidance.
The purposes of the legislation is, in part, to give stronger statutory emphasis to the
responsibilities both on designated persons, professionals and organisations
corporately in order to ensure that there is no ambivalence or ambiguity regarding
the importance of safeguarding and reporting responsibilities. It is acknowledged
that central to these provisions will be the Guidance for the Reporting of Abuse, to
be published by the Department (Head 25) which will provide advice to designated
persons and organisations as to the criteria that should be applied in assessing
concerns brought to their attention. The Department is working on this Guidance at
the present time. It is acknowledged that this guidance, along with training will be
very important to persons having the confidence and competence to perform the
role of a designated person effectively.
D:\116101739.doc
8
In addition, the documents Keeping Children Safe Plan, Guidance for Reporting of
Abuse and Safeguarding Guidance for Organisations which are referenced in the
Heads but not yet published will need to be assessed to determine their potential
impacts for the various sectors.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is committed to consulting with
Government Departments and other relevant parties in seeking to resolve these, and
other issues, as they arise.
Role of the Health Service Executive / Child and Family Support Agency
It is worth referring to the role that will be undertaken by Child and Family Services
within the HSE and in the new Child and Family Support Agency. I am joined today
by colleagues from the Health Services Executive who will be pleased to take your
specific questions.
Providing consistency of practice within the HSE has been the first starting point.
The launch of Children First 2011 was accompanied by the HSE Child Protection and
Welfare Practice Handbook which provides clarity for all social work services and all
organisations. The HSE acknowledges that it is important that parents who seek
help, can access services, and they can take the lead responsibility. It is the desire of
the HSE that this change will produce better outcomes for Children and Families,
greater transparency and accountability for the organisation and instil greater public
confidence.
In terms of specific responsibilities set out in the draft Heads of Bill, Head 12 the HSE
will promote awareness and publish best practice guidance entitled “Safeguarding
Guidance for Organisations.” This will replace the existing support document called
“Our Duty to Care.” This has been utilised by many voluntary and community
organisations across the country since its creation in 2002 which supported the
Children First 1999 document. HSE personnel have assisted and supported
organisations since 1999. The New Safeguarding Guidance document with dedicated
personnel will support and assist all Designated Officers in organisations who are
required to develop and implement a “Keeping Children Safe Plan”.
In Head 13 the Bill lays out the clear responsibilities of the HSE to ensure effective
management of all reports and concerns. There is a requirement to appoint a person
who will be responsible for the monitoring and dealing of reports and allegations.
The HSE Children and Family Services have restructured its services from 32
community care areas to 17 Children and Family Areas. Each area is managed by an
Area Manager who has full accountability. Each Area Manager reports directly to a
Regional Service Director who reports to Gordon Jeyes, National Director who is the
Chief Executive Designate of the Child and Family Support Agency.
The new agency will prioritise children in care and protection of children at
significant risk. As the shadow agency is developed there is a clear focus on the new
agency’s role and the relationship with the key partner agencies in the voluntary and
community sector.
D:\116101739.doc
9
Work on the development of the new Agency is advancing well with the assistance
of the Task Force on the Establishment of the Child and Family Support Agency.
There is a clear understanding of the need to construct an organisation which has
the capacity and the competence to support and protect children and their families.
Its organisational structure, governance arrangements and statutory powers and
responsibilities must be such that it is responsive to and adaptable to the changing
pressures for families in modern Irish society. At its core it must also be equipped
and organised to protect children. Work is also ongoing on a new model of service
delivery. The intention is to ensure readily accessible services with a dedicated
intake team to assess risk and make consistent decisions regarding the need for and
type of interventions children and their families might need. There will be a strong
emphasise on prevention and early intervention through family support and a richer
but structured input of community and voluntary inputs which all support families in
their parenting responsibilities. In this regard, the Agency will include in its scope of
services family support as provided by the existing Family Support Agency which will
be subsumed within its remit.
Linkage to Other Legislation
As I have already stated the Children First Bill is one part of a suite of legislation to
strengthen child protection. Of particular relevance is the Criminal Justice
(Withholding of Information) Bill published last week. That piece of legislation places
a responsibility to provide information to the Gardai where they have knowledge of
a serious sexual offence against a child as part of the investigation and prosecution
of that crime.
The Children First Bill is concerned with the protection of children – this is the key
policy imperative. Reports under Children First are to the Health Service Executive
(or its successor) not to the Gardai. The purpose of reports is three-fold, to protect
an individual child; to assess that child’s needs; and additionally, to assess any risk to
any other children in a family or community. It aims to make organisations where
children spend their time are safe places for children. It is intended to ensure that
key designated people in these organisations, and named professionals, are clear on
their role and are supported in protecting children from risks within organisations as
well as in the wider community.
My Department is working closely with colleagues in the Department of Justice and
Equality to ensure that the two pieces of legislation are complementary. These
discussions will continue as both pieces of legislation proceed through the legislative
process.
Linkage to Constitutional issues
The Minister is also of the view that some of the complex issues raised in these
Heads may inform and anticipate some of the same issues that might arise in the
debate in respect of the Children’s Referendum to be advanced later in the year. An
early understanding of views on some of these complex issues will be helpful. In
addition, clear progress on the strengthening of the legal framework for the
protection of children will be an important context for the Referendum.
D:\116101739.doc
10
Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to thank you for your time this afternoon. I want to emphasise
that the legislation as proposed builds on over 10 years of practice and training in
respect of a national approach to the safeguarding of children in Children First. For
many professionals and employees working in children’s services what is proposed
reflects current practice and existing requirements of the national policy guidance.
The legislation will copperfasten these requirements.
I hope the foregoing has been helpful. My colleagues and I will take any questions
which might arise from my statement or on any other matter relating to the draft
Heads of Bill.
D:\116101739.doc
11
APPENDIX – DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CHILD PROTECTION POLICY DOCUMENTS
Template Child Protection Policy of [School Name]
The Board of Management recognises that child protection and welfare considerations permeate all aspects of
school life and must be reflected in all of the school’s policies, practices and activities. Accordingly, in
accordance with the requirements of the Department of Education and Skills’ Child Protection Procedures for
Primary and Post Primary Schools, the Board of Management of [insert school name] has agreed the following
child protection policy:
1.
The Board of Management has adopted and will implement fully and without modification the
Department’s Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools as part of this overall
child protection policy.
2.
The Designated Liaison Person (DLP) is
3.
The Deputy Designated Liaison Person (Deputy DLP) is _________________________________
4.
In its policies, practices and activities, [insert school name] will adhere to the following principles of best
practice in child protection and welfare:
The school will
 recognise that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance, regardless of all
other considerations;
 fully co-operate with the relevant statutory authorities in relation to child protection and welfare
matters
 adopt safe practices to minimise the possibility of harm or accidents happening to children and
protect workers from the necessity to take unnecessary risks that may leave themselves open to
accusations of abuse or neglect;
 develop a practice of openness with parents and encourage parental involvement in the education
of their children; and
 fully respect confidentiality requirements in dealing with child protection matters.
_________________________________
The school will also adhere to the above principles in relation to any adult pupil with a special
vulnerability.
5.
This section of the child protection policy should be used to list school policies, practices and activities that
are particularly relevant to child protection (e.g. the Code of Behaviour/Anti-bullying Policy, Pupil
Attendance Strategy, Supervision of Pupils, Sporting Activities/School Outings/Pupil Work Placements at
post primary etc.)
The Board has ensured that the necessary policies, protocols or practices as appropriate are in place in
respect of each of the above listed items.
6.
This policy has been made available to school personnel and the Parents’ Association (if any) and is readily
accessible to parents on request. A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the
patron if requested.
7.
This policy will be reviewed by the Board of Management once in every school year.
This policy was adopted by the Board of Management on _________________[date]
Signed: _________________________
Chairperson of Board of Management
Signed: __________________________
Principal
Date:
Date:
__________________________
D:\116101739.doc
__________________________
12
Date of next review: ________________
D:\116101739.doc
13
Checklist for Annual Review of the Child Protection Policy
The Board of Management must undertake an annual review of its child protection policy and the following
checklist shall be used for this purpose.
The checklist is designed as an aid to conducting this review and is not intended as an exhaustive list. Individual
Boards of Management may wish to include other items in the checklist that are of particular relevance to the
school in question.
As part of the overall review process, Boards of Management should also assess other school policies, practices
and activities viz a viz their adherence to the principles of best practice in child protection and welfare as set out
in the school’s child protection policy.
Yes/No
Has the Board formally adopted a child protection policy in accordance with the ‘Child Protection
Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools’?
As part of the school’s child protection policy, has the Board formally adopted, without
modification, the ‘Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools’?
Are there both a DLP and a Deputy DLP currently appointed?
Are the relevant contact details (HSE and An Garda Síochána) to hand?
Has the DLP attended available child protection training?
Has the Deputy DLP attended available child protection training?
Have any members of the Board attended child protection training?
Has the school’s child protection policy identified other school policies, practices and activities that
are regarded as having particular child protection relevance?
Has the Board ensured that the Department’s “Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post
Primary Schools” are available to all school personnel?
Has the Board arrangements in place to communicate the school’s child protection policy to new
school personnel?
Is the Board satisfied that all school personnel have been made aware of their responsibilities under
the ‘Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools’?
Since the Board’s last annual review, was the Board informed of any child protection reports made
to the HSE/An Garda Síochána by the DLP?
Since the Board’s last annual review, was the Board informed of any cases where the DLP sought
advice from the HSE and as a result of this advice, no report to the HSE was made?
Is the Board satisfied that the child protection procedures in relation to the making of reports to the
HSE/ An Garda Síochána were appropriately followed?
Were child protection matters reported to the Board appropriately recorded in the Board minutes?
Is the Board satisfied that all records relating to child protection are appropriately filed and stored
securely?
Has the Board ensured that the Parents’ Association (if any), has been provided with the school’s
child protection policy?
Yes/No
D:\116101739.doc
14
Has the Board ensured that the school’s child protection policy is available to parents on request?
Has the Board ensured that the Stay Safe programme is implemented in full in the school?
(applies to primary schools)
Has the Board ensured that the SPHE curriculum is implemented in full in the school?
Is the Board satisfied that the Department’s requirements for Garda Vetting have been met in respect
of all school personnel (employees and volunteers)? *
Is the Board satisfied that the Department’s requirements in relation to the provision of a child
protection related statutory declaration and associated form of undertaking have been met in respect
of persons appointed to teaching and non-teaching positions?*
Is the Board satisfied that, from a child protection perspective, thorough recruitment and selection
procedures are applied by the school in relation to all school personnel (employees and volunteers)?*
Is the Board satisfied that the ‘Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools’
are being fully and adequately implemented by the school?
Has the Board identified any aspects of the school’s child protection policy and/or its
implementation that require further improvement?
Has the Board put in place an action plan containing appropriate timelines to address those aspects
of the school’s child protection policy and/or its implementation that have been identified as
requiring further improvement ?
Has the Board ensured that any areas for improvement that that were identified in any previous
review of the school’s child protection policy have been adequately addressed?
*In schools where the VEC is the employer the responsibility for meeting these requirements rests with the
VEC concerned. In such cases, this question should be completed following consultation with the VEC.
Signed _____________________________________
Chairperson, Board of Management
Date ________________
Signed _____________________________________
Date ________________
Principal
_ ___ _______________________________________________________
Notification regarding the Board of Management’s annual review of the child protection policy
To:_____________________________________
The Board of Management of ____________________ wishes to inform you that:
 The Board of Management’s annual review of the school’s child protection policy was completed at
the Board meeting of _______________[date].

This review was conducted in accordance with the checklist set out in Appendix 2 of the Department’s
‘Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools’
Signed _____________________________________
Chairperson, Board of Management
Date ________________
Signed _____________________________________
Principal
Date ________________
D:\116101739.doc
15