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Congratulations to the children who had their First Holy Communion last Sunday. Míle Buíochas to Ms. Mahon for preparing them so well and also to the staff and parents. Gymnastics will resume on Wednesday. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.
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Child Protection PolicyIntroductory Statement: Staff and parents reviewed this policy in January 2010.Rationale: This policy was formulated to comply with National Guidelines: Children first, National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, Dept. of Health, children 1999. Relationship to the Characteristic spirit of the school: In our school the welfare of the child is paramount. Aims: Our main aim is to keep children safe. Other Aims: • To insure that the policies/procedures are developed and that all staff/relevant personnel are involved in this process. • To insure that all staff volunteers, parents, children are advised of the child protection policy procedures within the school. • To ensure that the policy is upgraded and reviewed in line with government, national and organisational developments. Guidelines 1.0 Appointment of a Designated Liaison Person • B.O.M. Appoints DLP: Marianne Brady • B.O.M. Appoints Deputy DLP Catherine Lawlor • Each new board will be informed of the position of DLP and Deputy DLP will take place at the second B.O.M. meeting of the school year. • The appointment of the DLP and Deputy DLP will take place at the first B.O.M. meeting of the school year. The position will be held for 2 years. 2.0 Roles and Responsibilities 2.1 Role of the B.O.M.: The B.O.M. has primary responsibility for the care and welfare of their pupils. It is the responsibility of the Board of Management of each school to do the following: • Have clear procedures which teachers and other school staff must follow where they suspect, or are alerted to, possible child abuse, including where a child discloses abuse. • Designate a senior member of staff to staff to have specific responsibility for child protection. In the case of primary schools, the designated liaison person for dealing with outside agencies should be the principal or other person designed by the Board. The Principal/designated person is responsible for ensuring that the standard reporting procedure is followed so that suspected cases of child abuse are referred promptly to the local health board or An Garda Siochána. • Monitor the progress of children considered to be at risk. • Promote in-service training for teachers and members of Boards of Management to ensure that they have a good working knowledge of child protection issues and procedures. • Have clear written procedures in place concerning action to be taken where allegations are received against school employees. 2.2 Role of the Staff Member (to include Teachers, SNA’s, Caretaker, Secretary etc.) All staff members have a general duty of care to ensure that arrangements are in place to protect children from harm. It is the responsibility of all teachers and staff members to familiarise themselves with the Children First National Guidelines for the Protections and Welfare of Children (1999) especially Chapter 3 Definition and Recognition of Child Abuse. Chapter 4 Basis for Reporting and Standard Reporting Procedures Appendix 1 Signs and Symptoms of Child Abuse Guidelines for teachers and staff members in handling…… 1 Disclosures from children • Listen first and write later. Listen, don’t ask leading questions, offer reassurance, allow child to talk, don’t over-react, explain that you may have to take further action. Confidentiality must never be promised to a person making a disclosure and the requirement to report to the DLP must be explained in a supportive manner. Record but don’t identify the child by name, use roll number, remember all records are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. • Report to the DLP who is responsible for reporting the matter to the health board of Garda Siochana. 2 Suspicions of abuse When there are such concerns it is essential to keep an objective and factual record of all information available (DES Guidelines, page 10 , paragraph 2.5.1.) A teacher may also be requested to keep a child under observation (DES Guidelines, page 13, paragraph 3.4.6.) See handout “Some suggestions for monitoring”. What are the procedures for staff, volunteers, parents to report child protection and welfare concerns? DLP, Deputy DLP, H.S.C.L.T. If a parent voices concern to a staff member, the staff member will inform the parent that the teacher will have to speak to the DLP or Deputy DLP or H.S.C.L.T. 2.3 Role of the designated Liaison Person (DLP) The role of the DLP vis-ŕ-vis: Outside agencies, Health Board, Gardai and other parties with child protection concerns • To ensure that all proper procedures are followed. School Personnel • To inform staff of policy and procedures especially at first Staff meeting and make sure all personnel who work in the school are aware of the policy. Maintenance of proper records • Maintain all records confidential and in a safe place. Good practice Guidelines Discuss and inform parents/care givers that a report has been made to the Health Board-unless doing so would put the child at further risk. Standard Reporting Form to the Health Board to be enclosed. In "out of duty social work hours” any emergency situation should be referred to the Gardai. List relevant phone numbers and addresses of Local Health Board duty social workers and Gardai. 3.0 Child Protection Meetings/ Case Conferences Employees involved in case conferences should first seek advice from the DLP. 4.0 Organisational Implications The following procedures/policies need to be examined with reference to the Children First Guidelines and from the point of view of Child Protection: • Policy on supervision • Induction meeting for new staff • Anti-Bullying policy should include sexual haressment • Written guidelines for extra curriculum activities • Written guidelines for swimming • Children travelling in teacher’s cars. • Policy needs to be explained to parents • DLP needs to make pupils aware of policy • Special needs • SPHE 5.0 Curriculum Implications A) How will we educate our children in the protective skills of self-esteem and assertiveness? SPHE, Oral language skills, Anti-Bullying policy, SEOL B) How can our whole school plan for SPHE support Child Protection? Stay Safe, RSE C) What are the other curricular areas, which have child protection implications? PE, Fieldtrips, School Tours, Drama, Visual Art, English Success Criteria How will we evaluate the success of this policy? • Were the DLP and Deputy DLP appointed? • Were the relevant people informed about the policy? • If a child protection issue arose (a) were procedures followed and (b) how effective were they? • Feedback from all staff. Timeframe for Implementation As soon as the policy is ratified by the BOM Timeframe for Review First staff meeting. Responsibility for Review BOM DLP Principal All Staff Pupils Parents Plan co-ordinator Ratification and Communication This plan was ratified by the BOM on: It will be communicated to all staff, parents, pupils, volunteers and BOM. |
    
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