Stay Safe :- Child Protection Policy

The staff, parents and board of management have developed and agreed this policy in line with the current recommendations and guidelines relating to child abuse and child protection guidelines.

This policy also takes account of current legislation:

• The Education Act 1998
• The Education Welfare Act 2000
• The Protection for Persons reporting Child Abuse Act 1998
• Data Protection Acts 1998, 2003 and 2018
• Freedom of Informations Acts 1997 and 2003
• Childrens Act 2001

This policy addresses the responsibilities of the school in the following areas:

• Prevention – curriculum provision
• Procedures – procedures for dealing with concerns/disclosures
• Practice – best practice in child protection

An individual copy of this policy document and the appended section from the Department of Education and Science Child Protection Guidelines and Procedures will be made available to all staff in Child Protection Folder. It is incumbent on all staff to familiarise themselves with ‘Children First’, DES child protection guidelines and procedures and school Child Safeguarding Statement & Risk Assessment

Aims

This Policy aims to:

• Create a safe, trusting, responsive and caring environment
• Provide a personal safety skills education which specifically addresses abuse prevention for all children in the school
• Develop awareness and responsibility in the area of child protection amongst the whole School community
• Put in place procedures for good practice to protect all children and staff
• Ensure that all staff members are aware of and familiar with the ‘Children First’ and the DES guidelines and procedures in relation to reporting concerns and/or disclosures of child abuse

Prevention

Education for children on abuse prevention is provided for all children as part of the school’s SPHE curriculum under the strand unit Safety and Protection.

• The Stay Safe programme is the primary resource used in this school to provide education for children on abuse prevention. 
• On enrolment of their child parents will be informed that the Stay Safe programme is in use in the school and a copy of the policy will be included in the Hand book.
• The formal lessons of the programme will be taught in their entirety during year 1 in accordance with the SPHE two-year cycle plan. In year 2 the lessons will be taught using alternate resources or activities as worksheets.
• Staff will make every effort to ensure that the messages of the programme are reinforced whenever possible.
• The Special Education Teachers will teach / support a programme of prevention if required.. Some lessons from the RSE Programme where appropriate will be included at individual teacher’s discretion.
• Parents are welcome to view policies in the office or on the school website. They are informed by letter of any sensitive content within lessons and given an opportunity to discuss these with the teacher if they so desire.

 Policies and Programmes that support the Child Protection Policy include:

Code of Behaviour         Anti Bullying Policy                Health & Safety Statement

Sexual Harassment         Critical Incident Policy            Substance Use Policy

RSE                              Attendance Policy                   School Tours /Outings   

Equality of Access and Participation Policy                    Internet Acceptance Use Policy

Intimate Care Policy

Procedures

All staff (teachers, special needs assistants and ancillary staff) in this school will follow the recommendations for reporting concerns or disclosures as outlined in ‘Children First’, ‘Child Protection, Guidelines and Procedures’ and school Child Safeguarding Statement.

(See attached Appendix, pages 5 to 20 from the DES guidelines & Child Safeguarding Statement)

The Board of Management of this school has appointed Linda Mills as the Designated Liaison Person (DLP) and Rhonda Stewart as the deputy DLP.

The staff and management of this school have agreed:

* Although all teachers are mandated persons concerns/disclosures involving child protection /child welfare issues will normally be reported in the first instance to the DLP (deputy DLP where appropriate.) Advice will be sought from Tusla and formal reports submitted when appropriate.

* A strict adherence to maintaining confidentiality – information regarding concerns or disclosures of abuse should only be given on a need to know basis.

Confidentiality

All information regarding concerns of possible child abuse should only be shared on a need to know basis in the interests of the child.  The test is whether or not the person has any legitimate involvement or role in dealing with the issue.

Giving information to those who need to have that information for the protection of a child, who may have been or has been abused, is not a breach of confidentiality.

The DLP or other mandated person who is submitting a report to Tulsa or An Garda Síochána should inform a parent/guardian unless doing so is likely to endanger the child or place that child at further risk.  A decision not to inform a parent/guardian should be briefly recorded together with the reasons for not doing so.

In emergency situations, where Tulsa cannot be contacted, and the child appears to be at immediate and serious risk, An Garda Síochána should be contacted immediately.

A child should not be left in a dangerous situation pending Tulsa intervention.

Practice

The following areas have been considered by the staff and the Board of management as areas of specific concern in relation to child protection. Following discussion and consultation the staff and board have agreed that the following practices be adopted.

1. Visitors / Guest Speakers

Visitors / Guest speakers will not be left alone with pupils.  The school principal and the teachers have a responsibility to check out the credentials of any visitors / guest speakers invited into the school and in so far as is practical, ensure they are garda vetted.

2. Sports Coaches assisting with PE lessons will always be garda vetted by school prior to employment. If deemed more appropriate the school may enter into a Vetting Agreement with the organization enabling us to use the existing vetting certificate provided by the organization.
3. Physical contact

          Physical contact between school personnel and the child should always be in response to the needs of the child and not the needs of the adult.  While physical contact may be used to comfort, reassure or assist a child the following should be factors in determining its appropriateness:-

• It is acceptable to the child
• It is open and not secretive
• The age and developmental stage of the child.

School personnel should avoid doing anything of a personal nature for children that they can do for themselves.

4. Children with specific toileting/intimate care needs:

In all situations where a pupil needs assistance with toileting / intimate care a meeting will be convened, after enrolment between parents / guardians, class teacher, special needs assistant, principal and if appropriate the pupil. The purpose of this meeting will be to ascertain the specific needs of the child and to determine how the school can best meet those needs. The staff involved in this care will be identified and provision will be made for occasions when particular staff involved is absent. A written copy of what has been agreed will be made and kept in the child’s file.

5. Toileting Accidents:

On enrolment to Monaghan Model School, parents will be asked to either grant or refuse permission for a staff member to assist in changing young children into fresh clothes in the event of an accident. Where permission is not given then the parents will be contacted immediately should the need arise. 

Clean underwear and suitable clothing will be kept in the school in the event that an ‘accident’ of this nature occurs. The child will be offered fresh clothing into which they can change. If unable to change himself or herself, an older sibling (if in the school) will be called on for assistance. In the absence of a sibling the child will be assisted by members of staff familiar to the child. In all such situations two members of staff should be present.

6. One to One Teaching:

Sometimes one to one teaching is in the best interest of the child. When this is deemed to be the case every effort will be made to ensure that this teaching takes place in an open environment or a classroom with a glass door panel. Work being carried out by special needs assistants will be carried out under the direction of the class teacher in an open environment.

7. Voluntary Assistance by Parents:

Sometimes parents may be asked to assist the teacher in an in school activity or in a supervisory role on a school trip. Parents who have agreed to be garda vetted by school will primarily be used for these purposes in our school.

8. Numerous Unexplained Periods of Absence:

Where a child is absent for long periods or absence occurs frequently without an explanation, the teacher will speak to the parents to try and ascertain the reason for the absence. An explanation of absence template will be given to such parents to assist with informing the school, where options are given and only a tick and a signature are necessary. In extreme circumstances a teacher may write the note under the guidance of the parent and they can sign it.

At all times there must be adequate supervision of pupils.

While every effort will be made to adhere to best practice as agreed and outlined above, in the event of an emergency where this is not possible or practicable a full record of the incident should be made and reported to the principal and parents.

Review and Monitoring

This policy will be monitored and reviewed by the Board of Management on an annual basis and when the need arises. The board of management will ensure that adequate training and support is provided for all staff.

Ratified at Board of Management meeting on Monday 25th March 2019