Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 provides the national guidance for the protection and welfare of children in Ireland.
A child is defined under the Child Care Act 1991 as anyone under the age of 18 years who is not, or has not been married.
It states what organisations need to do to keep children safe, and what different bodies and the general public should do if they are concerned about a child’s safety and welfare.
Tusla Child and Family Agency has a legal responsibility under the Childcare Act 1991 to promote the welfare and protection of children.
Commenced in full on December 11th, 2017
The Child Care (Amendment) Act 2024 has brought about a number of changes to key pieces of legislation relating to early years services in Ireland.
Full details of these changes are available in this Info Blast from National Childcare Safeguarding Programme. Please download to ensure you are fully up to date with changes to legislation for Childcare Act.
Mandated Persons are people who have contact with children and families and who, because of their qualifications, training and/or employment role, are in a key position to help protect children from harm.
If you work in an early years/school aged setting you are a Mandated Person.
To find out if you are a Mandated person please refer to Children Fist National Guidance, 2017 Schedule 2 of the Children First Act 2015 page 57.
In line with the new Child Protection Legislation, every organisation providing services for children or in direct contact with children should have a Designated Liaison Person (DLP) to act as a liaison with outside agencies and as a resource person to any staff member or volunteer who has child protection concerns. The DLP ensures the standard reporting procedure is followed and that suspected cases of child neglect or abuse are referred promptly to the Child and Family Agency Duty Social Worker or in an emergency, where a child is in immediate danger and where the Social Worker cannot be contacted, to An Garda Síochana. The DLP should be knowledgeable about child protection and undertake any training necessary to keep themselves updated on new developments.
The National Child Safeguarding Programme; Early Learning and Care was set up in 2012 following a number of developments in the Early Years Sector, including the establishment of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in 2011 and the launch of the updated publication of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, also in 2011. The Children First National Guidance was fully revised and published in 2017 to include reference to the Children First Act 2015. The Committee was developed with the primary aim of addressing the implementation of Children First in the Early Years Sector.
The Committee is charged with coordinating the delivery of Child Protection Training nationally in a consistent approach. Thus a Sectoral Training Plan was developed under four headings:
The National Child Safeguarding Programme; Early Learning and Care website www.childsafeguardingelc.ie is full of Early Learning and Care sector specific child safeguarding training and resources, which were developed in conjunction with Tusla. It is a ‘one stop shop’ for all Child Safeguarding resources for Early Learning and Care Services in Ireland as detailed below. You can also follow them on Twitter at@safeguardingelc
The website includes:
Included on the website is the updated Child Safeguarding Statement Template and accompanying Information Sheet for Early Learning and Care services. This resource has been developed in conjunction with the Tusla Child Safeguarding Statement Compliance Unit and will help services to develop a strong, robust Child Safeguarding Statement that is individual and unique to their service. The template and accompanying information sheet attached outlines the exact steps that services are required to follow to develop their Child Safeguarding Statement.
A Child Safeguarding Statement is a written statement that specifies the service being provided and the principles and procedures to be observed in order to ensure, as far as practicable, that a child availing of the service is safe from harm. Upon completion, the Child Safeguarding Statement must be shared with all staff members, displayed in a prominent place in the service and made available to parents and guardians, Tusla and members of the public upon request.
Further information can be found here https://www.tusla.ie/children-first/organisations/what-is-a-child-safeguarding-statement/
Click on the documents below to view the updated Child Safeguarding Statement and Information Sheet:
Children First: National Guidance outlines that all organisations working with children, including Early Learning and Care Services should create a culture of safety that promotes the welfare of children and young people availing of their services. ELC services are also defined as ‘relevant services’ in the Children First Act 2015 and have specific statutory obligations under the Act to keep children safe whilst they are availing of the service The Children First Act 2015 places specific obligations on organisations which provide services to children and young people. One of these obligations is to report Child Protection and Welfare concerns above a defined threshold to Tusla.
If parents have a concern relating to Child Protection and Welfare they should contact their local Tusla Duty Social Work Department
If parents have a concern relating to standards of care within an Early Learning and Care Service they can contact the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate
© 2021 Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Childcare Committee
