Since December 11, 2017 Early Years Services including staff, service owners, board of management and volunteers, have new legal obligations under the Children First Act 2015.
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.
Consistent with the principles of Children First, every organisation, both public and private, that is providing services for children or that is in regular direct contact with children should:-
Ensure best practice in the recruitment of volunteers, which includes Garda vetting, taking up of references, good HR practices in interviewing, induction training, probation and on-going supervision and management;
Tusla Child and Family Agency has a legal responsibility under the Childcare Act 1991 to promote the welfare and protection of children.
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 onTwitter at @safeguardingelc
The website includes:
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. It includes a risk assessment, measures to manage any risks and a number of mandatory safeguarding policies and procedures.
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:
Always Children First Child Protection Training is currently available. Dates will be released shortly!
The Mandated Person E-Learning Programme is available at the link below.
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.
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.
It is suggested that Practitioners complete the Tusla ELearning Programme every year.
If you have any queries related to the training please contact DLR County Childcare Committee on 01 2896600 or email info@dlrchildcare.ie
For further information on Child Safeguarding in Early Learning and Care services visit http://childsafeguardingelc.ie/
A comprehensive list of all safeguarding related resources and publications can be found on the National Child Safeguarding website
© 2021 Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Childcare Committee
