If a Member of Staff Should Receive a Report of a Child Protection Issue

CHILD PROTECTION procedurES

The Board of Management has adopted as policy the Child Protection Guidelines for Post-Primary Schools as published by the Department of Education & Science and is guided by the DES circular 0065/2011 and Children First ’National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children’ 2011 . Circular 0065/2011 outlines new ‘oversight arrangements and these are incorporated into the guidelines which follow. Copies of all relevant documents are available from the Principal or may be viewed on www. education. i.e./

If a member of staff should receive a report of a Child Protection issue

You should:

Listen compassionately

Use open, non-specific questions where, what is being reported is unclear

Make a careful record of the report, using the young person’s own words

If the person reporting is an adult, invite him/her to provide a written account of the matter

Indicate what will happen next

Report the matter immediately to the Designated Liaison Person

Keep the matter strictly confidential

You should not:

Question the person reporting, other than to seek clarification

Make any judgemental statements

Give any undertaking of secrecy

Start to investigate

In the event that the Designated Liaison Person decides not to report the allegation to the Health Service Executive, the member of staff who reported the matter will be given a written statement as to why action is not being taken

The member of staff who reports an allegation to the Designated Liaison Person may be asked to attend a Child Protection Conference. The DLP will consult with the Board of Management before responding to such a request

A member of staff reporting an allegation or suspicion in good faith has the legal protection of qualified privilege at common law and is also protected under ‘The Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act’ 1998. The Freedom of Information Acts and the Data Protection Acts will apply to records.

Contacts

Designated Liason Person in my school: Ann Marie Carroll

Deputy Designated Liason Person in my school: Breda Barrett

Summary of Board of Managements Responsibility in Child Protection

To provide students with the highest possible standard of care in order to promote their well being and protect them from harm

To adopt a child protection policy in accordance with the Child Protection Guidelines and Procedures for Post Primary Schools

To adopt without modification the child protection procedures for post primary schools as outlined in circular 0065/2011

To designate a senior member of staff as the Designated Liaison Person for the school. It is expected that the Designated Liaison Person will normally be the Principal. The name of the DIP shall be prominently displayed in an appropriate public place in the school.

To provide for another person to assume responsibilities of the Designated Liaison Person should the Designated Liaison Person be unavailable for any reason, this person to be known as the Deputy Designated Liaison Person

To ensure that all records relating to child protection are appropriately filed and stored securely

To adhere to DES requirements for Garda vetting in respect of all school personneland apply thorough recruitment, selection and appointment procedures to all employees and volunteers

To ensure that the school’s child protection policy is available to parents/guardians of the school community

The Designated Liaison Person will inform the Board that a report involving a student in the school has been submitted to the Health Service Executive. The Designated Liaison Person will inform the Board of cases where information is sought from the HSE but where no report is made. The DLP will be responsible to maintain all relevant contact details for HSE and An Garda Siochana.

If the allegation is against a school employee, the Chairperson meets the employee privately, gives details of allegation to the employee with copy of related documentation.The eemployee is afforded an opportunity to respond in writing to the Board. If the Protocol Authorising Immediate Action has been invoked by the Principal, an emergency meeting of the Board is called. Legal advice should be sought

If the nature of the allegation warrants immediate action, or the ratification of action taken under the Protocol, the Board will direct that the employee absent him/herself from school with immediate effect. The strictest confidence is to be observed

Any further action required by the Board will be informed by the investigations conducted by the HSE and/or An Garda Siochána.

Such action will be taken in compliance with the Disciplinary Procedures which applies for our school and Board of Management.

Finally the Board undertakes to ensure that a review of the school Child Protection policy will be undertaken on an annual basis and will put in place an action plan containing appropriate timelines to address those aspects of the policy which have been identified as requiring further improvement.

Practice

Behaviour

Behaviour of students is governed by the School Code of Behaviour

Attendance

The school monitors the attendance of students on a continuous basis and will inform the NEWB of any concerns in relation to student attendance issues. This will be carried out in accordance with relevant legislation and under the direction of the School Attendance Policy. The school encourages full attendance where possible and rewards full attendance by presenting Attendance Awards at the end of year School Prize Giving Ceremony.

Bullying

Bullying is addressed by the School Anti-Bullying Policy

Supervision

A very diligent approach to the supervision of students is adopted at all times during the school day and a roster of staff assigned to supervision is displayed in the staff room and school office.

The school endeavours to ensure adequate Staff: Student ratios and every effort is made to ensure that more than one staff member is assigned to supervision to ensure the safety of the students as well as the protection of staff.

Transport

There is an extra responsibility on staff when they transport students to games and events.

Staff should ensure that there is adequate insurance on their car and that they follow the rules of the road, including the legal use of seat belts

Staff should ensure that they do not carry more than the permitted number of passengers and avoid being alone with one student. They should put passengers in the back seat, have central drop off locations or seek parental permission when transporting on a regular basis. Parents should check with students about the plans, listen to what the students are saying and be sure they are happy with the transport arrangements.

Voluntary Adult Supervisors

Voluntary Adult Supervisors may be engaged to assist a Teacher in the event of it not being possible to have two supervising teachers for matches/trips/tours/events. Any voluntary adult supervisor will be approved in advance by the Board of Management following suitable Garda vetting

Games, Sporting Events, Changing/Dressing Rooms

A staff member supervising or organising games or sporting events should always be accompanied by another adult member who also has Garda vetting

There should be at least one adult of each gender with mixed groups of students

Staff should avoid being left alone with students. If a staff member needs to talk separately to a student then this should be done in an open environment in view of others.

While every effort will be made to respect the privacy of students while changing, staff may need to enter changing rooms in certain circumstances. In these instances staff members will alert the students to their impending entry by knocking on the changing room door and announcing their intent to enter. This will allow students time to ensure that they are prepared for the staff member to enter and hence avoid any discomfort or embarrassment for any party involved.

A notice will be displayed inside the dressing/changing room informing students that a staff member is close by outside and can be summoned by students in the case of any unacceptable behaviour among students themselves while inside dressing/changing rooms without a staff member present. It may be necessary for a staff member to be present in the event ofany students requiring special assistance. When necessary staff should supervise in pairs or seek assistance. It is the safety and welfare of the students that is of paramount importance.

Staff should not be left alone with young people at the end of games or sporting events. Start and finish times of training and/or games/matches/sporting events should be clearly stated. If late collections occur staff should remain in pairs until all students have left. It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to make arrangements for collection of students after school hours. It should be made clear that the school is only responsible for in-school time activities.

If a student suffers an injury or accident then the necessary steps to ensure that the student receives the required attention should be followed and the parents/guardians should be informed.An accident report should be prepared by the supervising staff member who should also inform the Principal of the school.

Trips out of School

Out of school trips/tours will need higher rates of supervision and these should be checked out with the trip/tour organiser as students will have to be supervised at all times.

Written permission of parents/guardians should be obtained for all overnight away trips, This should include permission to travel, behaviour agreement and any medical/special needs of the group, (including permission to treat the student).

The agreement should be signed by both parents and students.

A meeting with parents and students is useful to communicate travel times, accommodation details, other activities, gear/equipment requirements, special needs (medical or dietary), and any other necessary details, contact details, codes of conduct, etc.

The school should share any appropriate information with the supervising staff of the group. The school should appoint a Group Leader for away trips. On away trips other supervising staff should be accountable to the Group Leader in all student/trip related matters.

• All staff that travel on away trips should be informed of the clearly defined roles and responsibilities of staff supervising a group of students
• The Group Leader should have overall responsibility for the student's well-being, behaviour and sleeping arrangements. There should be at least one adult of each gender with mixed groups of students.

• Students and Parents/Guardians will be given mobile phone numbers of travelling supervisors prior to the trip.
• Where there are mixed groups of students there should be staff of both genders (at least one female and one male with the group).
• Staff should not share a room with a student. Where the presence of an adult is needed there should be more than one student in the room with the adult. If students are sharing a room, it should be with those of the same groupings, age and gender. It may be necessary for a staff member to be present in a student’s room whereby the student requires special assistance and in this instance staff should be in pairs or seek assistance. It is the safety and welfare of the students that is of paramount importance.
• The Group Leader should check out the venue beforehand, so that separate and appropriate sleeping arrangements can be made in advance
• Alcoholic drink, smoking and other illegal substances / activities are forbidden to students. The supervising staff should act as role models in this respect.
• Parents/Guardians will be informed in the event of any student falling ill, having an accident or wishing to make contact with home or any other circumstance that requires it. Parents will be given mobile phone numbers of travelling supervisors prior to the trip.
• Parents/Guardians will be responsible for the collection of students on their return from away trips. Any delays or changes in return times will be relayed to parents by the travelling supervising staff.

• The Group Leader should submit a written report to the school as soon as possible after the end of the trip.

Induction of Staff

The Child First and Child Protection Guidelines are available to all staff and are kept in the School Policy Documents File in the Staffroom. Individual copies for staff are upon request in the event of a staff member not having same in their possession. The School Child Protection Policy is emailed to all Staff and the main elements of the policy are also incorporated into the Teacher Handbook for the academic year and are also in the Staff Induction Handbook which is given to all new staff on commencement of their employment/teaching practice or other school duties.

Visitors

Procedures for Visitors to the school are addressed by the School Visitor Policy

First Aid

First Aid must only be administered by a qualified person. A list of such staff is on public display in the school

This appendix to the School Child Protection Policy was adopted by the Board of Management on:

Date: ______

Signed: ______

It will be reviewed in April 2017.