Creative Kids Ltd. Child Protection Policy, September 2017
In accordance with the requirements of the Department of Education and Skills’ Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools,
1. The Management of Creative Kids Ltd has adopted and will implement fully and without modification Child Protection Procedures
2. The Designated Liaison Person (DLP) is Jennifer McCarthy
Creative Kids Ltd. will:
• recognise that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance.
• fully co-operate with the relevant statutory authorities.
• adopt safe practices to minimise the possibility of harm or accidents happening to children and protect workers from the necessity to take unnecessary risks that may leave themselves open to accusations of abuse or neglect;
• develop a practice of openness with parents and encourage parental involvement in the education of their children; and
• fully respect confidentiality requirements in dealing with child protection matters.
An individual copy of this policy document and a copy of Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children from The Department of Children and Youth Affairs will be made available to all staff.
It is incumbent on all staff to familiarize themselves with ‘Children First’ and the DES child protection guidelines and procedures.
Aims of this policy:
• Create a safe, trusting, responsive and caring environment
• Provide a personal safety skills education which specifically addresses abuse prevention for all children Creative Kids
• Develop awareness and responsibility in the area of child protection
• Put in place procedures for good practice to protect all children and staff
• Ensure that all staff members including new staff 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.
Procedures:
All staff, employed by Creative Kids Ltd. will follow the recommendations for reporting concerns or disclosures as outlined in ‘Children First: National Guidance for the protection and Welfare of Children
The staff and management have agreed:
• All concerns/ disclosures involving child protection/child welfare issues are to be reported in the first instance to the DLP.
• Each written report to the DLP will be dated and signed by the person making that report.
• A strict adherence to maintaining confidentiality – information regarding concerns or disclosures of abuse should only be given on a ‘need to know’ basis.
Accidents
While every precaution will be taken under our Health and Safety Statement to ensure the safety of children, it is accepted that accidents will happen If deemed necessary, an Accident Report Note will be sent home with the child for the attention of his/her parent(s). If deemed necessary, direct contact will be made as soon as possible with the child’s parents. If warranted, the school may seek and avail of immediate medical assistance for the child.
Transportation
In the normal course of events, members of the school staff will not carry pupils in their cars, and should do so only in cases of emergency the written permission of Parent / Guardian.
Record Keeping
Regarding child protection matters, the DLP will maintain proper records which will be kept in a locked filing cabinet in a secure location and will take the necessary measures to ensure that the confidentiality of the records is maintained.
Induction of Staff
• The DLP will be responsible for informing all new staff members of the ‘Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children’ (Dept. of Children and Youth Affairs, 2011) and with ‘Child Protection Guidelines for Primary and Post Primary Schools’ (DES, 2011).
• The DLP will make available a copy of the ‘Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children’ (Dept of Children and Youth Affairs, 2011) and with ‘Child Protection Guidelines for Primary and Post Primary Schools’ (DES, 2011) and this Child Protection Policy to all new
This policy is available to all personnel and is readily accessible to parents on request. A copy of this policy will be made available to the Department and the patron if requested.
This policy is reviewed annually.
This policy was adopted by Creative Kids Ltd. 1st September 2016
Signed: Jennifer McCarthy Signed Kim Grantham
DLP Director
Date of next review: September 2018