Child Protection Policy.
Newtownwhite E.T.N.S.

Introductory Statement.

The original policy was reviewed on the 4/7/04 at a summer course on school planning. It was subsequently reviewed on 6/3/09 after in-service training with a facilitator from CAPP. The deputy DLP attended a Child Protection Course in Mayo Ed Centre on Monday 9/11/09 and the DLP attended the same Child Protection Training Course on 5/12/08. It was reviewed again in June 2010 on a planning day with a PPDS facilitator.

It was subsequently revised in Nov 2011 in line with current recommendations set out in the new guidelines “Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children.” (2011)  (Circular 0065/2011-“All schools must have a child protection policy that adheres to certain key principles of best practice in child protection and welfare and all schools are required to formally adopt and implement without modification, the  Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools as part of their overall child protection policy.”)

This policy was again reviewed by staff and the BOM in March 2015 following the transfer of patronage to Educate Together.

The policy addresses the responsibilities of the school in the following areas.

1. Prevention
2. Procedures
3. Practice

Rationale

Children are entitled to expect and receive every possible protection in their childhood years, whether in the school or during their lives in the community. The ethos of Newtownwhite Educate Together National School takes into consideration the social and emotional needs of each child in so far as possible. Because it is a small school the children have informal access to staff daily and communication is generally good.

Relationship to Characteristic Spirit of the school.

Our school endeavours in line with our ethos (multi-denominational, child centered, co-educational and democratic) to treat all pupils equally and to aid them in achieving their full potential in a safe and secure environment.

Aims.

• To create a safe trusting, responsive caring environment.
• To provide a personal safety skills education that addresses abuse prevention for all children in the school. (Stay Safe)
• To develop awareness and responsibility in the area of child protection amongst the whole school community.
• To put in place procedures for good practice to protect all children and staff
• To ensure that all staff members are aware of and familiar with “Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children”(2011).
• To ensure procedures in relation to reporting concerns and /or disclosures of child abuse are in place.
• Provide for ongoing training in this and related areas for all school staff.
• To ensure that all staff are aware of the categories of abuse:- Neglect, Emotional, Physical and Sexual.

Prevention.

The Stay Safe Programme is the primary resource used in this school to provide education for children on Personal Safety and Abuse prevention. The programme is taught as part of the school S.P.H.E. curriculum under the strand unit- Safety and Protection.

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 stay safe booklet “A Parent’s Guide” will be provided.

The formal lessons of the programme will be taught in their entirety every second year in accordance with the SPHE two year cycle.

Staff will make every effort to ensure that the messages of the programme are reinforced whenever possible.

Procedures

New procedures are based on “Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children” (2011). All staff members in the school will follow the recommendations for reporting concerns or disclosures as outlined in this document.

Role of the Board of Management

• The Board of Management has primary responsibility for the care and welfare of their pupils. For roles and responsibilities of the BOM see Chapter 4 “Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children”(2011).
• Provide training for themselves/staff- The deputy principal attended a child protection seminar 2009 and the Principal attended 2008. These seminars were facilitated by PPDS. The Board of Management received training from the CPMSA in 2008.
• Appoint DLP and deputy DLP
• Ensure that the name of the DLP is displayed in a prominent place near the main entrance of the school.
• Follow procedures and guidelines
• Ensure all aspects of SPHE implemented in the school
• Ensure as much as possible that safe practices around appointing personal are followed
• Follow procedures for dealing with allegations of Child Abuse by school employee.
• The school will undertake an annual review of the child protection policy and its implementation by the school.

A checklist to be used in undertaking the review is included at Appendix 2. The school must put in place an action plan to address any areas for improvement identified by the review. The Board of Management shall make arrangements to inform school personnel that the review has been undertaken. The Parent’s Association shall be notified, that the review has been undertaken. A record of this review and its outcome shall be made available, if  requested, to the Patron and the Department.

The Board of Management of this school has appointed Catherine Boland as the Designated Liaison Person (DLP) and Patricia Quinn as the deputy DLP.

Role of Staff and Management,

1. All staff have a general duty of care to ensure that arrangements are in place to protect children from harm.
2. All staff members have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with “Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children” (2011), especially:

Chapter 2 – Definition and recognition of Child Abuse.

Chapter 3 – Basis for Reporting concerns and Standard Reporting Procedure.

3. In addition to informing the school authority of those cases where a report involving a child in the school has been submitted to Túsla; the DLP shall also inform the school authority of cases where the DLP sought advice from Túsla and as a result of this advice no report was made. At each BOM meeting the principal’s report shall include the number of all such cases and this shall be recorded in the minutes of the board meeting.

Guidelines

• Consider
• Observe
• Seek advice
• Record

Follow procedures laid down in Chapter 3 “Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children” (2011),

1. A staff member has a reasonable cause for concern or a direct disclosure

2. They inform the DLP. Each report to the DLP will be dated and signed by the person making that report.

3. The DLP goes to Túsla for advice or to refer the case.

4. In addition to informing the school authority of those cases where a report involving a child in the school has been submitted to Túsla the DLP shall also inform the school authority of cases where the DLP sought advice from Túsla and as a result of this advice no report was made. At each BOM meeting the principal’s report shall include the number of all such cases and this shall be recorded in the minutes of the board meeting.

If a decision is made by the DLP not to report a concern to Túsla she/he should

(a) Retain all records.

(b) Employee is entitled to get a clear statement in writing about the decision not to       report.

(c) Employee is free to consult with/report to  Túsla  themselves.

5. A strict adherence to maintaining confidentiality with information regarding concerns or disclosures of abuse should only be given on a “need to know” basis.

6. Parents will be informed of a decision to refer to Túsla unless there is a safety risk to the child. In that instance a record of the decision will be noted.

Practices.

The school ethos endeavours to develop good practice and a whole school approach by (1)Increasing children’s social competences (2) Promoting ability to recognise and resist abuse (3) Raising awareness of the reality of child abuse amongst the adult population (information) (4) facilitate disclosure and raise awareness of signs and symptoms of child abuse (5) promote the development of positive self-esteem.

The staff and the B.O.M. of Newtownwhite E.T.N.S. have identified the following as areas of concern in relation to child protection. Following discussion and consultation the staff and B.O.M. have agreed that the following practices be adopted.

a)Physical Contact – school personnel should avoid doing anything of a personal nature for children that they can do for themselves.

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 (1) It is acceptable to the child. (2) It is open and not secretive, (3) The age and development stage of the child. If child/children at any stage pose a danger to themselves, other children or other staff, restraint may be necessary and we will refer to the INTO handbook ‘Managing challenging behaviour- guidelines for teachers’ (2004) for advice and support.

b) Visitors/Guest Speakers.

Visitors and guest speakers should be supervised by the class teacher when they are with the class. The school principal/teachers have a responsibility to check out the credentials of the visitor/ guest and to ensure that the material in use by guests is appropriate. Unexpected visitors/ sale persons have to use the intercom to gain admission (installed summer 2005). Children are advised to alert the teacher if “another person” is on the premises.

c)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 and before the child starts school, between parents/guardians, class teacher, special needs assistant, principal and if appropriate the pupil. The purpose of the meeting will be to ascertain the specific needs of the child and to determine how the school can best meet those needs. The staff to be involved in this care will be identified and provision will be made for occasions when the particular staff involved, are absent. A written copy of what has been agreed will be made and kept in the child’s file.

We acknowledge that best practice is that two members of staff should be present when dealing with intimate care/ toileting needs. This however, is not always possible in Newtownwhite E.T.N.S. Any deviation from the agreed procedure will be recorded and notified to the DLP and the parents/guardians.

 d)Toileting accidents.

Clean underwear and suitable clothing will be kept in the child’s schoolbag so that if a pupil has an “accident” of this nature they will change into fresh clothing.

If the pupil for whatever reason cannot clean or change themselves and the parents/guardians cannot be contacted, the child will be assisted by members of staff familiar to the child. In all such situations it is best practice that two members of staff should be present. This however, in our small school is not always possible.

A record of all such incidents will be kept and the principal and parents will be notified.

e)One -to -one teaching.

It is the policy in this school that one-to-one teaching is often in the best interest of the child. Every effort will be made to ensure that this teaching takes place in an open environment i.e. door open. This will involve children who receive one-to–one teaching for resource and occasionally for learning support. Parents are aware that this practice is in place. Work being carried out by special needs assistants will be carried out under the direction of the class teacher in an open environment.

1. f) Parents as helpers.

The school encourages parental involvement and support and value the positive role parents may play in supporting learning in Newtownwhite ETNS. The Board of Management of Newtownwhite ETNS foster a culture of Garda vetting for all parents and this is offered to parents when their child begins school and will be repeated every three years. Parents/Guardians who do not avail of this option may assist in the school under the direction of the class teacher or BOM. Teachers use their discretion if asking a parent to share information/talents with the children and these parents/guardians will come under the same rules as the guests/visitors.

g) Communication

In our school, we have a positive school climate and we are aware of the sensitivities and rights of the children. We have open communication with parents/guardians and we seek their early co-operation if a problem arises.  Confidentiality is a sensitive area with regard to child protection and hence disclosures will be dealt with sensitively and honestly.

h) Photographing children.

The school likes to keep photographic and video records of events and children, and we would like to continue doing this with parents’ permission and B.O.M. approval. Parents will be made aware of this and given the choice of opting out of this by signing a form when they enrol.

The following points will be kept in mind:

• Do not identify children by name in a photo for publication. (Exceptions can be made for school yearbooks and with parental permission)
• Parental permission should be sought before using individual photos for publication.
• Photos of groups for outside use should be taken in such a way as to prevent identification of children.
• Teachers should be advised not to take, store or display photos of children without permission of principal.
• The use of video and cameras by parents at school events needs to be monitored and in cases where it is not permitted, parents will be sensitively advised about this.
• When the press are involved, ensure that the photographer complies with school policy.
• Information on school websites and the internet should be monitored carefully. (see IT policy)
• Children should not bring cameras or camera phones for use in school. (see mobile phone use policy)

i)P.E./Swimming.

Parents should comply with swimming pool policy as to where they should help young children change, if necessary. Parents should only attend to their own child/children. However, any parent present in the changing room is encouraged to complete a garda vetting form. The Board of Management of Newtownwhite ETNS endeavours to foster a culture of garda vetting of all parents. Parents are given garda vetting forms at enrolment to complete and return to the school.

To foster independence and responsibility, pupils will be encouraged to dress and undress themselves for swimming. Under no circumstances will members of staff/ volunteers be expected to or allowed to dress/undress a child in a cubicle/private area. Older boys and girls are given priority for use of cubicles. There will be two adults per dressing room, one of these being a teacher.

At a BOM meeting on 10/6/10  it was agreed that Dolly Mc Greal (secretary) will help the teacher with supervision of the boys while changing for swimming, during the summer term. (Two people at all times).

Dolly agreed to this and was vetted before the start of the swimming lessons in the summer term 2011.

1. j) Transport to events, matches, practices, tours.

School policy advises that a bus be provided or parents organise to transport their own children. In the event of an accident, all children should be checked out by a doctor and parents notified as soon as possible.

k) Supervision.

Infant collection is 1.50pm- children are supervised after this time in exceptional circumstances only. Infants waiting to be collected at 1.50pm are supervised and the person collecting them should be known to the teacher. All children at break times are supervised by the teacher on duty.

l) Inappropriate play.

High risk areas have been identified eg. Toilets- keep outside door open, be aware of how long children are in the toilets and try to allow one at a time. Children with behavioural difficulties are closely monitored.

m) In the playground.

Accident and incidences are recorded in the school log book. Parents are encouraged to report behaviour/safety related issues to teachers.

n)Attendance    (see attendance policy)

Records are kept of absences and also of partial attendance. Notes, emails or text messages explaining children’s absences are required and retained in order to provide any required feedback to the NEWB (National Education and Welfare Board).

o)Special needs (see special needs policy)

Resource Teachers, Learning support and classroom assistants should all be familiar with the policy and procedure. The curriculum may be adapted if necessary for children with special needs. A Special Needs pack is available from CAPP and will be used to reinforce the Stay Safe classroom materials, when necessary.

p)Induction of new pupils/families.

Pupils and parents will be made aware of the availability of these policies in a folder in the office. Parents receive the child protection policy on enrolment and it is available for viewing on the school website at any time.

q)Induction of new staff.

New staff will be advised to read this policy as well as all the other policies relating to the safety of Children.

r)Record keeping.  (see Policy)

Roll books, reports, and sensitive information regarding children will be kept confidentially and stored in the filing cabinet or on secure computers.  When children leave, these files will be stored in boxes indefinitely.

Links to other policy/planning areas:

Prevention: – SPHE curriculum, Strand Unit on “Safety and Protection”.

• The School Code of Behaviour.

Procedure: – Code of behaviour.

• Health and Safety Statement.
• Anti Bullying Policy

Practice: – Swimming Policy.

-Supervision Policy.

• Health and Safety
• School Tours/Outings
• IT Acceptable use Policy.
• Mobile Phone use Policy.
• School Ethos.

Review and Monitoring.

This policy will be reviewed in March 2016 and on a yearly basis after this It may also be reviewed should a child protection issue arise and its effectiveness evaluated.

The B.O.M. ratified the policy at their meeting on 4^th March 2015. It will be made available on the school website and in the Policy folder in the office.

Signed:  Martha O Shaughnessy (Chairperson B.O.M.)

Date: March 2015.