Child Protection Guidelines and Procedures - DES

INTO Summary of Revised Guidelines and Procedures for Dealing with Child Abuse

The revised guidelines for primary schools are based on Children First, which is the title of the overarching national guidelines for all institutions published by the Department of Health and Children.

Children First was published in response to the public outcry over inadequate systems for reporting child abuse which were found to have existed in a variety of institutions. Children First is the first comprehensive framework for dealing with child abuse, and as such it is deemed to represent current best practice. It applies to all of the Health Boards who have the statutory responsibility in this area and further, it incorporates the findings of major inquiry reports into specific child abuse cases, such as for example the Kilkenny Inquiry, the Kelly Fitzgerald Inquiry and the inquiry into the allegations in the swimming sector.

What's New in the Revised Guidelines for Primary Schools?

While there are many similarities between the old (Circular 16/91) and the revised guidelines, there are some key new measures as follows:

  • an obligation on every school to designate a senior member of staff, normally the principal teacher, as liaison person with other agencies, including Health Boards and Gardai.

This person will be called the Designated Liaison Person (DLP), and a teacher who receives a disclosure from a child or has a reasonable suspicion, should in the first instance report the concern to the DLP;

  •  a new provision for consultation provided by each Health Board region.

The purpose of this provision is to support and assist the DLP in coming to a decision as to whether or not to report/refer an allegation/suspicion to the Health Board. The guidelines state that prior to making a report or referral to the Health Board, the DLP can consult with and obtain advice from the Health Board without giving identifying details of the pupil concerned, and on the basis that the consultation of itself is not a referral. The DLP is then required to act on the advice of the Health Board and to inform the chairperson/board of management accordingly;

  • a new emphasis on record keeping, including:
    • recording what a pupil may say in the course of a disclosure;
    • recording the outcome of consultations with the Health Board and the matter of completing written reports for the Health Board personnel or for the purposes of a child protection conference (case conference); and
    • tighter parameters in relation to the holding of Child Protection/Case Conferences.

The revised guidelines provide that a request by a Health Board for a teacher to attend a Child Protection Conference should be made to the DLP who will consult with the chairperson of the board of management on the matter. The chairperson may clarify with the Health Board in advance of the conference why the attendance of the teacher is necessary, who will be in attendance at the case conference, and specifically whether children and/or parents/ guardians are going to be present. Substitute costs will be paid by the DES, in respect of teachers required to attend at Child Protection Conferences during school hours.

The revised guidelines will also require Health Board staff to inform teachers of the outcome of any enquiry or investigation.

The Other Key Provisions

The following is a summary of the other key provisions contained in the revised guidelines and some of these are already the practice in many schools:

"the matter of maintaining confidentiality and balancing this requirement with the need to inform appropriate parties such as the Health Board or Gardaí on a 'need to know basis' ".

The guidelines say that teachers should inform parents where a report to the Health Board is made, unless doing so would put the child at further risk. If there is a doubt about this, teachers should consult with the Health Board personnel.

Specifically, the revised guidelines state clearly, that it is not the responsibility of school staff to make enquiries of parents/guardians as the Health Boards/Gardaí are charged with the statutory responsibility for investigations.

"the legal position in relation to reporting child abuse, including reference to the Protection for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act, '98; the Freedom of Information Act '97 and the matter of Qualified Privilege";

"Details on how to recognise possible signs of abuse including guidelines on what constitutes a reasonable suspicion or reasonable grounds for concern";

"Advice in relation to handling disclosures from children";

"the matter of dealing with allegations or suspicions of child abuse by school employees which provides, interalia, that a written statement of the allegation should be sought from the person/agency making the allegation and that in terms of the investigation, the normal procedures and principles of due process and natural justice should apply"; and

"the matter of peer abuse and bullying. In relation to alleged sexual abuse, the revised guidelines draw attention to the importance of not ignoring sexualised behaviour among pupils and state that in certain cases as appropriate, matters may be referred to the Health Board Chapter 11 of the national guidelines Children First, discusses various behaviours and distinguishes, for example, between normal sexual exploration among children and other behaviours, such as sexually obsessive behaviour. The emphasis in this section is on assessment and therapeutic intervention at an early stage."

Process of Implementation

Throughout the negotiations on the implementation of the revised guidelines for primary schools, the INTO insisted that implementation is entirely predicated upon the provision of a proper programme of inservice training and backup support at Health Board level.

Specifically, the Organisation has sought confirmation that the necessary Health Board structures will be in place to support DLPs in their role.

At this juncture:

  • An initial one day's inservice training was provided in the school year in May/June 2002. Substitute cover and the usual expenses for in-career was granted. The INTO is currently in negotiations with the DES in order to ensure the delivery of the Revised Guidelines to additional teachers in each primary school.
  • The Department of Health and Children has confirmed that Information/ Advice officers are being appointed in each Health Board.
  • Appropriate representatives of each Health Board region attended the initial inservice training in order to co-ordinate between the school and the Health Board at local level.

INTO Support

In recent years, Officials in INTO Head Office and District Representatives have been advising and assisting teachers, and particularly principal teachers, on a weekly basis, in the matter of handling allegations/suspicion of child abuse, dealing with disclosures from pupils and the matter of liaison with the Health Boards.

The INTO has had a long standing policy in terms of query management of prioritising matters connected with child abuse, and this will continue.