The Board of Management has adopted two significant documents in relation to Child Protection:
Child Protection Safeguarding Statement and Checklist Sept 2023
These documents will be reviewed on an annual basis. The principle guiding these documents, and the policy and practice of our school, is to ‘recognise that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance, regardless of all other considerations’.
This manifests itself in two ways:
• The Abbey School will endeavour implement the highest standards of care in relation to our students and these standards will be reflected in all school policies.
• Personnel at the school will follow procedures outlined in the Department of Education and Skills’ Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools 2017 in relation to all matters pertaining to child welfare.
Please note that all registered teachers (i.e. the teaching staff of this school) are mandated persons in accordance with the Children First Act 2015. This means that a teacher will be obliged to report any disclosure or concern she or he may have that a child may be exposed to one or more of the four forms of abuse:
• Neglect,
• Emotional abuse,
• Physical abuse,
• Sexual abuse.
Such referrals will be made to TUSLA (the Child and Family Agency). The school is also guided by the TUSLA publication, Children First. This document gives a full explanation of the forms of abuse listed above. It also outlines the responsibilities of organisations in relation to child protection and how concerns are to be dealt with.
Links to relevant documents are to be found below:
Children First 2017 – TUSLA
Child Protection Guidelines
Our vetting policy outlines our recruitment procedures (including those working on a voluntary basis) in the context of vetting requirements. Please click the link above to view the policy.
Our educational programmes contribute to child protection. In particular, our Relationships and Sexuality Education (R.S.E.), Social, Personal and Health Education (S.P.H.E.) and Wellbeing programmes equip our students with the knowledge, skills and information required to stay safe and healthy.