It is our desire to ensure the child is happy, secure and respected. The welfare of the child must be of paramount importance. Through our religious education and health education policy and the Catholic ethos of the school we help children to realise the sacredness and wholeness of the human person.

Everyone has the need to be loved and the need to give love.

It is important that teachers are vigilant to signs of abuse or neglect.

Signs of abuse may include:

[a] Unexpected behavioural performances/changes

[b] Bruises and burns

[c] Inadequate clothing

[d] Excessive dependence or attention seeking

[e] withdrawal

[f] Sexual precocity [see WELB list]

These signs are not proof of abuse but suggest there may be cause for concern and vigilance among staff

Abuse takes a number of forms:

Neglect: the persistent or severe neglect of a child by exposure to any kind of danger which results in impairment to the child’s health or development.

Physical Abuse: physical injury deliberately inflicted or knowingly not prevented.

Sexual Abuse. the involvement of children in sexual activities which violate the social taboos of family roles and/or are for the older persons sexual gratification.

Emotional Abuse: persistent, emotional ill-treatment or rejection which has an adverse effect on the behavior and emotional development of the child.

Grave Concern: where social and medical assessments indicate that they are at a significant risk of above, eg other child in family harmed. Arrangements for reporting abuse in school are:

Teachers/staff must be alert and vigilant to signs which may or may not indicate abuse.

If concerns arise the teacher should speak to the principal, ie designated teacher for child protection, Mrs Boyle, in her absence, Mrs Corrigan is designated teacher, who immediately act on it.

A record of Factual information available must be kept. Be tactful of :

I. What is observed

II. When it is observed

III. What the child said

Inquiries should not be highly detailed. It is not the responsibility of the school to undertake investigations or inquiries of the parents - this is the job of social services/police.

If the information is such that the matter should be referred immediately the Principal is responsible for informing the designated officer for child protection in CCMS Margaret Harte.

The Principal should place a brief record of the complaint on the file of the pupil concerned, indicating the nature of the complaint, when, by whom and to whom it was made.

Teachers may feel that reporting alleged abuse is disloyal to the child who has made a disclosure to them. Teachers may also be concerned that a referral will damage the relationship with the child’s parents. Teachers may fear that a referral which turns out to be unfounded may lead to the child’s parents, or others, seeking legal redress. However, it should be noted that teachers have a duty under law to refer disclosures or suspicions. A teacher’s first and foremost obligation is to the child. Reporting facts in accordance with the procedures detailed in this document will not put a teacher at risk.

A class teacher’s role may be clearly stated: report your suspicion or knowledge to the designated teacher.

Child Protection Principles:

• If a child makes a disclosure to a member of staff, or a staff member has concerns then the child should be listened to and taken seriously.

• In any incident the child’s welfare must always be paramount; this overrides all other considerations.

• A proper balance must be struck between protecting children and respecting the rights and need of parents and families; but where there is conflict the child’s interests must always come first.