Ballyconnell N.S.

CSS1- Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment

For Ballyconnell NS (School Name)

At: Ballyconnell NS, Ballyconnell, Tullow, Co. Carlow, R93 VA44 (School Address)

This school is a: (tick appropriate)

primary

post primary

special school

In accordance with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017, the Addendum to Children First (2019) and 2025, Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025 and Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice, 2nd ed. (Tusla, 2024), the board of management has adopted the Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment set out in this document.

The board of management has adopted and will implement fully and without modification the department’s Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025 as part of this overall Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment.

Name of the Designated Liaison Person (DLP):

Mary Dolan

Name of the Deputy Designated Liaison Person (Deputy DLP/DDLP):

Marie Brennan

In the absence of the DLP, the Deputy DLP shall assume responsibilities of the DLP

Name of Relevant Person

Mary Dolan

(In schools this person is the DLP)

Relevant Person can be contacted on:

059-9156226 ballyconnellnationalschool@gmail.com

(insert phone & email)

Under the Children First Act 2015 Relevant Person means a person who is appointed by a provider of a relevant service to be the first point of contact in respect of the Child Safeguarding Statement. This person is nominated by the board of management to manage and provide oversight of child protection concerns/allegations of child abuse.

Name of Chairperson of the board of management, or in an ETB school the Chief Executive or their delegate:

Mr. Seumas O’Brien

In the event that both DLP and DDLP are absent and unavailable, and where there is no staff member formally acting in their role, the chairperson of the board of management, or in an ETB school the chief executive or their delegate, assumes the role of DLP.

The board of management recognises that child protection and safeguarding permeate all aspects of school life and must be reflected in all of the school’s policies, procedures, practices and activities. In all of these, the school will adhere to the following principles of best practice in child protection and welfare. The school will:

D Recognise that the protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance, regardless of all other considerations.

D Fully comply with its statutory obligations under the Children First Act 2015 and other relevant legislation relating to the protection and welfare of children.

D Fully co­operate with the relevant statutory authorities in relation to child protection and welfare matters.

D Adopt safe practices to minimise the possibility of harm happening to children and protect members of school personnel from the necessity to take unnecessary risks that may leave themselves open to accusations of child abuse.

D Develop a practice of openness with parents and encourage parental involvement in the education of their children.

D Fully respect confidentiality requirements as set out in the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025 in dealing with child protection matters.

D Adhere to the above principles in relation to any vulnerable adult.

Procedures and Measures in Place

Our Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment has been developed in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, the Children First: National Guidance 2017, and Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice, 2nd ed. (Tusla, 2024), and the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025. In addition to the procedures listed in our risk assessment, the following procedures support our intention to safeguard children while they are availing of our service:

• Procedure for the Management of Allegations of Abuse or Misconduct against School Personnel Relating to a Child Availing of Our Service

~ Where any member of school personnel is the subject of any investigation in respect of any act, omission or circumstance in relation to a child attending the school, the school is required to adhere to the relevant procedures set out in Chapter 7 of the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025 and to the relevant agreed disciplinary procedures for school staff which are published on the gov.ie website

• Procedure for the Safe Recruitment and Selection of School Personnel to Work With Children
  • The school is required to adhere to the requirements of the Vetting Act. The selection or recruitment of staff and their suitability to work with children, requires the school to adhere to the statutory vetting requirements of the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016, and to the wider duty of care guidance set out in relevant Garda vetting and recruitment circulars published by the Department of Education and Youth and available on the gov.ie website and as outlined in Chapter 10 of the procedures.
  • A written protocol is in place authorising immediate action for cases which require an employee to be immediately absented from school for child safeguarding reasons.
• Procedure for Provision of and Access to Child Safeguarding Training and Information, Including the Identification of the Occurrence of Harm
  • The school provides information and training to members of school personnel in relation to the identification of the occurrence of harm (as defined in the 2015 Act) as follows:
    • The school has provided each member of school personnel, including any new members of school personnel, (employees and volunteers, board of management members, student teachers and those on work experience) with a copy of the school’s Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment.
    • The school ensures that members of school personnel have availed of relevant training and completed child protection training.
    • The school encourages board of management members to avail of any relevant training and complete child protection training.
    • The board of management ensures that records of all staff and board member child protection training are maintained.
• Procedure for the Reporting of Child Protection or Welfare Concerns to Tusla
  • All members of school personnel are required to adhere to the procedures set out in the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025, in relation to reporting of child protection concerns to Tusla. Mandated reporting applies to all registered teachers and any other mandated person who may be employed by the school, for example a chaplain or nurse. A full list of those people who are mandated persons is set out in Appendix 1 procedures.
• Procedure for Maintaining a List of the Persons (if any) in the Relevant Service Who Are Mandated Persons
  • There is a procedure in place to maintain a list of mandated persons. Schools may on occasion employ additional staff who are mandated by virtue of their profession. This list will include all registered teachers and identify additional employees that are not registered teachers.
• Procedure for Appointing a Relevant Person (In schools this person is the DLP)
  • There is a procedure in place for appointing a relevant person.

The various procedures referred to in this Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment can be accessed via the school’s website, the gov.ie website or will be made available on request by the school.

In accordance with the Children First Act 2015, the Addendum to Children First 2019 and 2025, and the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025, the board of management has carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while attending the school or participating in school activities. A written assessment setting out the areas of risk identified and the school’s procedures for managing those risks is included with the Child Safeguarding Statement.

Note: The procedures and measures in place outlined above, are not intended as exhaustive list. Individual boards of management shall also include in this section such other procedures and measures that are of relevance to the school.

This statement has been published on the school’s website or will be made available on request by the school. It has been provided to all members of school personnel, the parents’ association (if any), the patron and parents. A copy of this statement and risk assessment will be made available to Tusla and the department if requested.

This Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment will be reviewed annually or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which this statement refers.

Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment

List of school activities	Risks identified Against each school activity	Procedures/Measures in place to mitigate risk
Training of school personnel in Child Protection matters	High – Harm not recognised or reported promptly	Child Safeguarding Statements & DES procedures made available to all staff DLP & DDLP to attend Oide face to face training of all Staff to view Túsla training module & any other online training offered by Oide BOM records all records of staff and board training
One to one teaching	Medium – Harm by school personnel	School has policy in place for one to one teaching – open doors
Care of children with special needs including intimate care needs	High – Harm by school personnel	Policy on intimate care
Toilet areas	High – Inappropriate behaviour	Staff on yard duty monitoring the toilets
Curricular Provision in respect of SPHE, RSE, Stay safe	Med – Teachers need to be reminded to timetable same	School implements SPHE, RSE, Stay Safe in full
Swimming	Presence of adults not associated with school	Request no-one else uses changing rooms while our children are onsite.
LGBT Children/Pupils perceived to be LGBT	Low – Bullying	Bí Cinealta, Code of Behaviour
Managing of challenging behaviour amongst pupils, including appropriate use of restraint	High – Injury to pupils and staff	Restraint Policy – Needs to be worked on Health & Safety Policy, Code of Behaviour
Sports coaches	Medium – Harm to pupils	Policy & Procedure in place – Garda Vetting
Students participating in work experience	Low – Harm by student	Work experience policy – to be constructed Child Safeguarding statement
Recreation breaks for pupils	High – Bullying Accidents	Check on adequate supervision
School outings	Medium – Child Protection issues	Adequate staff supervision at all times
Administration of Medicine Administration of First Aid	High – SNA and teachers nervous Re: use of Epi-pens etc	Repeat training on use of epi-pens regularly
Curriculum provision in respect of SPHE, RSE and Stay Safe	Medium – New staff may not be knowledgeable	Annual updates and presentations to staff
Prevention and dealing with bullying amongst pupils	Low/Medium – Always a risk of children bullying	Encourage children to tell and review the anti-bullying policy
Recruitment of school personnel including Teachers SNA’s Caretaker/Secretary/Cleaners Sports Coaches External Tutors/Guest Speakers Volunteers/Parents in school activities Visitors/contractors present in school during school hours Visitors/contractors present during after school activities	Harm not recognised or properly or promptly reported	Child Safeguarding Statement & DES procedures made available to all staff Staff to view Tusla training module & any other online training offered by PDST Vetting Procedure Garda Vetting
Use of Information and Communication Technology by pupils in school	High – Bullying	ICT Policy Bí Cinealta Policy Code of Behaviour
Student teachers undertaking training placement in school	Low – How are they made aware of policies	Check on all vetting – Child Safeguarding Statment
Student teachers undertaking training Placement in school	Low – How are they made aware of policies	Check on all vetting – Child Safeguarding Statement
Use of video/photography/other media to record school events	Medium – Parental Permission	Need to get policy for this
After school use of school premises by other Organisations
Covid-19	Spread of Covid-19 virus – See Covid Response Plan With Risk Assessment Risk of harm to mental health and well-being due to Raised anxiety and stress	Covid 19 – The school has developed a Covid Response Plan and Risk Assessment as per DES requirements
Online teaching by staff via zoom/seesaw to Child’s/children’s home (Distance learning)	Med – Need to ensure parental permission sought Before engaging, Annual basis Child protection issues	Protocols to be followed by every member of staff including subs. If teachers have to engage in online or offline during any period of absence or lockdown Check parental permission is in place beforehand
Important Note: It should be noted that risk in the context of this risk assessment is the risk of “harm” as defined in the Children First Act 2015 and not general health and safety risk. The definition of harm is set out in Chapter 4 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post- Primary Schools 2017

Online Safety

The Addendum to Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 published in January 2019 clarifies that organisations providing relevant services to children should consider the specific issue of online safety when carrying out their risk assessment and preparing their Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment.

The Guidance on Continuity of Schooling for primary and post­primary schools (April 2020) advises of the importance of teachers maintaining the safe and ethical use of the internet during distance learning and assisting parents and guardians to be aware of their role also. Schools should ensure that their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) informs and guides remote or distance learning activity.

Risk in the context of this Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment is the risk of “harm” as defined in the Children First Act 2015 and not general health and safety risk. The definition of harm is set out in the Children First Act 2015: “harm” means, in relation to a child— (a) assault, ill­treatment or neglect of the child in a manner that seriously affects or is likely to seriously affect the child’s health, development or welfare, or (b) sexual abuse of the child, whether caused by a single act, omission or circumstance or a series or combination of acts, omissions or circumstances, or otherwise.

In accordance with Section 11 of the Children First Act 2015 and with the requirements of Chapter 9 of the Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025, the following is the written Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment.

In undertaking this Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment, the board of management has endeavoured to identify as far as possible the risks of harm that are relevant to this school and to ensure that adequate procedures are in place to manage all risks identified. While it is not possible to foresee and remove all risk of harm, the school has in place the procedures listed in this risk assessment to manage and reduce risk to the greatest possible extent.

This Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment was reviewed by the board of management on (most recent review date).

–––

Signed:* Date: 22/09/2026

Chairperson of the board of management John Byrne

Signed:* Date: 22/09/2026

Principal/Secretary to the board of management Mary Dolan

This Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment is expected to be reviewed again on

(expected review date). September 2027