St. Conleth’s Infant School

Child Safeguarding Statement

St. Conleth’s Infant School is an Infant Primary School providing primary education to pupils from Junior Infants to First Class. We also have two special Classes, one ASD Pre-School and one Junior Special Class.

In accordance with the requirements of the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017, the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post Primary Schools 2017 and Tusla Guidance on the preparation of Child Safeguarding Statements, the Board of Management of St. Conleth’s Infant School has agreed the Child Safeguarding Statement set out in this document.

1       The Board of Management has adopted and will implement fully and without modification the Department’s Child Protection Procedures for primary and post-primary Schools 2017 as part of this overall Child Safeguarding Statement.

2      The Designated Liaison Person (DLP) is: Mrs. Anne Marie O’Connor

3      The Deputy Designated Liaison Person (Deputy DLP is: Mrs. Norma Nugent

4      The Board of Management recognises that child protection and welfare considerations permeate all aspects of school life and must be reflected in all of the school’s policies, procedures, practices and activities. The school will adhere to the following principles of best practice in child protection and welfare.  The school will:

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

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

c.     fully co-operate with the relevant statutory authorities in relation to child protection and welfare matters

d.     adopt safe practices to minimise the possibility of harm or accidents happening to children and protect workers from the necessity to take unnecessary risks that may leave themselves open to accusations of abuse or neglect

e.     develop a practice of openness with parents and encourage parental involvement in the education of their children; and

f.     fully respect confidentiality requirements in dealing with child protection matters

The school will also adhere to the above principles in relation to any adult pupil with a special vulnerability.

5      The following procedures/measures are in place:

a.     In relation to any member of staff who is the subject of any investigation (howsoever described) in respect of any act, omission or circumstance in respect of a child attending the school, the school adheres to the relevant procedures set out in Chapter 7 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2017 and to the relevant agreed disciplinary procedures for school staff which are published on the DES website 

b.     In relation to the selection or recruitment of staff and their suitability to work with children, the school adheres 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 DES and available on the DES website

c.     In relation to the provision of information and, where necessary instruction and training to staff in respect of the identification of the occurrence of harm (as defined in the 2015 Act) the school:

                                          i.    Has provided each member of staff with a copy of the school’s Child Safeguarding Statement

                                         ii.    Ensures all new staff  are provided with a copy of the school’s Child Safeguarding Statement

                                        iii.    Encourages staff to avail of relevant training

                                        iv.    Encourages Board of Management members to avail of relevant training

                                         v.    The Board of Management maintains records of all staff and Board member training.

d.     In relation to reporting of child protection concerns to Tusla, all school personnel are required to adhere to the procedures set out in the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2017, including in the case of registered teachers, those in relation to mandated reporting under the Children First Act 2015

e.     In this school, the Board has appointed the above named DLP as the ‘relevant person’ (as defined in the Children First Act 2015) to be the first point of contact in respect of the school’s child safeguarding statement.

6      All registered teachers employed by the school are mandated persons under the Children First Act 2015

7      In accordance with the Children First Act 2015, the Board 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 attached as an appendix to these procedures

8      The various procedures referred to in this Statement can be accessed via the school’s website, the DES website or will be made available on request by the school

Note:  The above is not intended as an exhaustive list. Individual Boards of Management shall also include in this section such other procedures/measures that are of relevance to the school in question 

9      This statement has been published on the school’s website and has been provided to all members of school personnel, the Parents’ Association (if any) and the patron.  It is readily accessible to parents and guardians on request. A copy of this Statement will be made available to Tusla and the Department if requested.

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

 

This Child Safeguarding Statement was adopted by the Board of Management on 14-2-18 

Signed: _________________________                       Signed: _________________________

Chairperson of BoM                                             Principal/Secretary to the BoM

            Date:     ________________________                       Date:    __________

 

A.U.P. Policy

School Name:       St. Conleth’s Infant School

Address:                   Newbridge, Co .Kildare

The aim of this Acceptable Use Policy is to ensure that pupils will benefit from learning opportunities offered by the school’s Internet resources in a safe and effective manner. Internet use and access is considered a school resource and privilege. Therefore, if the school AUP is not adhered to this privilege will be withdrawn and appropriate sanctions – as outlined in the AUP – will be imposed.

It is envisaged that school and parent representatives will revise the AUP annually.

This version of the AUP was updated on January 27th 2016 by Principal, I.T.

 Co-ordinator and staff.

 

School’s Strategy

The school employs a number of strategies in order to maximise learning opportunities and reduce risks associated with the Internet. These strategies are as follows:

General

  • Parents/Guardians must sign a consent form in order for their children to have access to the Internet in St. Conleth’s Infant School.

·         Internet sessions will always be supervised by a teacher.

·         Filtering software is be used in order to minimise the risk of exposure to inappropriate material.

·         The school will monitor pupils’ Internet usage.

·         Students and teachers have been provided with training in the area of Internet safety.

·         Uploading and downloading of non-approved software will not be permitted.

·         Virus protection software will be used and updated on a regular basis.

·         The use of personal memory sticks, CD-ROMs, or other digital storage media in school requires a teacher’s permission.

·         Students will treat others with respect at all times and will not undertake any actions that may bring the school into disrepute.

·         All staff must access any type of social media for educational purposes only.

·         Accessing social media by all staff members for personal use must only be done outside of school hours.

·         All staff accessing social media must ensure that no offence could be imparted from them.

  • Social Media should not be a forum for discussion by parents about staff or pupils of St. Conleth’s Infant School
  • Please note under no circumstances can photographs taken at school events , which include children other than your own be shared on social media

World Wide Web

  • Students will not intentionally visit Internet sites that contain obscene, illegal, hateful or otherwise objectionable materials.
  • Students will have access to the Internet under the supervision of a teacher for educational purposes only.
  • Students will never disclose or publicise personal information.
  • Downloading materials or images not relevant to their studies, is in direct breach of the school’s acceptable use policy.

Twitter Accounts

  • Class teachers may set up Twitter accounts for their class once they follow the guidelines of our A.U.P. policy.

 

School Website

  • Pupils will be given the opportunity to publish projects, artwork or school work on the World Wide Web in accordance with clear policies and approval processes regarding the content that can be loaded to the school’s website
  • .The website will be regularly checked to ensure that there is no content that compromises the safety of pupils or staff.
  • Website using facilities such as guestbooks, noticeboards or weblogs will be checked frequently to ensure that they do not contain personal details?
  • The publication of student work will be co-ordinated by a teacher.
  • Pupils’ work will appear in an educational context on Web pages with a copyright notice prohibiting the copying of such work without express written permission.
  • Personal pupil information including home address and contact details will be omitted from school web pages.
  • _The school website will avoid publishing the first name and last name of individuals in a photograph.
  • The school will ensure that the image files are appropriately named – will not use pupils’ names in image file names or ALT tags if published on the web.
  • Pupils will continue to own the copyright on any work published.

Personal Devices

Children do not have permission to have mobile phones in school.

Legislation

The school will provide information on the following legislation relating to use of the Internet which teachers, students and parents should familiarise themselves with:

·         Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2003

·         Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998

·         Interception Act 1993

·         Video Recordings Act 1989

·         The Data Protection Act 1988

Support Structures

The school will inform students and parents of key support structures and organisations that deal with illegal material or harmful use of the Internet.

Sanctions

Misuse of the Internet may result in disciplinary action, including written warnings, withdrawal of access privileges and, in extreme cases, suspension or expulsion. The school also reserves the right to report any illegal activities to the appropriate authorities.

Permission Form Template

Please review the attached school Internet Acceptable Use Policy, sign and return this permission form to the Principal.

School Name

Name of Pupil:       ______________________

 

Class/Year:           ______________________

Pupil

I agree to follow the school’s Acceptable Use Policy on the use of the Internet. I will use the Internet in a responsible way and obey all the rules explained to me by the school.

Pupil’s Signature: __________________________        Date: 

Parent/Guardian

As the parent or legal guardian of the above pupil, I have read the Acceptable Use Policy and grant permission for my son or daughter or the child in my care to access the Internet. I understand that Internet access is intended for educational purposes. I also understand that every reasonable precaution has been taken by the school to provide for online safety but the school cannot be held responsible if pupils access unsuitable websites.

I accept the above paragraph □      I do not accept the above paragraph □

(Please tick as appropriate)

In relation to the school website, I accept that, if the school considers it appropriate, my child’s schoolwork may be chosen for inclusion on the website. I understand and accept the terms of the Acceptable Use Policy relating to publishing children’s work on the school website.

I accept the above paragraph □      I do not accept the above paragraph □

 (Please tick as appropriate)

Signature: _____________________________      Date:  ___________________

Address:       ______________________________          Telephone: ____________

                   ______________________________

                   ______________________________

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