| Safeguarding Children |
There are many and varied ways in which children and young people are involved in the Church community. These include parish liturgies, childrens' liturgies, sacramental preparation, choirs, altar serving, schools, youth groups, scouts, guides and sport organisations. All parishes and churches, including those run by religious congregations will have some or all of these activities or maybe considering developing them. Each Church-related agency or sponsoring body (parish, diocese or religious congregation) undertaking activities involving children and young people must give priority to ensuring a safe environment for them at all times. It should draw up a child protection policy to address the specific requirements arising from the nature of the activities being undertaken.
Such a policy should be developed in consultation with workers, volunteers, parents and guardians and where appropriate with children and young people. A child protection policy of a Church-related agency or sponsoring body should be based on statutory guidelines. These guidelines define a child as a person under the age of eighteen years excluding a person who is or has been married. ( see Department of Health and Children, Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, Dublin: Stationary Office, 1999, p31). This document aims to provide material that will be of assistance to Church-related agencies and sponsoring bodies in preparing a child protection policy. It outlines key issues which need to be addressed in such a policy and suggests the type of guidance that should be provided in relation to each. These suggested procedures are based on the official guidelines for the protection of children adopted by the statutory authorities of the Republic of Ireland and of Northern Ireland contained in the following documents. Department of Health and Children, Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, (Republic of Ireland);
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Co-operating to Safeguard Children (Northern Ireland); Child Care (NI), Our Duty to Care: Principles of Good Practice for the Protection of Children and young people (Northern Ireland) Department of Health and Children, Our Duty to Care: Principles of Good Practice for the protection of Children and Young People (Republic of Ireland); Department of Education and Science, Child Protection: Guidelines and Procedures (Republic of Ireland) Department of Education and Science, Code of Good Practice - Child Protection for the Youth Worker Sector (Republic of Ireland) see below Department of Health and Children, Children First: National Guidelines for the protection and Welfare Children, Dublin Stationary Office, 1999: Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Co-operating to Safeguard Children, Belfast: Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, 2003: Child Care (NI), Our Duty to Care: Principles of Good Practice for the protection of Children and Young People, Belfast: Volunteer Development Agency, 2000; Department of Health and Children Our Duty to Care: The Principles of Good Practice for the protection of Children and Young People, Dublin: Stationary Office, 2001; Department of Education and Science, Child Protection: Guidelines and Procedures Dublin; Department of Education and Science, 2002; Department of Education and Science Code of Good Practice - Child Protection for the Youth Worker Sector , Dublin: Department of Education and Science, 2002. |
