Child Safeguarding Statement
Irish Cancer Society Child Safeguarding Statement
The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) believes that the welfare and safety of every child and young person attending our services is of paramount importance. Our guiding principles and this Child Safeguarding policy is based on a legal framework provided primarily by the Child Care Act 1991, the Children First Act, 2015 and Children First National Guidance 2017) and Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice, 2017.
Name of the ICS Services provided involving Children:
- Irish Cancer Society Support line;
- Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin Hospital in-patient, outpatient and day care settings where a member of ICS staff/volunteers/contractors are present;
- Daffodil Centres located in 13 hospitals nationwide. The centres are staffed by ICS cancer nurses and trained volunteers;
- ICS funded virtual and face to face counselling service for children and young people delivered by independent third parties;
- ICS community hubs and services and supports for children and young people provided by third parties;
- Night nursing care for children and young people carried out by ICS nurses;
- Transport service from home to hospital for children, young people and parents where an ICS volunteer is present.
The ICS adheres to the following principles:
- The safety and welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility;
- Our priority is to ensure that the welfare and safety of every child under the care of our services is paramount;
- Our Guiding Principles and procedures to safeguard children reflect national policy and legislation and are underpinned by Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children, Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and current legislation such as the Children First Act 2015, Child Care Act 1991, Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 and the National Vetting Bureau Act 2012;
- Our Guiding Principles apply to all paid staff, CEO, committee/Board members, volunteers, carers and students on work placement within our organisation.
- We are committed to upholding the rights of every child under the care of our services, including the rights to be treated with respect, kept safe and protected from harm, listened to and have their views taken into consideration;
- We are committed to respecting and promoting the principles of equality and diversity and to work with all children in a culturally sensitive way within the context of the Irish constitution and law and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- We will review our Guiding Principles and Child Safeguarding procedures every two years or sooner if necessary due to service issues or changes in legislation or national policy.
Risk Assessment
We have completed a Safeguarding Risk Assessment that indicates the areas of potential risk of harm, the likelihood of risk occurring, and outlines mitigations or actions required to reduce these risks. Risk assessments are treated as live documents that are maintained and monitored as necessary and appropriate. Queries regarding the Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment that was carried out at ICS for the purpose of developing this Child Safeguarding Statement should be directed to the DLP and are available for inspection on request.
Procedures
Our Child Safeguarding statement is in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, the Children First: National Guidance 2017, and Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice. In addition to the procedures listed in our risk assessment, our Child Safeguarding policy and Employee Handbook support our intention to safeguard children while they are availing of our service.
Implementation
The ICS recognise that the implementation of the safeguarding policy is an ongoing process. The ICS is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our services. Training and testing of adherence to the policy will also be part of the implementation. The DLP will ensure that this policy, and Child Safeguarding Statement, will be reviewed at least every 2 years or as soon as practicable or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.
For any queries, please contact:
The Designated Liaison Person is Amy Nolan, Head of CAYA.
Contact details: anolan@irishcancer.ie 0861025146
The Deputy Designated Liaison Person Sarah Burke McDonald, Night Nursing Manager.
Contact details: sburkemcdonald@irishcancer.ie 087 1526188
The Child Safeguarding group: childsafeguarding@irishcancer.ie
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