Children First Awareness Week
National Children First Awareness Week runs from the 25th September to 1st October. The campaign aims to raise awareness of Children First and remind everyone, including organisations and individuals working or volunteering with children and young people, of our collective responsibility to keep them safe in our communities.
Children First promotes the protection of children from abuse and neglect, by setting out what individuals and organisations need to do to keep children safe, and how to deal with concerns about a child’s safety or welfare. All organisations and individuals providing services or activities to children and young people should have child safeguarding policies and procedures in place to protect them from harm and promote their welfare. This includes having policies and procedures on child safeguarding awareness and training and the reporting of child protection concerns. In addition, organisations classed as providers of relevant services under the Children First Act are required to carry out a risk assessment and develop a Child Safeguarding Statement, which outlines how risks to children’s welfare and protection will be managed.
Although these responsibilities apply throughout the year, with children returning to school and to normal activities it is an opportune time to remind organisations and individuals of their obligations, when it comes to protecting the children and young people with whom they work.
Throughout the week, the campaign will highlight the range of resources available to support organisations and individuals to keep children safe. These resources include online and in-person training, guidance documents, templates and advice on how to assure themselves, and others, that children and young people are as safe as possible while in their care. Find out more at gov.ie/childrenfirst