The Children's Circle Montessori School

Child Safeguarding Statement.

Child Safeguarding Statement – updated August 2022.

1. TheChildren's Circle Montessori School– Our service aims to provide a quality care play and Montessori curriculum which addresses children's Wellbeing, Identity and Belonging, Communication and Exploring and thinking, along with the principles of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework, and Siolta, the National quality Framework.

The The Children's Circle Montessori School (09KE0013) is a registered pre-school providing the following services for children aged 2.6 years to 6 years.

The management structure is; Owner / Manager – Martina Stokes, and the Mandated Persons are Martina Stokes, Terry Hassett Henry, Susan Hosty, Elanor Ahern and Sandra Lewis.

2 Commitment to safeguard children from harm.
Our service is totally committed to safeguarding the children in our care and to

providing a safe environment in which they can play, learn and develop.

Our service believes that the welfare of the children attending our service is paramount. We are committed to child centered practice in all our work with children.

We are committed to upholding the rights of every child and young person who attends our service, including the rights to be kept safe and protected from harm, listened to, and heard.

Our Policies 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 2017, the Tusla Children First – Child Safeguarding Guide 2017, and the Children First Act 2015.

Our Policy Declaration applies to all paid staff, volunteers, committee / board members and students on placement within our organisation. All committee / board members, staff, volunteers and students must sign up to and abide by the Policies, Procedures and Guidance encompassed by this Policy Declaration and our Child Safeguarding Policy and accompanying Procedures.

We will review our Child Safeguarding Statement and accompanying Child Safeguarding Policies and Procedures every 2 years, or sooner if necessary, due to service issues or changes in legislation or national policy.

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The Children's Circle Montessori School

Child Safeguarding Statement. Designated Liaison Person (DLP) for Child Protection.

•   DLP – Martina Stokes  Deputy – Terry Hassett Henry

•   087.912.1454  087.746.8223

•   thechildrenscircle@gmail.com  tesshenry5@gmail.com

3 Risk Assessment

In accordance with the Children First act 2015, the Board of Management / Service Provider has carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while attending the service or participating in service activities. A written assessment setting out areas of risk identified and the service procedures for managing those risks is summarized below:

Risk Identified

Recruitment Garda vetting Access to Internet

Policies and / or Procedures in place to manage Risk

Page 83-85 Pages 84
Not Applicable

4. Childsafeguarding Policies and Procedures.

As required by the Children First Act, 2015, Children First National Guidance for Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 and the Guidance for developing for a Child Safeguarding statement for Early Years Services 2018 the following Safeguarding Policies / Procedures / Measures are in place:

Procedures to maintain a list of Mandated persons under the Children First Act 2015 – see page 74.

A Relevant Person has been appointed.

A Designated Liaison Person and deputy have been appointed – see page 74.

Child Protection and Welfare reporting procedures – see pages 76-78.

Confidentiality Policy – see page 20.

Policy for dealing with Allegations of Abuse or Neglect against Employees – see page 77.

Procedure for managing Child protection records – see page 76.

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The Children's Circle Montessori School

Child Safeguarding Statement.

Recruitment Policy – see page 83-85.
Garda Vetting Policy – see ages 84.
Code of behaviour for working with children – see pages 109-122.

Induction Policy (which includes procedures to inform new staff about the Child Safeguarding Statement and accompanying safeguarding policies and procedures) – see page 84.

All staff have completed the Tusla eLearning module – Introduction to Children First and relevant staff have attended Always Children First Child Protection Training – see page 60.

Staff have access to regular Supervision and Support in line with the service policy – see pages 87-90.

Complaints Policy – see page 48-49.
Policy for Managing Outings – see page 80.
Policy for Managing Accidents and Incidents – see pages 67-70. Social Media Management Policy – see pages 20 - 31.
Personal Data Protection Policy – see pages 21-30.

5. ImplementationandReview.

We recognise that implementation is an ongoing process. Our service is committed to the Implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the accompanying Child Safeguarding Policies and Procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our service.

This Statement will be reviewed every 2 years or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.

This Statement has been published on the service website and is displayed in the service. It has been provided to all staff, volunteers and any other persons involved with the service. It is readily accessible to parents / guardians on request. A copy of this statement will be made available to Tusla if requested.

Signed:_____________________________________ Date:____26/08/2022_____ Service providers name and Contact Details – Martina Stokes, mobile phone -

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The Children's Circle Montessori School

Child Safeguarding Statement. 087.912.1454, e-mail address = the childrenscircle@gmail.com

For further information on this Statement please contact relevant Person = Martina Stokes, mobile phone - 087.912.1454, e-mail address = the childrenscircle@gmail.com

Signed: Signed: Signed: Signed:

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Date: _________________ Date: _________________ Date: _________________ Date: _________________