Child Safeguarding Risk Assessment
(of any potential harm)
There is a definition of “HARM” at the end of this document.
FINAL Document
| List of School Activities | The School has identified the following Risk of Harm | The School has the following Procedures in place to address risk identified in this assessment | |
| Training of school personnel in Child Protection matters | Harm not recognised or reported promptly Staff being unaware of procedures New staff untrained | Child Safeguarding Statement reviewed by all staff & DES procedures made available to all staff DLP& DDLP to attend PDST face to face training All Staff will view Túsla training module & any other online training offered by PDST. All new staff will be required to view this module and produce the required certificate. BOM minutes record all records of staff and BOM training The Child Protection Policy is put into the Welcome Pack which is given to all new staff. This Welcome Pack is kept on the table in each class for casual substitutes. | |
| One to one teaching | Harm by school personnel | Glass in window in most areas. The photocopying room cannot be used for testing until there is a new door, with glass, fitted. Art work sometimes blocks the doors but there will always have to be some glass free. | |
| School toilet areas | Inappropriate behaviour | Ensure that there is only one child at a time in the bathroom. Children change costumes in class under supervision | |
| Curricular Provision in respect of SPHE, RSE, Stay safe. | Non-teaching of same | School implements SPHE, RSE, Stay Safe in full. This implementation needs to be reflected in the Cuntas Miosiul. | |
| Care of children with special needs, including intimate care needs | Harm by school personnel | Policy on intimate care An individual staff member will never be alone if intimate care is needed. | |
| Daily arrival and dismissal of pupils | Harm from older pupils, unknown adults on the playground | Arrival and dismissal supervised by Principal and Teachers. Children have to be collected by their parents, in person, before they can leave the premises. Children cannot come inside the gate before the principal collects the children in the morning. Staff cars cannot be moved before the buses have gone. Each teacher is responsible for getting their own classes onto the buses safely. The children who are being collected have to wait, inside the school gates, until the teacher is back from the buses and can dismiss them safely. | |
| Sports Coaches | Harm to pupils | Policy & Procedures in place The sports coach will not be left alone with the children. All sports personnel are Garda vetted | |
| Students participating in work experience | Harm by student Being with children in an unsupervised capacity | Will not be left alone with the children We will not take children under 16 on work experience unless they are Garda Vetted by their school. Fully compliant with Garda Vetting Child Safeguarding Statement. | |
| Recreation breaks for pupils | Unauthorised adults on yard Staff not vigilant enough Children on our Open Day who are not aware of the yard rules. | Adequate supervision and locked school doors. Adults on Supervision must not use their mobile phones. Gates are not locked because of the need for emergency service access. Staff need to spread out around the entire yard. Gates to go in at both sides of school to minimise risk of unauthorised adults accessing the yard. | |
| Classroom teaching | Harm by school personnel | All personnel are Garda Vetted. All personnel have been trained in new legislation. All personnel are aware of the Child Safety Statement and have been involved in the creation of the Risk assessment. | |
| Outdoor teaching activities | Meeting a stranger on school grounds | Children are supervised at all times. | |
| Managing of challenging behaviour amongst pupils. | Injury to pupils and staff | Health & Safety Policy Code Of Behaviour This will need review depending on the children that are enrolled. It is not something that arises very often. | |
| After school activities | Unauthorised people gaining access to the premises. Unknown people collecting the children. | Door is to be kept secure during after school activities. Children will not be released to unknown and unidentified adults. The parents should have the phone number of the adult running the class. The adult in charge will not leave until all the children are collected. | |
| School outings | Children coming in contact with strangers Children being left behind Supervision for toilet breaks. | Learning about stranger danger. Children to be in sight and counted. Children never left “lagging” behind. There should be one adult at the end of the line and one at the start of the line. Cross checking numbers of children during the outing. SNA will not be left alone with a child, who may be ill, on outings. School Tours Policy | |
| Administration of Medicine Administration of First Aid | Children will not be alone with an adult during the administration of medicine. Children gaining access to medicine | Administration of medicine policy. Each individual child has a medical procedure and indemnity document. All medicines are in a locked cabinet | |
| Door bell ringing when secretary is not there. | Children allowing unknown adults into the school. | Children must never answer the door, even when they know and trust the adult. | |
| Use of external personnel to supplement curriculum (Visitors to the school) | Children alone with adult visitors to the school | Children will never be left alone with any visitors to the school. This is especially important when there is a talk/exhibition in the hall. These visitors will always be accompanied by a vetted member of staff. The children cannot stay behind to chat without an adult present. | |
| Annual Sports Day | Big opportunity for unknown adults to be on the school premises. | Children will be supervised by school staff at all times. Children will not stay behind to “tidy up” without a member of school staff being present and the children being in sight at all times. | |
| Fundraising events involving pupils | Opportunity for unknown adults to be on the school premises. | Children to be supervised at all times. There will be a designated adult in each area, for each activity, especially on charity day. We have designated entry and exit points for members of the public and these are supervised. | |
| School transport arrangements including use of bus escorts | Unauthorised people collecting the children at bus stops. No one to collect children at the bus stop | Children are escorted on and off the buses. There is a bus escort on each bus and they are fully Garda Vetted and have been trained in Child Protection. See also arrival and dismissal section of this document. Parents remain in contact with Bus Escort by text. Children will not be released to unauthorised adults. | |
| Use of off-site facilities for school activities (Swimming) | Visiting the toilet Adults in the changing area while the children are changing (This, unfortunately, cannot be changed.) | Children need to inform a member of staff when they are going to use the toilet and they need to be supervised. 2 adults will go to the toilet area when each child needs to be supervised OR 2 adults will stay in the changing area for the duration of the lesson. Boys will use the disabled toilet as it is a self-contained unit and can be supervised from outside by staff. | |
| Management of challenging behaviour amongst pupils, including appropriate use of restraint where required | Danger to staff and other children | In the future, we will revisit our policies and make any changes that may be necessary. Behaviour Policy | |
| Curricular provision in respect of SPHE, RSE, Stay Safe | The only danger would be if these subjects are not being taught properly and thoroughly. | Monitoring of these subjects through the Cuntas Miosiul. | |
| Recruitment of school personnel including – TeachersSNA’sCaretaker/Secretary/CleanersSports coachesExternal Tutors/Guest Speakers Volunteers/Parents in school activitiesVisitors/contractors present in school during school hours Visitors/contractors present during after school activities | Harm not recognised or properly or promptly reported | Child Safeguarding Statement & DES procedures made available to all staff Staff to view Tusla training module & any other online training offered by PDST Vetting Procedures Policy on Parents / Volunteers Policy on Visiting Contractors | |
| Use of video/photography/other media to record school events | Material appearing in inappropriate places | Media policy | |
| Use of Information and Communication Technology by pupils in school | Bullying and access of inappropriate content | ICT policy Anti-Bullying Policy Code of Behaviour | |
| Application of sanctions under the school’s Code of Behaviour including detention of pupils, confiscation of phones etc. | Children being left in classrooms to complete work Children being left in corridor to complete work Unsupervised detention | Code of Behaviour to be carefully followed Reminder: Children are not kept in at break times as a sanction |
Important Note: It should be noted that risk in the context of this risk assessment is the risk of “harm” as defined in the Children First Act 2015 and not general health and safety risk. The definition of harm is set out in Chapter 4 of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post- Primary Schools 2017 Harm is defined under 4 categories:
1 NEGLECT “When you know, believe, or have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child’s needs have been neglected, are being neglected, or are at risk of being neglected to the point where the child’s health, development or welfare have been, or are being seriously affected, or are likely to be seriously affected.”
2 EMOTIONAL ABUSE/ILL TREATEMENT “When you know, believe, or have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child has been, is being, or is at risk of being ill-treated to the point where the child’s health, development or welfare have been, or are being seriously affected, or are likely to be seriously affected.”
3 PHYSICAL ABUSE “When you know, believe, or have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child has been, is being, or is at risk of being assaulted to the point where the child’s health, development or welfare have been, or are being seriously affected, or are likely to be seriously affected.”
4 SEXUAL ABUSE All concerns about sexual abuse must be reported.
In undertaking this risk assessment, the board of management has endeavoured to identify as far as possible the risks of harm that are relevant to this school and to ensure that adequate procedures are in place to manage all risks identified. While it is not possible to foresee and remove all risk of harm, the school has in place the procedures listed in this risk assessment to manage and reduce risk to the greatest possible extent.
This risk assessment has been completed by the Board of Management on April 26th 2018. It will be reviewed as part of the school’s annual review of its Child Safeguarding Statement.
Signed _____________________________________ Date ________________
Chairperson, Board of Management
Signed _____________________________________ Date ________________
Principal/Secretary to the Board of Management