Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department monitors the implementation of the Department of Education and Science child protection guidelines for post-primary schools to ensure that they are implemented in all post primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32760/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The child protection guidelines for post-primary schools were drawn up following a consultation process with the education partners. The guidelines are based on children first, the national guidelines for the protection and welfare of children. Sufficient copies of the guidelines have issued to all post-primary schools so that each staff member can be provided with his or her personal copy. An area of my Department's website, http://www.education.ie, has been specifically designated to the subject of child protection.

Boards of management are required to formally adopt the guidelines as official school policy on child protection and are required to formally appoint a designated liaison person, DLP, usually the principal, and deputy designated liaison person. The DLP is responsible for briefing all school staff on the adoption and implementation of the guidelines.

A training programme for designated personnel commenced in November 2004 and ran throughout the last school year. Schools which were unable to avail of this training in 2004-05 have since been offered a further programme of courses in the first term of the current school year. A programme of follow-up training for DLPs and deputy DLPs will commence in 2006. Following discussions with the three post-primary management bodies, agreement was reached on the provision by those bodies of an advisory service to support DLPs in delivering in-school briefings on the guidelines and in dealing with issues arising. This service commenced in September of this year. On completion of the final schedule of introductory in-service, my Department will be seeking confirmation from each school that the board of management has formally adopted the guidelines and appointed a DLP and a deputy DLP.