Safeguarding 1, 2, 3

All Coaches, Children’s Officers and Designated Liaison Persons (DLP) must first complete the 3 hour Child Welfare & Protection Basic Awareness Course.  This course educates participants on the implementation of best practice in protecting the welfare of children involved in sport.

A person appointed to the Club Children’s Officer Position in a club must have completed Safeguarding 1 (Child Welfare & Protection Basic Awareness workshop) and should complete the NEW Club Children’s Officer 3 hour workshop. This course will help the Club Children’s Officer to carry out the function of their role in the club and support the implementation of best practice in the club. Participants will also receive a Club Children’s Officer Action Planning document as part of the training.

Club Children’s Officers should be child centred in focus and have as the primary aim the establishment of a child centred ethos within the club. S/he is the link between the children and the adults in the club. S/he also takes responsibility for monitoring and reporting to the Club Management Committee on how club policy impacts on young people and Sports Leaders.

A person appointed to the Designated Liaison Person position in a club must have completed the Child Welfare & Protection Basic Awareness Course and should complete the NEW Designated Liaison Person 3 hour workshop. A club may appoint the same person to both the CCO and DLP positions however best practice advises that they are kept as separate roles.

The third part of the ISC Child Welfare & Protection Training Programme is the Designated Liaison Person workshop.

Every club/organisation should designate a person to be responsible for dealing with any concerns about the protection of children. The Designated Liaison Person is responsible for reporting allegations or suspicions of child abuse to TUSLA Child and Family Agency or Social Services (NI) and/or An Garda Siochána / PSNI. It is recommended that this person is a senior club person. However, if there is difficulty identifying a separate individual to take this role, the Club Children’s Officer can be appointed as Designated Liaison Person once the club/organisation is clear about the responsibilities of each role. The organisation’s child protection policy and procedures should include the name and contact details of the Designated Liaison Person and the responsibilities attached to the role.

The Irish Sports Council has launched a “Safe Sport” app, based on their Code of Ethics & Good Practice for Children’s Sport courses.

It is an information and guidance tool for everyone involved in sport for children and young people. The app is aimed at creating greater awareness and understanding about safeguarding and best practice principles in children’s sport.

There are four key areas of the app which can be accessed from the home screen:

Within each section information and guidance is provided on “Fair Play”; “Good Practice”; “A Child Centred Approach”; and “Should or Should Not”. The app addresses how to report child welfare and protection concerns of suspected child abuse to TUSLA Child and Family Agency and poor practice to the Club Children’s Officer or National Children’s Officer.

One of the features of the App is a ‘Travel Tracker’ function. This allows parents and coaches who are driving someone else’s child/children home, for example after a training session, to permit the child’s parent or guardian to view and have oversight of their location for a specified period of time while they are traveling on a journey.

For more information go to: https://www.sportireland.ie/ethics/safesport-app