Child Safeguarding Statement
Section 1:
Name of Service: The Confidence Clinic.
Section 2
The Nature of our Services: The Confidence Clinic provides one to one life coaching, summer camps and workshops to children of all ages generally starting at age 6 to 18. Adults will be working one to one with children and dealing with them in groups and on a one to one bases. There are currently 2 life coaches working one to one with children and a team of approximatley 20 on the summer camps. All of these people will have completed the introduction to children first course before carrying out this work.
Summary: The Confidence Clinic Ltd. will always prioritize the safety and welfare of each child or teen we work with. We will be alert to the possibility that children with whom we are in contact with may be being abused or at risk of being abused. When we have reasonable grounds for concern we will inform Tusla by making a report. Using the Tusla support service and website. We will work with a Duty Social Worker in Tusla in any such event. Outside of Tusla hours we will contact the Garda Siochana. Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart is the DLR (Designated Liaison Person) for the Confidence Clinic.
Section 3
Risk Assessment: We have carried out a risk assessments to identify key situations where concerns may arise
- Coaching one to one - any concerns which arise will be discussed with the DLR and/or directly with Tusla if Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart ( DLR) has a concern. Any person involved will be asked for a factual written document of the event. A decision will be made if a report should be made to Tusla.
- Workshops / Classes with groups of children - any concerns which arise will be discussed with the DLR and/or directly with Tusla if Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart ( DLR) has a concern. Any person involved will be asked for a factual written document of the event. A decision will be made if a report should be made to Tusla.
- Camps with groups of children, discussing various issues - any concerns which arise will be discussed with the DLR and/or directly with Tusla if Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart ( DLR) has a concern. Any person involved will be asked for a factual written document of the event. A decision will be made if a report should be made to Tusla.
Concerns may be discussed first with Tusla, and reported if it is deemed appropriate. If a decision is made not to report to Tusla a clear written explanation will be provided to the team member concerned, as to why that decision was made. If this person remains concerned they may decide to report to Tusla or the Garda by themselves, if so, they are protected under the 'Protection for Persons reporting Child Abuse Act 1998.'
Section 4
Procedure:
All of our staff whether working on our Summer Camps, Coaching children or carrying out Workshops will be Garda vetted and have completed the 'Introduction to Children First' Tusla Online course. If a child opens up about abuse or any issue during any of our interactions with them (workshops, coaching or summer camps) we will listen reassuringly and non judgmentally. Reassuring the child that they have done the right thing speaking up but not agreeing to keep it confidential. If we are unsure if a concern is reasonable concern we will speak to Tusla.
All concerns will be discussed with Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart the business owner and DLR (Designated Liaison Person). Any person who has had a discussion or witnessed an situation will then be asked to write a factual statement of the event/situation they are concerned about. Then a decision will be made whether to make a report or not. If there is more than one person involved a joint report can be made to Tusla.
Our safe guarding statement and any reporting will be in accordance with the Children First Act 2015 or the guidelines issued by the Minister for Children and Youth affairs.
Section 5
Implementation: A review of this safeguarding statement will be reviewed every 2 years by Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart the DLR.
Contact details:
Caoimhe O'Grady Tegart
Ph: 0833425364
Email: caoimhe@theconfidenceclinic.ie