Child Protection

Annual review of Child Safeguarding Statement and Assessment of Risk

In accordance with the DES Child Protection Procedures the Board of Management carry out a scheduled annual review of our Risk Assessment Statement and Safeguarding Statement. This review is scheduled to take place around March each year.

This year, our review was conducted on the 9th April 2025. The review is conducted in accordance with the Checklist for Review of the Child Safeguarding Statement which is published on the DES Website. We notify our School Patrons, Parents' Association and Student Council of the completion of this review. We also publish notification of this review on our website.

Please click on the links below to view the following documents:

Child Safeguarding and Risk Assessment April 2025

Child Protection Inspection Report 2022

Our Designated Liaison Personnel

The Board of Management of Carrick-on-Shannon Communitiy School have appointed the following:

• Designated Liaison Person (DLP) - Ms. Catriona Sexton

• Deputy Deisgnated Liaison Person (DDLP)- Mr. Seamus Mallon

If you have any Child Protection concerns, you are advised to contacted the DLP (or DDLP where the DLP is unavailable) on 071 9620880 who will follow the procedures as outlined in the documents below.

Children First Act 2015 and Children First National Guidance 2017

The Children First Act, 2015 has placed certain statutory obligations on certain professionals, including all registered teachers, who are referred to as mandated persons in the Act. It has also placed certain statutory obligations on certain organisations that provide services to children, including all schools.

Children First National Guidance 2017 outlines the new statutory obligations that apply to mandated persons such as registered teachers and the new statutory obligations that apply to organisations such as schools under the Act. It also sets out the best practice (non-statutory) obligations which are in place for all individuals (including teachers) and for all sectors of society. The Children First Act, 2015 operates side-by-side with the Children First National Guidance 2017.

​A copy of the document can be found by clicking on the link below.

Children First National Guidance

Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (Revised 2025)

The protection and welfare of children is of paramount importance for every school, and I am very pleased to launch these updated Child Protection Procedures for Schools 2025.

The obligations and responsibilities which arise from child protection procedures are taken very seriously by our schools and there is a very strong culture of child protection across the school sector.

These updated procedures build on the previous Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post­Primary Schools 2017 (updated 2023) and take account of the statutory obligations under the Children First Act, 2015 and the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017.

As in the earlier procedures, these procedures set out requirements to ensure that reporting procedures in line with Children First are in place and that school personnel know how to recognise and report alleged child protection concerns, and that parents/guardians and all school personnel are aware of the school’s child protection and safeguarding procedures. The procedures provide for the development of a child safeguarding statement (which includes a risk assessment), and appointment of a designated liaison person and deputy designated liaison person.

In addition, these procedures outline new requirements set out in the Addendum to Children First Guidelines (2025) around requirements to report retrospective abuse, take account of new legislation in place since the last update of the procedures, and provide guidance on communicating with parents and on record keeping.

These updated Child Protection Procedures 2025 have been published following extensive consultation with the education partners and I would like to express my sincere thanks to the education partners and all those involved in the development of the revisions to the procedures.

Minister Helen McEntee TD