Child Safeguarding Statement

Irish Institute of Music & Song

 

The Irish Institute of Music & Song, provide the following services:

Music lessons, music tuition and coaching, choir, orchestra and ensemble tuition, music camps, music therapy, recording sessions, concerts, rehearsals, courses & retreats.

 

The Irish Institute of Music & Song provide music tuition, music therapy, choral & orchestral tuition and educational courses & retreats to children and young people. The Irish Institute of Music & Song recognises that the safety and welfare of children and young people is of paramount importance and is committed to taking every appropriate step to ensure the safety and well-being of the children and young people with whom we engage, regardless of class, gender, race, creed, age or ability. We practice a 'zero-tolerance' policy with regard to abuse, intimidation, bullying (physical or emotional), racism, and sexist behaviour directed towards children and young people. We acknowledge the right of children and young people to be treated with respect at all times, to be listened to and to have their views taken into consideration in matters that affect them.

 

We are bound by Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children and the Children First Act 2015 to record any matters of serious concern to Tusla, the National Agency for Child Protection in Ireland.

https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/Publications/ChildrenFirst.pdf

1.  Risk Assessment

We have carried out an assessment of any potential for harm to a child while availing of our services. Below is a list of the areas of risk identified and the list of procedures for managing these risks.

Risk identified Procedure in place to manage identified risk
1 Risk of harm from Institute Staff All IIMS and FAM tutors & Staff must be fully Garda vetted before engaging in lessons with students
2 Risk of harm during one-to-one tuition All teaching spaces must have a window and tutors must never position themselves between the student the exit to the room.
3 Risk of harm from communication with Institute Staff Tutors and staff must never contact students via phone or online. All correspondence should be sent to parent/guardian.
4 Risk of harm from social media Under no circumstances should Institute tutors or staff contact students via social media. Tutors & staff should not engage directly with students on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok or any other social media websites/applications. Facebook ‘friends’ from students should not be accepted.
5 Risk of harm from video and photography IIMS & FAM obtain parent/guardian consent at the beginning of each year regarding the use of image captured of students. Images must only be used for promotional purposes. Students must not capture images of fellow students without explicit consent. When recording vi.eos and/or taking photos, students should ensure all identifiable children have consented to the photo. This can be done by asking their permission before using the phone ("Can I take your photo?'') In a group photograph scenario, it must be made clear by the photographer children who do not wish to be photographed have the option to opt out of and stand behind the camera.

2. Procedures

Our Child Safeguarding Statement has been developed in line with requirements under the Children First Act 2015, Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017), and Tusla’s Child Safeguarding: A Guide for Policy, Procedure and Practice. In addition to the procedures listed in our risk assessment, the following procedures support our intention to safeguard children while they are availing of our service:



Procedure for the management of allegations of abuse or misconduct against workers/volunteers of a child availing of our service;

  • IIMS follows the Children First Act 2015 & Tusla guidelines.

 

Procedure for the safe recruitment and selection of workers and volunteers to work with children;

  • All staff and volunteers are subject to full Garda Vetting before commencing with IIMS.

  • All staff and volunteers have references checked from previous employers/teachers etc. during the recruitment process

 

Procedure for provision of and access to child safeguarding training and information, including the identification of the occurrence of harm;

  • Training is carried out yearly for teaching staff and at the beginning of volunteer projects.

  • IIMS Core Staff Members & Music Tutors must complete Tusla’s ‘Children First E-Learning Programme’.

  

Procedure for the reporting of child protection or welfare concerns to Tusla;

  • Mandated concerns are reported to Tusla as soon as possible in accordance with the Children First Act.

 

Procedure for maintaining a list of the persons (if any) in the relevant service who are mandated persons;

  • The mandated persons are listed in our Safeguarding documents and staff are made aware of them.

 

Procedure for appointing a relevant person.

  • The relevant person is appointed from permanent staff with agreement from both CEOs

 

IIMS Meetings & Training

  • Tutors & staff must attend IIMS meetings for training & review of the Child Protection Policy.

  • Training will be recorded and can be reviewed if needed.

  • Staff will complete a training questionnaire upon completion of the training to ensure understanding of the salient points.

 

Choir Program, Music Tuition, Group Tuition and Courses.

  • Tutors must never be alone in a room with a child unless for previously agreed one-to-one lessons.

  • There must always be at least two children in the room with a member of the team. 

  • During group classes & courses, a member of the team may supervise a group of 20 students. 

  • During choral & orchestral rehearsals, there must be two team members present at all times. In the case that there are more than 40 members of choir, a third member of the team must be present. 

  • If a child needs to be brought to the toilet, it is recommended that two children are brought to the toilet together. 

  • Children should not be left unaccompanied in a room. 

  • Use of mobile phones during rehearsals is not permitted. 

 

Trips Away & Resident Courses

  • Behaviour expected of the children must be clearly explained to them in detail. 

  • Prior to the trip away, parents/guardians must be sent the following details: 

  1. Contact details for all accommodation

  2. Contact details for all leaders

  • Groups staying at IIMS for residency courses or music retreats including choirs, orchestras, wind bands etc must be supervised by their own school staff or trip organisers.

  • In case of emergency, whereby a child must return home from the trip, parents guardians must make arrangements to transport the child home. 

  • Children will be available to contact parents guardians at designated times outside of rehearsals. Those will usually be first thing in the morning, lunch time, and evenings.

  • Sleeping arrangements 

    • Children must sleep only in rooms with members of the game gender. 

    • Supervisors should not sleep in the same room as children. 

    • A supervisor should have a room nearby, clearly labelled with the supervisors' name.

    • Children should know which supervisor to approach during the night. The supervisor should ideally be a member of the same gender. 

    • Supervisors should not step into a child's bedroom, except to prevent further harm. In this case, a supervisor should leave the bedroom as soon as possible.  

     

First Aid

  • There must be a first aid kit on site at all times. 

  • There must be a first aid officer on site at all times. 



Incident Book 

  • Any incident regarding the child's pastoral care - however insignificant - must be recorded in an Incident Book, which is held on site. 

 

Disclosure 

  • If a child makes a disclosure, it should be reported in detail including times, dates and witnesses in an "Incident Book". 

  • Senior leadership (ideally via Miriam/Sorcha) & Parents/Guardians should be informed as soon as possible.

  • Reporting to Tusla should be done by the mandated person as soon as possible as per the Children First Act.

  • If a child is at risk of immediate danger, the tutor or staff member must report this immediately to An Garda Síochána.

3.  Implementation 

We recognise that implementation is an on-going process. Our service is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while availing of our service.

This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed in November 2023 or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers.

For voicing concerns, making reports and obtaining information related to Child Protection, staff & parents should contact Sorcha Fenlon and/or Miriam Laffin

Where time is a factor or whenever deemed necessary, contact An Gardaí Síochána.

Sorcha Fenlon

Designated Liaison Person for IIMS Tutors

sorcha@iims.ie

 

Miriam Laffin  

For queries, please contact Miriam Laffin, Relevant Person under the Children First Act 2015.

info@iims.ie

+353 1 699 4990