Peer-reviewed article

Cultures of Care in Primary Schools in Ireland that Support Child Protection Work

Margaret Nohilly · 1 Jul 2019

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study completed with 16 designated liaison persons (DLPs) for child protection in Ireland. The care practices and systems in place in Irish primary schools that support child protection work are the particular focus of this paper. Recent changes in legislation, following the publication of the Children First Act 2015 (Government of Ireland, Irish Statute Book; Office of the Attorney General), are considered. The Act recognises all teachers registered with the Teaching Council as mandated persons. Mandated persons are recognised as persons who work with children and young people and are required to report child abuse, above a defined threshold, which comes to their attention in the course of their professional or employment duties. Semi‐structured interviews were completed with the DLPs, and an exploratory approach using interpretative phenomenologial analysis was deemed the most suitable method of analysis for the study. Five superordinate themes emerged from the findings, alongside a number of subordinate themes; the theme ‘The School Story’ which focuses on the care practices that are undertaken in schools daily is illuminated throughout this paper. The findings highlight the need for formal acknowledgement of this work in schools and also for greater interagency communication and collaboration in the area of child protection. ‘This paper presents the results of a qualitative study completed with 16 designated liaison persons (DLPs) for child protection in Ireland’ Key Practitioner Messages Teachers, in their day‐to‐day work in schools and through the care structures in place in schools, contribute in a significant way to the safety and protection of children. There is a need for greater communication and collaboration between schools and the Child and Family Agency to support children at risk of abuse effectively. There should be formal recognition in the evaluations undertaken by the Department of Education of the care practices that exist in schools.