Children First Legislation

14 March 2019

We at Elearn are always looking to share valuable information with our followers.  The Department of Children and Youth affairs have written a very informative piece on the Childrens First Legislation, which is the Childrens First Act 2015, this act provides for a number of key child protection measures.

Children First Legislation

The Children First Act 2015 (the Act), which was signed into law on 19 November 2015, puts elements of the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory footing. The legislation was a key Programme for Government commitment, and forms part of a suite of child protection legislation which includes the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts, 2012-2016 and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012.

The Act provides for a number of key child protection measures, as follows:

•    A requirement on organisations providing services to children to keep children safe from harm and to produce a Child Safeguarding Statement;
•    A requirement on defined categories of persons (mandated persons) to report child protection concerns over a defined threshold to the Child and Family Agency;
•    A requirement on mandated persons to assist the Child and Family Agency in the assessment of a child protection risk, if requested to do so by the Agency;
•    Putting the Children First Interdepartmental Implementation Group on a statutory footing.

The Act also includes a provision which abolished the common law defence of reasonable chastisement in relation to corporal punishment… Continue reading