CoderDojo Ireland – Child Protection Updates

We would like to update you on all the work we have done recently in the area of Child Protection for Irish Dojos. Since the start of the year we have created a Child Protection Policy for use by Dojos, piloted Garda Vetting for Dojos and organised Child Protection Awareness Courses all over Ireland which CoderDojo Volunteers based in the Republic of Ireland can attend for free.

Now after piloting and with the Child Protection Awareness training scheduled from 15th August we want to share how Dojos can utilise these tools and take part in training so it is crucial for volunteers to be vetted and trained!

When new legislation on Child Protection and Garda Vetting is enacted, expected in late 2015, every Dojo will require to have a safeguarding statement/Child protection policy, and to have vetted all of their regular volunteers. Volunteers can only avail of awareness training if their Dojo has adopted the CoderDojo Child Protection Policy and have started the Garda Vetting Process. We have broken how to do this into 3 simple steps;

Step 1 – Sign up for Garda Vetting

Please register your Dojo for Garda Vetting here. This should only be filled in by one person in your Dojo. i.e. the Champion or the person responsible for Child Protection in your Dojo.

Step 2 – Adopt the CoderDojo Child Protection Policy

Once you have signed up to Garda Vetting you will be asked to adopt the Child Protection Policy which you can see here. After signing up for Garda Vetting please send back the confirmation of adoption form via email.

Step 3 – Promote and Encourage your Volunteers to attend Child Protection Awareness training

Child Protection Awareness Training will be scheduled in various locations around Ireland including;

• Dublin
• Meath
• Galway
• Cork
• Sligo
• Mullingar
• Athlone
• Limerick
• Drogheda
• Derry/Londonderry (DojoCon)

Volunteers from your Dojo can sign up to these training sessions via Eventbrite once your Dojo has adopted the Child Protection Policy and begun the Garda Vetting Process as in Step 1 and 2 above!

Our next steps for the Child Protection Ireland Project will be to train up CoderDojo Regional Awareness Trainers who will be able to continue to deliver courses to Irish Dojos in the future. Anyone who is interested in becoming a trainer must attend one of the CoderDojo Awareness Training sessions.

If you have any questions about safeguarding children or about Child Protection please email [email protected].