Child Protection
Safeguarding in Orienteering Ireland
Safeguarding Responsibilities of Orienteering Clubs
To achieve this, each orienteering club should
- Encourage all committee members to attend a Safeguarding 1 – Code of Ethics Basic Awareness/Child Protection Workshop.
- Appoint a Club Children’s Officer, who should attend a Safeguarding 2 – Club Children’s Officer Workshop.
- Appoint a Designated Liaison Person (this may also be the Club Children’s Officer), who should attend a Safeguarding 3 – Designated Liaison Person Workshop.
Safeguarding Workshops
Safeguarding workshops 1,2,3, have been developed by Sport Ireland and are certified by them.
Safeguarding workshops are delivered online by the local sports partnerships.
Content of the Safeguarding 1/Basic Awareness workshop (3 hours)
- Implementing best practice in safeguarding the welfare of children, young people and adults involved in sport.
- Core values and guiding principles
- Roles and responsibilities of people (coaches, club members, parents, young people)
- Clubs and organisations policy and procedures
- Putting guidelines into practice
- Statutory guidelines and advice on protection of children.
Content of Safeguarding 2/Children’s Officers workshop (3 hours)
- Communicating with young people
- Dealing with safeguarding issues
- Reflections on the role of the Club Children’s Officer
Content of the Safeguarding 3/Designated Liaison Person workshop (3 hours)
- Describe how the child protection system and its associated processes work.
- List the role and responsibilities of the Designated Liaison Person in relation to protecting and safeguarding children.
- Identify the categories and indicators of abuse.
- Communicate with parents and/or agencies as appropriate.
Local Sports Partnerships
Find your Local Sports Partnership (LSP) here.
Below are direct links to some LSP Safeguarding courses
- Cork Sports Partnership
- Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Sports Partnership
- Waterford Sports Partnership
- Limerick Sports Partnership
- Louth Sports Partnership
- Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership
- Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership
Role of the Designated Liaison Person/ National Children’s Officer
Orienteering Ireland’s National Children’s Officer: Ciarán Donaghy : childrensofficer@orienteering.ie
Designated Liaison Person: Barbara Foley-Fisher: childprotection@orienteering.ie
The roles of both officers can be found in the Code of Conduct document.
If there are any concerns about a child or someone working with a child, details of what to do can be found in ‘Safeguarding Guidance for Children and Young People in Sport’.
Risk Assessment Document
Risk Assessment Template for Orienteering Ireland Clubs
Code of Conduct and Good Practice
The Orienteering Ireland Code of Conduct document was updated in 2020. Comments are welcome, and should be emailed to childrensofficer@orienteering.ie
The full document can be downloaded below.
Code of Conduct and Good Practice for Young People in Orienteering
Individual sections can be viewed and downloaded from this page.
Garda Vetting
Please note that garda vetting should be renewed approximately every three years. All club committee members should complete the process if they have not done so within the previous five years.
Download the two documents below, read the instructions and return by post to Barbara Foley-Fisher,
Contact Barbara Foley-Fisher regarding Garda Vetting childprotection@orienteering.ie
Club Self Assessment Framework
To assist clubs in completing the Self Assessment a video is available below.
Video showing how to complete the questionnaire on Formsite (opens in new tab)