The Role of Designated Officer

The Role of Designated Officer

Every organisation should designate a person or persons to be responsible for dealing with any concerns about the protection of children.

The organisation’s child protection policy and procedures should include the name of this person, her/his role and responsibilities and how s/he can be contacted.

The person designated should ensure that he is knowledgeable about child protection and that he undertakes any training, considered necessary, to keep himself updated on new developments.

The Designated Officer should be child centred in focus and should have as his/her primary aim the establishment of a child centred ethos within the organisation. S/he is the link between the members of the public, staff & statutory agencies. S/he also takes responsibility for monitoring and reporting to the Management Committee on how organisation policy etc. impacts on children and their staff. Given the need to ensure that children are valued within all settings a Designated Officer should be appointed by all organisations, subject to appropriate selection and recruitment procedures as recommended by the HSE. The Designated Officer should be an ex-officio member of, or have access to, the Organisation Management Committee. S/he should have as his/her primary aim the establishment of a child centred ethos within the organisation.

The Designated Officer should have the following functions:
To promote awareness of the child protection policy within the organisation and particularly among the children and their parents/guardians. This could be achieved by the production of information leaflets or the establishment of children’s/age-group specific notice ;
To influence policy and practice within the organisation in order to prioritise children’s needs;
To act as an advisory resource to staff on best practice in working with children;
To encourage the involvement of parents/guardians in the organisation activities and co-operate with parents/guardians in ensuring that each child enjoys his/her involvement;
To see that children know how to make concerns known to appropriate adults or agencies. Information disclosed by a child to the Designated Officer or any other adult within the organisation should be dealt with in accordance with the Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety’s HSE Children First Guidelines;
To report regularly to the Organisation Management Committee
The promotion of the values, attitudes and structures which make activities enjoyable for children;
Advise on & co-ordinate training for others, as appropriate;
Designated Officer must ensure the widespread dissemination of the organisations code of conduct and the publicising of related education programmes, materials and events;
Make personal contact with the relevant personnel in the Statutory Authorities;
Familiarisation with HSE Children First Guidelines to ensure they can act as an information source to other members of the organisation;
Commitment to attendance at training as required in order to act as a resource to members in relation to children’s needs.
Observe and note dates, times, locations and contexts in which the incident occurred or suspicion was aroused, together with any other relevant information;
If unsure whether reasonable grounds for concern exist or not, s/he should informally consult with the local Social Services. S/he will be advised whether or not the matter requires a formal report;
Ensure that appropriate information is available at the time of referral and that the referral is confirmed in writing, under confidential cover;
Ensure that an individual case record is maintained of the action taken by the organisation, the liaison with other agencies and the outcome;
When reporting suspected or actual child abuse to the Statutory Authorities the designated person should first inform the family of their intention to make such a report, unless doing so would endanger the child or undermine an investigation;

Designated Officers do not have the responsibility of investigating or validating child protection concerns within the organisation and have no counselling or therapeutic role. The Statutory Authorities as outlined in HSE Children First Guidelines fill these roles.

Under no circumstances should a child be left in a dangerous situation pending intervention by the statutory authorities.