Children First is a national policy document which promotes the safety and well-being of all children. ’Children First’ is intended to assist people in identifying and reporting child protection and welfare concerns and outlines how to deal effectively with concerns. It highlights the role and responsibilities of everyone in protecting children and promoting their welfare.
Under Children First all organisations who are involved with children have an obligation to provide them with the highest possible standard of care in order to promote their well-being and safeguard them from abuse.
Information for HSE Contracted Services
It is the policy of the HSE that contracted services who provide services to children or that have regular access to children are aware of and comply with their Responsibilities (PDF, 820 KB, 1 page) under Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017).
The section for Mandated Persons has information on who they are and their legal obligations.
Checklist for HSE Contracted Services
The Self-Audit Checklist is designed to support HSE and HSE Funded and Contracted Services to provide assurance that their Children First obligations are being met.
The checklist is a self-audit tool and should be completed by the Responsible Manager in the service who is responsible for compliance with Children First.
Children First Implementation and Compliance Self-Audit Checklist (Microsoft Word, 86 KB, 18 pages)
