This is a working draft. It has not been reviewed by a safeguarding professional, adopted by the Foundation, or checked against Irish child-protection law (including Children First Act 2015 and the Children First: National Guidance). It is a starting point for that review, not a policy in force. Nothing here should be treated as final, and no family will be hosted until a signed-off policy is in place.
The programme hosts families with children. That places child protection at the centre of everything we do — not as a document, but as a condition of running at all.
The welfare of every child hosted by Home for Christmas is the first consideration in every decision. Children have a right to be safe, to be listened to, and to be treated with dignity. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which that is true.
The following are the measures we intend the reviewed policy to establish:
A named Designated Liaison Person (DLP), and a deputy, responsible for child-protection concerns for the duration of the programme.
Vetting of everyone in a role of responsibility around families — Garda vetting, references, and role suitability — before the programme begins.
Clear reporting of any concern to Tusla (the Child and Family Agency) and An Garda Síochána, in line with mandatory-reporting duties under the Children First Act 2015.
Codes of behaviour for staff, volunteers and hotel personnel, setting out what is and is not acceptable conduct around children.
Families are hosted as family units in their own rooms; parents and guardians retain care of their children throughout. The programme does not take children into its care.
A risk assessment of the accommodation, activities and travel, reviewed before each season.
Careful handling of information and images: no child is identified, photographed for publicity, or written about in an appeal.
Anyone with a concern about a child's safety on the programme should be able to raise it easily and know it will be acted on. The named contact and route will be set out here once the DLP is appointed. A concern about a child at immediate risk should always go to An Garda Síochána or Tusla directly.
This statement will be reviewed and signed off before launch, and before each subsequent season, by a person competent to do so.
