Safeguarding Week
Special Olympics Ireland Safeguarding week coincides with the 2nd Sport Ireland Safeguarding Campaign from September 25th – September 29th, 2023. This year, it supports the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, ‘Children First Awareness Week’ which is the same calendar week. Special Olympics Ireland will be sharing messages and actions to support safeguarding leads in our clubs
Day 1 - Safeguarding Statement Review
Review your Child Safeguarding Statement and Risk Assessment. You can find a template here Club Child Safeguarding Statement Editable PDF (1).pdf (specialolympics.ie) when complete please email a copy to safeguarding@specialolympics.ie
Day 2 - Safeguarding Training
Each club is responsible for ensuring that all volunteers attending club sessions have the necessary Safeguarding training. You can find online courses here Events | Special Olympics Ireland
Day 3 - Safeguarding Roles
Do you know your Club Safeguarding Officer and Designated Liaison Person? Clubs can use our template posters to help all members understand these safeguarding roles and provide contact information. The Templates can be found here CSO A4 Landscape Form AW (specialolympics.ie) and DLP A4 Landscape Form AW (specialolympics.ie)
Day 4 - Safeguarding Policies
You can read Special Olympics Ireland Safeguarding Policies - A guide to Best Practice, Policy and Procedure. We have also developed Safeguarding Policy Templates for clubs which can be found here Club Safeguarding Templates | Special Olympics Ireland
Day 5 - Athlete Voices in Clubs
Engage with athletes and ensure their voices are heard? The Sport Ireland Young Voices in Sport Toolkit is a great support to Club Safeguarding Officers to help them create an open and transparent environment where athletes are part of the decisions affecting them in their club. You can find the Toolkit here Young Voices in Sport | Sport Ireland
Special Olympics Ireland Safeguarding Week is co-funded by the European Union Erasmus + programme, through Operation Safeguard
