Statement of policy in regards to dogs at NIEA managed sites (PDF 40kb)
Child & Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) identified a gap in relation to Child Welfare awareness for staff who regularly came into contact with children. As a result of this gap having been identified and, following a period of both internal and external consultations, it was agreed that everyone working within NIEA would benefit from the production of Child Safety and Welfare Guidelines in keeping with those produced by all organisations and agencies which have regular contact with children. In line with legislation this has been extended to include Vulnerable Adults.
NIEA wants children* to enjoy their involvement with us whether on a work experience placement or as a visitor to one of our properties. It may be that your particular area of work rarely if ever brings you into contact with children but, they are entitled to be safe with you and may look up to you as a role model. Staff accompanying school groups operate within their own child protection policies and this guidance is designed mainly to cover situations where children are unaccompanied by an adult. NIEA expects the behaviour of everyone who works with us to be absolutely above reproach in this respect. This policy and the accompanying guidelines are intended to help us all to honour that.
While primarily intended to safeguard children and similarly vulnerable people, our child welfare policy is also meant to protect staff – and others working with us including contractors and consultants – from any false allegation of improper conduct in that regard. With both these purposes in mind, the guidance given here is intended to help you understand how the policy is meant to be applied in practice.
We cannot cover every possible eventuality in these guidelines, but hopefully they do cover most situations that you are actually likely to encounter.
* For the purpose of this policy and guidelines (irrespective of the age of consent for consensual sexual contact), the term child or children means, any child or young person under the age of 18 and is inclusive of those staff under the age of 18 as defined in The Children (NI) Order 1995. Vulnerable adults are people who are, or may be, in need of community care services because of mental disability or other disability, age or illness, and who are, or who may be, unable to take care of themselves or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation.
View Children and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy (.PDF
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