National Childrens Nurseries Association - Garda Vetting

Garda Vetting

Recruitment and Selection / Garda Vetting

An important stage in promoting the welfare and protection of children is the appropriate human resource management policy relating to the recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers in an organisation providing services to children.

Although the overwhelming majority of persons who apply to work for a childcare service are interested, well motivated and suitable for the various tasks involved, it is, nonetheless, essential that providers take all reasonable steps to ensure that only suitable persons are recruited. A proper selection process is one of the most effective means of evaluating an applicant’s suitability and may, in itself, act as a deterrent to potential abusers.

A further protection measure that must be availed of by a childcare provider under the 2006 Revised Pre-school Regulations is Garda Vetting , the regulations state under Part II, Section 8 (2)  “A person carrying on a pre-school service shall ensure appropriate vetting of all staff, students and volunteers who have access to a child-

(a) by reference to past employer references in particular the most recent employer reference, in respect of all staff, and

(b) by reference from reputable sources, in respect of all students and volunteers, and

(c) by acquiring Garda vetting from An Garda Siochana when An Garda Siochana have set down procedures to make such vetting available, and

(d) in circumstances where Garda vetting is not available for staff, students and volunteers who have lived outside the jurisdiction, by ensuring that these persons provide necessary police vetting from other police authorities.

Section 8(3) Such vetting procedures shall be carried out prior to any person being appointed or assigned or being allowed access to a child in the pre-school service.

The NCNA or the Garda Central Vetting Unit will not take any part in deciding whether someone is appointed or not. However the NCNA will be on hand for advice and support.

Please note that all the information on the Garda Vetting form should be treated in the strictest confidence and should comply with the Data Protection Act 2003 you can find further information on Data Protection on http://www.dataprotection.ie.

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  Siolta & Aistear

  Siolta is the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education. Síolta has a number of key characteristics, which are of importance in gaining an understanding of how the Framework operates. These characteristics ensure that the vision of the Framework can be realised and have the maximum beneficial outcomes for all ECCE stakeholder. Aistear is the new curriculum framework for all children from birth to six years. It can be used in childminding settings, sessional services, full and part-time daycare settings, infant classes in primary schools, children’s own homes.