Call for statutory guides on reporting of abuse in schools

SCHOOLS will continue to ensure child abuse is stamped out but must be given statutory guidelines on reporting and other child protection issues, a principals’ leader has claimed.

Pat Goff, president of the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN), said the same standards should apply to everyone in education but a number of abusers have tainted the excellent work of so many who have given sterling service in schools.

“What is urgently needed now is greater openness and transparency in relation to child protection, the guidelines now in force must be immediately put on a statutory footing,” he told more than 900 principals at the IPPN annual conference.