Safeguarding and Ethics
Safeguarding in Special Olympics Ireland
Special Olympics Ireland is committed to the ongoing implementation of our Safeguarding policies in our clubs and at our events. We strive to foster a culture of understanding and compliance for all and to create an athlete-centred environment.
Safeguarding is at the core of all Special Olympics Ireland activities and is fundamental to the development and implementation of everything we plan for the future. We are fully compliant with the Children First Legislation (ROI) and engage regularly with Sport Ireland, Sport Northern Ireland, the Child Protection in Sport Unit, and the HSE to continually meet legislative requirements and industry standards.
Please find our Child Safeguarding Statement here
Contact Sinead Tarrant
e: sinead.tarrant@specialolympics.ie
Safeguarding Policies and Guidelines
Safeguarding Workshop Information
These are the Sport Ireland Safeguarding courses delivered via a virtual platform online and are suitable for volunteers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. All Certificates are valid for three years upon completion, however Safeguarding 1 can be extended for a further three years upon completion of an online refresher.
- Safeguarding 1 (SG1): Certificate valid for three years.
- Safeguarding 1 Online Refresher: https://learn.ineqe.com/
Certificate valid for further three years once the original SG1 cert is in date at the time of completion. If original cert is not in date at the time of completion, participants are required to complete the full 3 hour SG1 workshop again.
Note: Once Safeguarding 1 and Safeguarding Refresher are out of date, you must complete the Safeguarding 1 full 3 hour session once again.
- Safeguarding 2: Certificate valid for three years. Must complete again prior to the date of expiry if you are in a role that requires SG2.
- Safeguarding 3: Certificate valid for three years. Must complete again prior to the date of expiry if you are in a role that requires SG3.
If the dates and times of the courses do not suit you, courses are also available through Local Sports Partnerships https://www.sportireland.ie/participation/lsp-contact-finder in the Republic of Ireland or by emailing workshop@sportni.net if you are based in Northern Ireland.
Each course takes 3 hours in total and will have a short 5-minute comfort break in the middle. Attendees must stay for the full three hours. The course requires you to have a working camera and microphone on your device to take part as it is an interactive course with attendee participation required.
For Safeguarding 1, 16- and 17-year-olds must complete a parental consent form. If you require further information or a consent form please contact volunteers@specialolympics.ie. or you can download a digital version here
For Safeguarding 2 & Safeguarding 3, participants must be 18 years or older.
Places are limited so please ensure you will attend before taking a space. If for some reason you can no longer attend give as much notice as possible and email safeguarding@specialolympics.ie Due to the virtual format we can only accept 18 participants per course.