Children First promotes the protection and welfare of children and outlines how to help to protect them from harm or abuse. It details what you must do if you have a concern that a child has been, is being, or is at risk of being abused or neglected. Children First applies to everyone, including staff working in adult services, HSE funded services and HSE contracted services.
The safety and welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. The HSE Child Protection and Welfare Policy states that all staff irrespective of role, grade or position must promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
HSE staff should promote the welfare of all children, and where you have a concern in relation to the safety, welfare or protection of a child, you must report this to the appropriate statutory agency. The statutory agencies for child protection are Tusla - Child and Family Agency and An Garda Síochána.
New updates to the HSE Children First website are listed below:
- New eLearning Module: The HSE Children First National Office has launched an eLearning programme ‘Responding to Adult Retrospective Disclosures of Childhood Abuse’ on HSeLanD. The module is designed to equip staff with the knowledge and confidence to recognise and respond to adult retrospective disclosures of childhood abuse. This module is aimed at frontline staff working in HSE roles, including those in HSE funded and contracted services or with General Practice services. Whilst this module is not mandatory, all staff and those who have line manager responsibilities can benefit from this programme, as adult disclosures of childhood abuse can arise in any service context. To access the module, log in to your www.hseland.ie account and type in ‘Retrospective Abuse’ in the search bar.
- National Children First Awareness Week– 15 to 21 September 2025: This year's National Children First Awareness Campaign will take place the week commencing the 15 September. The resources provided can be shared and highlighted to staff, utilised at team meetings or used locally in whatever way may be deemed appropriate throughout the week and beyond in order to support the campaign.
- HSE Designated Officers: The CEO has issued a memo in relation to the appointment of Designated Officers under the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 (CEO Ref: 15132). From the 5th September 2025, all HSE Mandated Persons under the Children First Act 2015 are appointed by the CEO as Designated Officers under the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998. The CEO has rescinded all previous lists of appointed HSE Designated Officers. For further information on the role of the HSE Designated Officer under the Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 please see 'Information Sheet for Designated Officers'.
- Limits to Confidentiality: The HSE Children First National Office has developed a leaflet titled ‘Limits to Confidentiality: When We Can’t Keep Information Private - Protecting Children’. This leaflet is designed to help service users understand the boundaries of confidentiality in their interactions with HSE staff, when there are concerns about child protection or welfare. It serves as a valuable resource to support HSE staff in implementing Children First and the HSE Child Protection and Welfare Policy. The leaflet is available in seventeen different languages. A Limits to Confidentiality poster (PDF, 833 KB, 1 page) has also been created and can be displayed in services to let people know about the Limits to Confidentiality Leaflet. The poster provides details on how to access the different language versions of the leaflet that are available.
This website is maintained by the HSE Children First National Office as a Children First resource. Resources on this website are intended as a guide and do not take the place of legal or other advice.
