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:
- Addendum to the Children First National Guidance - Retrospective Abuse: An addendum to the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 was issued in April 2025. This addendum amended the guidance to provide updated information about dealing with adult retrospective disclosures of childhood abuse.
- 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.
- Save the Date! National Children First Awareness Week - 15th to 21st September 2025: This year’s National Children First Awareness campaign will take place the week commencing the 15th September 2025. To Find out more, please contact your regional HSE Children First Training and Development Officer to see how you can contribute to the awareness week.
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.
