Sir, - An article entitled "Guide for teachers on sexual abuse" (Education & Living, September 21st), was misleading with regard to the extent of training that teachers have received on the area of child abuse. Most teachers are fully aware of their responsibilities in relation to child abuse prevention and have already received quite comprehensive training in this area.
Teacher training has been provided by the Stay Safe programme on an on-going basis over the past 10 years. Established in response to the unprecedented rise in the incidence of reported cases of child abuse, the programme offers a comprehensive approach to the prevention of all forms of child abuse. It includes teacher training, parent education and personal safety education for children at primary school level.
Since its initial introduction in 1991/2, in-service training has been provided for all primary teachers (over 20,000). This training includes information on the recognition of abuse, responding to a child's disclosure of abuse, referral procedures to health boards, and adopting a school policy/plan for child abuse prevention.
Further in-service training is offered annually to all schools. Other new initiatives and developments in the area of child protection such as the Child Care Act 1991, Protection for Person's Reporting Act and the new national guidelines "Children First" will continue to affect the work that Stay Safe undertakes to ensure that teachers are fully trained in all aspects of child abuse. - Yours, etc.,
Patricia Shanahan, Stay Safe Programme Co-ordinator, Cherry Orchard Hospital, Dublin 10.