Introduction
This critical review discusses three articles on the policy and practice of child protection in schools. In the TOPIC article “Protecting Children in the Primary School”, Rosemary Webb and Graham Vulliamy examined the difficulties faced by Child Protection Coordinators and their possibilities to overcome them. The study by Helen Buckley and Kathryn McGarry in the Child Abuse Review article “Lessons on Child Protection: A Survey of Newly Qualified Primary-Level Teachers in Ireland” calls for “the standardization of the operation of child protection procedures”. In Health Education article “Child protection drama in primary school- an effective educational approach?” by Judy Orme and Debra Salmon suggests that innovative drama can
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According to the Department for Education and Employment, every school should have a designated member of staff who is responsible for the role of Child Protection Coordinator. The results from the questionnaire from 303 respondents of which 91% agreed that primary teachers are able to identify child abuse due to their day-to-day contact with children while 79% agreed that primary schools “are ideal sites” from which to operate support systems for parents and carers.” (p.1) The role of a Child protection Coordinator is outlined as a medium between teachers, parents and agencies. Due to the demand of record-keeping, most child protection coordinators are assumed by the “headteachers”. But the ambiguous area of record-keeping is which details of information to record and how much. Some schools shared this role with the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) and in some “the role of SENCO and Child Protection Coordinator could usefully be combined” (p. 2). Three areas were identified as constraints: training needs, stress and “competing priorities and workload”. Due to GEST funding, teachers were aware of basic responsibilities such