Children First Awareness Week will take place 15th – 21st September with the core message “We Are Children First”. The aim of Children First Awareness Week is to raise awareness of Children First and remind wider society, including organisations working with children and young people and the wider public, of our collective responsibility to keep them safe in our communities. The campaign supports the implementation of the Children First Act 2015 and the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017, reinforcing the shared responsibility to protect children across all sectors of Irish society.
This year’s campaign will focus on parents, guardians, and other responsible adults as the key target audience. The campaign messaging will aim to help parents and guardians to understand what they should expect from organisations working with children on safeguarding matters, including questions to ask on safeguarding policies, safe reporting channels, and respectful, supportive engagement. It seeks to equip adults with the knowledge and confidence to ask appropriate questions of organisations about safeguarding matters.
The overarching Communication Strategy for the 2025 campaign is attached for reference. It includes guidance on the key messaging for this year’s campaign.
How You Can Support
We are now inviting your support for the campaign to ensure wide reach and impact. We would ask that you consider any activities that your organisation can undertake that week to help raise awareness of Children First, whether that’s a digital campaign, a coffee morning, a webinar or newsletter for staff or a creative or consultation event with young people or parents who engage with your organisation. In the coming weeks, the Department will circulate a suite of social media assets that can be used by your organisation during the campaign.
