Active Citizenship and the Democratic State · 2nd Year

Active learning ideas

Child Protection and Advocacy

Active learning works well for this topic because students must grasp complex systems of responsibility and interaction between agencies. When they act out roles or create campaigns, they move from abstract definitions to concrete understanding of how child protection functions in practice.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Junior Cycle - Rights and Responsibilities
• NCCA: Junior Cycle - Stewardship

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Project-Based Learning
• 45 min · Small Groups

Role-Play: Agency Response Chain

Assign roles: reporter, Tusla social worker, ISPCC advocate, and child/family. Present a scenario of suspected neglect; groups act out the referral process step-by-step. Debrief with a class chart comparing actual procedures. Rotate roles for equity.

Differentiate between the roles of various organizations in child protection.

Facilitation Tip

During the Agency Response Chain role-play, provide students with scenario cards that include clear details about the child’s background and the type of harm reported to guide their enactments.

What to look for

Provide students with three scenarios involving children's welfare. Ask them to identify which agency (Tusla, ISPCC, Barnardos) would be most appropriate to contact for each scenario and briefly explain why.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Project-Based Learning
• 50 min · Pairs

Campaign Workshop: Right to Protection

In pairs, select a child's right like safety from violence. Brainstorm posters, slogans, and social media posts using Canva or paper. Present to class for feedback, then refine based on peer votes on clarity and impact.

Design an awareness campaign about a specific child's right.

Facilitation Tip

In the Campaign Workshop, supply students with real campaign examples from ISPCC and Barnardos to analyze before designing their own, ensuring their messages align with actual advocacy strategies.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'If you were a policymaker, what is one specific change you would propose to improve child protection services in Ireland and why?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share and debate their ideas, referencing current policy gaps.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Project-Based Learning
• 40 min · Whole Class

Policy Evaluation Debate: Tusla Effectiveness

Divide class into teams: one defends current policies with data from annual reports, the other critiques gaps like wait times. Provide prep cards with stats. Vote on strongest arguments post-debate.

Evaluate the effectiveness of current child protection policies in Ireland.

Facilitation Tip

For the Policy Evaluation Debate, assign roles such as government official, NGO representative, and affected family member to ensure diverse perspectives are represented in the discussion.

What to look for

Present students with a list of child protection responsibilities (e.g., receiving reports of harm, providing counseling, lobbying government). Ask them to sort these responsibilities under the correct organization: Tusla, ISPCC, or Barnardos.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Project-Based Learning
• 35 min · Individual

Research Stations: NGO Profiles

Set up stations for Tusla, ISPCC, Barnardos, and UNICEF Ireland with QR codes to websites. Students rotate, note roles and services in journals, then share one key fact per station in a whole-class mind map.

Differentiate between the roles of various organizations in child protection.

Facilitation Tip

At the Research Stations, include a mix of digital and print resources so students can compare how NGOs present their work online versus in annual reports.

What to look for

Provide students with three scenarios involving children's welfare. Ask them to identify which agency (Tusla, ISPCC, Barnardos) would be most appropriate to contact for each scenario and briefly explain why.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should avoid presenting child protection as a purely bureaucratic process. Instead, use real cases to humanize the topic, ensuring students see how policies affect individual children. Research suggests that when students engage with authentic materials and role-play scenarios, they retain nuanced understanding of systemic responsibilities better than through lectures alone.

Successful learning looks like students accurately describing the distinct roles of Tusla, ISPCC, and Barnardos and explaining how these agencies collaborate. They should also identify gaps in protection services and propose justified improvements based on evidence from their activities.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Agency Response Chain role-play, watch for students assuming parents or police handle all investigations independently.

  Use the role-play cards to explicitly assign tasks to Tusla, ISPCC, or Barnardos, and require students to justify why their assigned agency is involved in each step of the scenario.

• During the Campaign Workshop, watch for students assigning legal powers to NGOs like ISPCC or Barnardos.

  Provide campaign examples that highlight advocacy and support roles, and ask students to annotate their own campaign materials to show where they differentiate legal enforcement from supportive services.

• During the Policy Evaluation Debate, watch for students assuming all children receive the same level of protection services.

  Provide debate prompts that focus on vulnerable groups, such as migrant children or those with disabilities, and require students to cite specific policy gaps or service disparities in their arguments.

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Methods used in this brief

• Project-Based Learning