Study visit to Ireland
When? Oct 14-17, 2025
How many people? Altogether there will be 4 people from the Ministry of Social Affairs in Estonian delegation, but from Swiss-Estonian cooperation programme we will cover the costs of 2 people who’s everyday work focuses on developing the training and support system of child protection workers and family mediators in Estonia.
Approximate cost per person: 1000.00 EUR
The Ministry of Social Affairs, as project implementer, is planning a study visit to Ireland to learn from the experience of the child protection system there. Ireland has been one of the countries that has served as a role model for Estonia in developing child protection work; for example, Estonia is currently piloting the Signs of Safety case management model, which is also used in Ireland.
Our main recipient is Tusla – Child and Family Agency. It is the national government agency responsible for improving wellbeing and outcomes for children, and supporting families.
Our main interest is:
1. Overall understanding of the child protection system in Ireland.
2. Curriculum development with special focus on innovative educational tools and methods in practical training (e.g. virtual reality, one-on-one coaching, supervision). Both, in basic and further education. The focus is on the profession of child protection worker and family mediator.
3. Support system for child protection workers.
4. European Child Guarantee
5. Children’s safety online and protection from online-harm
6. Child and youth participation
7. Prevention
The program of study trip has not yet been finalized, but Tusla has also suggested us some additional organisations we might like to share experiences with:
• Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), which is the Government Department that oversee our Agency
• Children’s Rights Alliance, which is a prominent advocacy organisation that unites over 100 organisations to identify problems facing children in today’s Ireland and come up with creative solutions to change their lives for the better.
• Barnardos, who work with children, families, schools and communities to improve children’s lives and outcomes.
• Coimisiún na Meán, which is Ireland’s agency for developing and regulating a thriving, diverse, creative, safe and trusted media landscape. They are proactive in the area of online Child Protection and Safety.
• University College Cork, which works in collaboration with Tusla to provide the Social Work Apprenticeship Programme: a CORU-approved Level 9 Masters of Social Work which is a full-time, 24-month programme where apprentices combine academic study with hands-on, paid work experience. For 2025, Tusla has doubled the number to more than 70 apprentices.
• Barnahus, which translates as ‘Child House’, is the leading European model of a child-friendly multidisciplinary response. It is being established in Ireland to integrate health, medical, child protection, therapeutic, and policing services for children and young people who may have experienced child sexual abuse.
• A visit to Galway would also enable you to learn about a local Children and Young People’s Services Committee (CYPSC), which are county-level committees that bring together the main statutory, community and voluntary providers of services to children and young people. They provide a forum for joint planning and co-ordination of activity to ensure that children, young people and their families receive improved and accessible services.