Sir, - As former employees of ISPCC, we wish to respond to some of the recent criticisms in relation to the operation of the Childline service.
On average, 60 per cent of applicants go on to become active volunteers on Childline. All those interested are invited to attend an information meeting/group interview. They must also complete a detailed application form devised to elicit their attitudes and values to children, their motivations for working with the service and their willingness to fulfil all the obligations of the role of the Childline volunteer. They must then attend an individual interview which lasts 15 to 30 minutes, during which further assessment is made and clarity is given to the tasks.
Successful interviewees participate in the training course which is 17 sessions long, each session lasting 3 hours. Ongoing assessment of the candidates is conducted during the course by trainers, all of whom are professional employees of ISPCC. In tandem with the successful completion of the training course, volunteers must do 28 hours of practical induction on Childline, with more experienced volunteers.
All volunteers are required to complete a confidentiality statement and to furnish ISPCC with a statement of Garda Clearance. These selection and training procedures are recognised among the voluntary sector as being very comprehensive and of the highest quality. They have been copied both in Ireland and abroad, by various organisations, including NSPCC in Wales, Kids Helpline in Australia and many voluntary youth organisations in Ireland.
The ongoing professional development and support of the volunteers is achieved through ongoing training, an annual volunteer conference and monthly supervision. The main Childline station, based in Dublin, has two full-time staff members who are also available to volunteers on a 24-hour basis through a bleeping system.
In relation to the number of calls taken by Childline, Telecom Eireann furnishes ISPCC annually with the total number of calls answered by Childline and it is this figure which is released to the public by ISPCC each year on the Childline birthday. The logging and administrative procedures internally are used for record keeping and research purposes, e.g. to develop a profile of callers and the content of these calls.
Finally, all of these procedures are in place to equip volunteers with the skills to provide a listening service for children throughout Ireland and to maintain an ethos whereby children will be listened to irrespective of what they wish to talk about. This ethos is based on the parenting wisdom that if you listen to your child when they talk about such everyday concerns as school and friends, they will trust that you will listen to them when they are in trouble or difficulty.
It is only through the gift of time given by members of the public that the Childline service has been maintained and has grown over the last 10 years. Their contribution should be applauded, as should the commitment of ISPCC to children through its volunteers. - Yours, etc., Teresa Heeney, Elaine Martin,
Carnlough Road, Henrietta Street, Dublin.