Lesson 4 – Legal ConsideraTions

Public Liability Insurance

Conscious Crafting holds public liability insurance for all our facilitators. In simple terms, this means that if a participant gets injured or if any property is damaged during a workshop, the insurance covers the associated costs. This protection helps create a safe and secure environment for both facilitators and participants.

Garda Vetting

In Ireland, Garda Vetting is a process that checks the background of individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children or the mental health patients, to ensure they have no criminal record that would make them unsuitable for such roles.
 
Unfortunately, each organisation requires it’s own Garda Vetting for each person, such as libraries, Foroige, HSE as well as our own organisation. At this point, Conscious Crafting is not Garda Vetting registered and not (yet) allowed to offer workshops to the general public for under 18s or mental health patients.

You will be required to have your vetting information ready for if and when you are working with groups or organisation that require this. This means having all addresses you have ever lived since birth in an accessible format. As rule of thumb we suggest to add those addresses that you had official documents sent to by mail, not a brief stay for an internship or when “in between places”.

Once off events are exempt at this stage, and the vetting is valid for 3 years. It is possible that an organisation has (stricter) rules to this as well. You will be informed if Garda Vetting is required, but we recommend to have the list of addresses ready in the meantime.

Mental Safety

Ensuring mental and emotional safety is just as important as physical safety. Here are some guidelines to help you create a supportive and understanding environment:
  • Creating a Safe Space
  • Foster an inclusive and non-judgmental atmosphere where everyone is encouraged to express themselves freely. This includes refraining from lavish praise to those who are very creative, as this creates unease with others as well as pressure. 
  • Emotional Support: Be attentive to signs of emotional distress. Offer support by suggesting a break, having a private conversation, or recommending professional resources if needed.
  • Clear Communication: Maintain clear and open communication throughout the workshop, so participants know what to expect and feel comfortable sharing any concerns. This includes refraining from sharing a lot of personal stories, rather ask open questions to let participants talk.
  • Confidentiality: Ensure that personal information shared during workshops is kept confidential to build trust and ensure privacy.

By prioritizing mental safety, you help participants feel at ease, enabling them to fully engage in the creative process and gain the most from their workshop experience.

lesson 3 – overview – lesson 5