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Introduction
All sporting organisations which make provision for children and young people must ensure that:
Staff/volunteers are not trained to deal with situations of abuse or to decide if abuse has occurred.
Policy statement/aims
Over & In has a duty of care to safeguard all children involved in any coaching that Over & In
offers from harm. All children have a right to protection, and the needs of disabled children and others who may be particularly vulnerable must be taken into account. Over & In will ensure the safety and protection of all children involved in Over & In coaching through adherence to the Child Protection guidelines adopted by Over & In.
A child is defined as a person under the age of 18 (The Children Act 1989).
Policy aims
The aim of the Over & In Child Protection Policy is to promote good practice:
Promoting good practice
Child abuse, particularly sexual abuse, can arouse strong emotions in those facing such a situation. It is important to understand these feelings and not allow them to interfere with your judgement about the appropriate action to take.
Abuse can occur within many situations including the home, school and the sporting environment. Some individuals will actively seek employment or voluntary work with young people in order to harm them. A coach, instructor, teacher, official or volunteer will have regular contact with young people and be an important link in identifying cases where they need protection. All suspicious cases of poor practice should be reported following the guidelines in this document.
When a child enters the club activity having been subjected to child abuse outside the sporting environment, sport can play a crucial role in improving the child’s self-esteem. In such instances the club activity organiser must work with the appropriate agencies to ensure the child receives the required support.
Good practice guidelines
All personnel should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behaviour in order to promote children’s welfare and reduce the likelihood of allegations being made. The following are common sense examples of how to create a positive culture and climate.
Good practice means:
volunteers to have an intimate relationship with a child or to share a room with them).
Practices to be avoided
The following should be avoided except in emergencies. If cases arise where these situations are unavoidable it should be with the full knowledge and consent of someone in charge in the club or the child’s parents. For example, a child sustains an injury and needs to go to hospital, or a parent fails to arrive to pick a child up at the end of a session:
Practices never to be sanctioned
The following should never be sanctioned. You should never:
N.B. It may sometimes be necessary for staff or volunteers to do things of a personal nature for children, particularly if they are young or are disabled. These tasks should only be carried out with the full understanding and consent of parents and the players involved. There is a need to be responsive to a person’s reactions. If a person is fully dependent on you, talk with him/her about what you are doing and give choices where possible. This is particularly so if you are involved in any dressing or undressing of outer clothing, or where there is physical contact, lifting or assisting a child to carry out particular activities. Avoid taking on the responsibility for tasks for which you are not appropriately trained.
Incidents that must be reported/recorded
If any of the following occur you should report this immediately to the appropriate officer and record the incident. You should also ensure the parents of the child are informed:
Use of photographic/filming equipment at sporting events
There is evidence that some people have used sporting events as an opportunity to take inappropriate photographs or film footage of young and disabled sportspeople in vulnerable positions. All clubs should be vigilant and any concerns should to be reported to the Club Child Protection Officer.
Videoing as a coaching aid: there is no intention to prevent club coaches and teachers using video equipment as a legitimate coaching aid. However, performers and their parents/carers should be made aware that this is part of the coaching programme and their consent obtained, and such films should be stored safely.
Recruitment and training of staff and volunteers
Over & In recognises that anyone may have the potential to abuse children in some way and that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure unsuitable people are prevented from working with children. Pre-selection checks must included the following:
Interview and induction
All employees (and volunteers) will be required to undergo an interview carried out to acceptable protocol and recommendations. All employees and volunteers should receive an induction, during which:
Training
In addition to pre-selection checks, the safeguarding process includes training after recruitment to help staff and volunteers to:
Over & In requires:
It is not the responsibility of anyone working in Over & In, in a paid or unpaid capacity to decide whether or not child abuse has taken place. However there is a responsibility to act on any concerns by reporting these to the appropriate officer or the appropriate authorities.
Over & In will assure all staff/volunteers that it will fully support and protect anyone, who in good faith reports his or her concern that a colleague is, or may be, abusing a child.
Where there is a complaint against a member of staff there may be three types of investigation:
The results of the police and child protection investigation may well influence and inform the disciplinary investigation, but all available information will be used to reach a decision.
Reporting concerns about poor practice
If, following consideration, the allegation is clearly about poor practice the designated/Club Child
Protection Officer will deal with it as a misconduct issue.
If the allegation is about poor practice by the Over & In Child Protection Officer, or if the matter has been handled inadequately and concerns remain, it should be reported to the relevant Sports Governing Body officer who will decide how to deal with the allegation and whether or not to initiate disciplinary proceedings.
Reporting concerns about suspected abuse
Any suspicion that a child has been abused by either a member of staff or a volunteer should be reported to the Over & In Child Protection Officer, who will take such steps as considered necessary to ensure the safety of the child in question and any other child who may be at risk.
The Over & In Child Protection Officer will refer the allegation to the social services department who may involve the police.
The parents or carers of the child will be contacted as soon as possible following advice from the social services department.
The Over & In Child Protection Officer should also notify the relevant Sport Governing Body officer who in turn will inform the Sport Governing Body Child Protection Officer who will deal with any media enquiries.
If the Over & In Child Protection Officer is the subject of the suspicion/allegation, the report must be made to the appropriate Manager or in his/her absence the Sport Governing Body Child Protection Officer who will refer the allegation to Social Services.
Further guidance
If you are concerned about a child and unable to contact the designated person in the Over & In organisation, please call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Confidentiality
Every effort should be made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for all concerned. Information should be handled and disseminated on a need to know basis only. This includes the following people:
Seek social services advice on who should approach the alleged abuser (or parents if the alleged abuser is a child).
Information should be stored in a secure place with limited access to designated people, in line with data protection laws (e.g. that information is accurate, regularly updated, relevant and secure).
Enquiries and further action
Internal enquiries and possible suspension
The Over & In Child Protection Officer will make an immediate decision about whether any individual accused of abuse should be temporarily suspended pending further police and social services inquiries.
Irrespective of the findings of the social services or police inquiries the Over & In Disciplinary Committee will assess all individual cases to decide whether a member of staff, volunteer or any person working on behalf of/representing the organisation should be reinstated and if so how this can be sensitively handled.
This may be a difficult decision; particularly where there is insufficient evidence to uphold any action
by the police. In such cases, the Over & In Disciplinary Committee must reach a decision based upon the available information which could suggest that on a balance of probability, it is more likely than not that the allegation is true. The welfare of the child should remain of paramount importance throughout.
Support to deal with the aftermath of abuse
Consideration should be given to the kind of support that children, parents and members of staff may need. Use of helplines, support groups and open meetings will maintain an open culture and help the healing process.
The British Association for Counselling Directory is available from The British Association for Counselling, 1 Regent Place, Rugby CV21 2PJ, Tel: 01788 550899, Fax: 01788 562189, E-
mail: [email protected], Internet:www.bacp.co.uk .
Consideration should be given to what kind of support may be appropriate for the alleged perpetrator.
Allegations of previous abuse
Allegations of abuse may be made some time after the event (e.g. by an adult who was abused as a child or by a member of staff who is still currently working with children).
Where such an allegation is made, the club should follow the procedures as detailed above and report the matter to the social services or the police. This is because other children, either within or outside sport, may be at risk from this person. Anyone who has a previous criminal conviction for offences related to abuse is automatically excluded from working with children. This is reinforced by the details of the Protection of Children Act 1999.
Bullying
Every child has the right to experience sport in a safe environment free from abuse and bullying.
Sports organisations play an important role in creating a positive club ethos that challenges bullying by empowering young people to understand the impact of bullying, how best to deal with it and agree standards of behaviour.
Reporting concerns outside the immediate sporting environment (e.g. a parent or carer)
Report your concerns to the Club Child Protection Officer, who should contact social services or the police as soon as possible.
If the Club Child Protection Officer is not available, the person being told of or discovering the abuse should contact social services or the police immediately.
Social Services and the Club Child Protection Officer will decide how to involve the parents/carers. The Club Child Protection Officer should also report the incident to the Over & In Governing Body.
The Governing Body should ascertain whether or not the person/s involved in the incident play a role in Over & In and act accordingly.
Maintain confidentiality on a need to know basis only.
Providing information to police or social services
Information about suspected abuse must be accurate and a detailed record should always be made at the time of the disclosure/concern. It should include the following:
If you have any concerns about a child or young person call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, text 88858 or visitwww.nspcc.org.uk for immediate advice.