SOUTHPORT & DISTRICT LV BOWLING LEAGUE

WELFARE AND CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

The Committee of the League is fully committed to safeguarding the well being of its Members.

       Volunteers should, at all times, observe our Welfare and Child Safe Code, show respect and understanding

for their rights, safety and welfare, and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the Principles of the League.

                    A Child is defined as a person under the age of 18 (The Child Protection Act 1989)

The League Committee will specifically be responsible for any open competitions or training days that it organizes

The League Committee will comply with the BCGBA Welfare and Child Protection Policy. Extracts of the policy are shown below for guidance.

Each Club is responsible for complying with the appropriate Acts ensuring it has written policies, an appointed Welfare Officer and that the relevant members have a CRB certificate and ISA registration.

Good Practice Guidelines

All personnel should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behavior in order to protect themselves from false allegations. The following are commonsense examples of how to create a positive culture and climate. 

Good practice means

 always working in an open environment (e.g. avoiding private or unobserved situations and encourage open communications with no secrets).

 treating all young people/disabled adults equally, and with respect and dignity.

 always putting the welfare of each person first, before winning or achieving goals.

 maintaining a safe and appropriate distance with players, (e.g. it is not appropriate for staff or volunteers to have an intimate relationship with a child or to share a room with them).

 building balanced relationships based on mutual trust enabling children to share in the decision making process.

 making sport fun, enjoyable and promoting fair play.

 keeping up to date with technical skill, qualifications and insurance in sport.

 involving parents/carers wherever possible.

 always ensure parents, carers, teachers, coaches or officials work in pairs.

 ensure that if mixed teams are taken away they should always be accompanied by male and female adults.

 being an excellent role model. This includes not smoking or drinking alcohol or using bad or abusive language in the company of young children.

 giving enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.

 recognizing the developmental needs and capacity of young people and disabled adults. Avoid excessive training or competition and not pushing them against their will.

 securing parental consent to act in loco parentis, if need arises to administer first aid and/or other medical treatment. Also no photographs or video recordings must be made without the parents consent.

 keep a written record of any injury that occurs, along with the details of any treatment given.

Practices to be avoided

The following should be avoided except in an emergency. If cases arise where these situations are unavoidable, it should be with the full knowledge and consent of someone in charge 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 up a child at the end of a session.

 Avoid spending excessive amounts of time alone with children away from others

 Avoid taking or dropping off a child to an event.

REMEMBER HE OR SHE IS STILL A CHILD UNTIL THEY ARE 18

Practices never to be sanctioned

The following should never be sanctioned. You should never;

 Engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay.

 Share a room with a child.

 Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching.

 Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged.

 Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun.

 Reduce a child to tears as a form of control.

 Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon.

 Do things of a personal nature for children or disabled adults, that they can do themselves.

 Invite or allow children to stay with you at your home unsupervised.

Incidents that must be reported/recorded

If any of the following occur you should report this immediately to another colleague and record the incident. You should also ensure the parents of the child are informed;

· If you accidentally hurt a player

 If he/she seems distressed in any manner

 If a player appears to be sexually aroused by your actions

 If a player misunderstands or misinterprets something you have done.

Use of photographic/video equipment

Videoing/ photography are a very useful coaching aid. However, it has been known that some people have used a sporting occasion to take inappropriate photographs or videos of young people. Therefore, you must be vigilant and any concerns reported to the League’s Welfare & Child Protection Officer. Therefore, before using such equipment;

You must

 Obtain parental consent of the child before using such equipment

 Explain to the child why and what the video/picture will be used for

You must never

 Use such equipment without the parents consent

 Use such equipment unless other people are present

 Use such equipment without explaining what you are trying to achieve by use of this equipment both to the child and parent

REMEMBER HE OR SHE IS STILL A CHILD UNTILL THEY ARE 18

Recruitment and training of volunteers

BCGBA recognises that anyone has 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.

 All volunteers should complete an application form which will elicit information about the applicant’s past and a self disclosure about any criminal past.

 Consent should be obtained to seek information from the Criminal Records Bureau or evidence of CRB certificate and ISA registration obtained through the British Crown Green Bowling Association.

 Consent should also be obtained to check with the ISA Vetting and Barring Scheme.

BEHAVOIUR STATEMENT

1. Never –
   • Permit abusive youth peer activities (e.g. initiation ceremonies, ridiculing, bullying)
   • Jump to conclusions.
   • Allow yourself to be drawn into any inappropriate attention seeking behaviour by young people (e.g. tantrums, crushes)
   • Exaggerate or trivialise child abuse issues.
   • Show favouritism to any individual.
   • Make suggestive remarks or gestures.
   • Rely upon your good name to protect you.
   • Believe “it could never happen to me “, both dealing with abuse and being accused of committing abuse.

              What to do if One-One Contact is unavoidable

• Make sure it is for as short time as possible
• Ensure you are accessible to others
• Tell someone else where you are going, what you are doing and why.
• Try to move with the child to areas where there are more people.
• Try to avoid unnecessary physical contact especially if it may be misconstrued by the child or other people.

Action Statement

     1     If you suspect or are told that a young person is being abused.

• You must alwaysrefer – you must never investigate
• Write down the facts, as you know them
• Ensure that the young person is given the opportunity to talk to you, or an independent person.
• Listen to the young person without interruption, and do not ask questions about what you may suspect.
• Do not approach a suspected abuser yourself.
• Provide support as appropriate.
• Accept at face value what the young person says.
• Do not pass judgement on what is said, but to try to alleviate and fears or guilt which the young person may have.
• Make it clear that you can offer support, and that you MUST pass on the information.

2            If you receive an allegation of child abuse by an adult

• Contact your local interagency child protection officer.
• Record the nature of the allegation in detail.
• Do not try to sort it out yourself.

Useful contacts;

              Lancashire CGBA   Child Protection Officer

              Mrs Hilda Jones, 220 Preston Road, Coppull, Chorley PR7 5EB

              Tel: 01257 792751 - Mobile: 07984 949583

              E; hilda.jones@homecall.co.uk

                British CGBA   CPO Dave Collier 01457 868225

               NSPCC Help Line 080 800 500