Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy
Introduction
Best practice in athletics benefits everyone – the sport’s governing bodies, coaches and officials, teachers, parents, carers and athletes. Most importantly, it ensures that children who choose to participate in athletics have a safe and fun experience.
Poole Athletic Club is committed to ensuring that all coaches and volunteers with responsibility for children and young people, provide them with the highest possible standard of care. In addition, Poole Athletic Club is committed to devising, implementing and updating policies and procedures to promote best practice when working with children and to ensure that everyone in the sport understands and accepts their responsibilities to safeguard children from harm and abuse. This means taking action to report any concerns about their welfare to the appropriate person. It is not the responsibility of athletics to determine whether or not abuse has taken place, this is the domain of the child protection professionals.
All children are entitled to a duty of care and to be protected from abuse. Abuse can occur anywhere. With over 250,000 children involved in athletics in the UK and 100,000 adults involved, the chances are very real that there are some individuals abusing their power over children in athletics. The aim of the policy is to promote good practice, providing children and young people with appropriate safety/protection whilst in the care of Poole Athletic Club and to allow coaches and volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues. A child/young person is defined as a person under the age of 18 (Children’s Act 1989)
Policy Statement
Poole Athletic Club is committed to providing a duty of care, to protect all children and safeguard their welfare, irrespective of age, disability, ethnicity, gender identity, religion or belief, sex or gender and sexual orientation:
- The welfare of the child is paramount
- All children have the right to protection from abuse
- All suspicions and allegations of poor practice or abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
- Poole Athletic Club members who work with children will be selected with regard to their suitability for that responsibility, and will be provided with guidance and/or training in good practice and child protection procedures
- Working in partnership with parents and children is essential for the protection of children
Monitoring and reviewing the policy and procedures
The implementation of procedures should be regularly monitored and reviewed. The Welfare Officer should regularly liaise with the Club Chairman and report progress, challenges, difficulties, achievements gaps and areas where changes are required to the management committee.
The policy should be reviewed every 3 years or whenever there is a major change in the organisation or in relevant legislation.
