Safeguarding and Children
Porthmadog Sailing Club Safeguarding and Children Policy Statement
Porthmadog Sailing Club (PSC) is committed to safeguarding children taking part in its activities from physical, sexual or emotional harm, neglect or bullying. We recognise that the safety, welfare and needs of the child are paramount and that any child, irrespective of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual or gender identity or social status, has a right to protection from discrimination and abuse.
Porthmadog Sailing Club (PSC) takes all reasonable steps to ensure that, through safe recruitment, appropriate operating procedures and training, it offers a safe and fun environment to children taking part in its events and activities.
For the purposes of this policy anyone under the age of 18 should be considered as a child. All members of the Club should be aware of the policy.
Club Safeguarding Officer
The Club Safeguarding Officers are:
Martin Matthias Telephone: 07970832850 E-mail: Commodore@sailing-club.org
Carol McWeeney E-mail: carolann.mcweeney@outlook.com
Gwynedd County Council Senior Safeguarding Children Officer: Delyth Lloyd Griffiths
Telephone: 01286 679007 E-mail: DiogeluAddysg@Gwynedd.llyw.cymru
Wales Safeguarding Procedures (2020) can be found at: https://www.safeguarding.wales/ They can also be downloaded as an app.
Coaching\Training
It is currently the policy of the club that members do not offer organised training or coaching sessions or activities to children. Any training offered to children would only go ahead in the presence of a parent\carer. Unless this changes there no requirement for trainers to hold a DBS Certificate.
Good Practice
All members of the Club should follow the good practice guidelines attached, and agree to abide by the Club Code of Conduct and the RYA Racing Charter contained in the Racing Rules of Sailing. Those volunteering with young people should be aware of the guidance on recognising abuse.
Adults (who are not the parents\carers) are requested not to enter the showers and changing rooms at times when children are changing. If this is unavoidable it is advised that they are accompanied by another adult.
The Club will seek written consent from parents/carers before taking photos or video of a child at an event or publishing such images. Parents should be prepared to identify themselves if requested and state their purpose for photography/filming. If the Club publishes images of children, no identifying information other than names will be included. Any concerns about inappropriate or intrusive photography or the inappropriate use of images should be reported to the Club Safeguarding Officer.
Concerns
Anyone who is concerned about a young member’s welfare, either outside the sport or within the Club, should inform the Club Safeguarding Officer immediately, in strict confidence. The Club Safeguarding Officer will follow the attached procedures.
Porthmadog Sailing Club
Safeguarding and
Child Protection
Policy and
Guidelines
October 2020
Taken From RYA Guidance
Updated February 2020
Royal Yachting Association RYA House, Ensign Way Hamble, Southampton, SO31 4YA www.rya.org.uk/go/safeguarding Tel: 023 8060 4104/4226 E-mail: safeguarding@rya.org.uk
RYA Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and Guidelines
If you require any of this information in a different language or accessible format, please contact the RYA’s Safeguarding and Equality Manager on 023 8060 4104 or e-mail safeguarding@rya.org.uk
Contents
Porthmadog Sailing Club Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy Statement
Responsibilities of staff and volunteers
Parental responsibility and club liability
6 Handling concerns, reports or allegations
PART 3 – INFORMATION AND SAMPLE DOCUMENTS
Sample Document 1 – Application form
Sample Document 2 – Reference request
Sample Document 3 – Self-declaration form
Sample Document 4 – Good Practice Guide
Sample Document 5 – Club/Class Association Code of Conduct
Sample Document 6 – Booking and Parental Consent form
Sample Document 7 – Safeguarding and Child Protection referral form
Appendix A – What is child abuse?
Appendix B − RYA Instructor Code of Conduct
Appendix C – RYA Coach Code of Ethics and Conduct
1 Introduction
Revised Feb 2020
These guidelines have been produced by the RYA to help our club to enable children and young people to enjoy the sport of sailing in all its forms, in a safe environment. This policy has been adapted to meet the requirements of Porthmadog Sailing Club. The original document can be downloaded in its entirety from the RYA’s website, www.rya.org.uk/go/safeguarding
Definition of a child
The Children Act 1989 defined any person under the age of 18 as a ‘child’. In this document and in day to day communications the terms ‘children’ and ‘young people’ are both used, recognising that older teenagers may prefer not to be referred to as ‘children’ although they are still children in the eyes of the law.
Safeguarding adults
Many of the safeguarding principles in these guidelines also apply to ‘vulnerable adults’ or ‘adults at risk’, but the categories of abuse and the statutory procedures to be followed in the case of a concern are different. Please refer to our separate guidance on Safeguarding Adults which has also been adapted for Porthmadog Sailing Club. The original guidance can also be found at www.rya.org.uk/go/safeguarding
RYA requirements
RYA Recognised Training Centres (RTCs) that teach under 18s, including all OnBoard and Team15 clubs and centres, are required to have a formal safeguarding and child protection policy which is checked as part of their annual inspection. RYA British Youth Sailing (BYS) Recognised Clubs and Recognised Junior and Youth Class Associations are also required to adopt and maintain a safeguarding and child protection policy. Porthmadog Sailing Club is not included in any of the above categories, however the Club feels that a Safeguarding Policy is important in ensuring the well-being of all concerned, as outlined below.
Recommended actions
Although Porthmadog Sailing Club is not an RTC or BYS Recognised Club but our membership includes children and families, it is strongly recommended that we adopt a similar policy and some straightforward procedures to put the policy into practice.
There are several good reasons for doing this:
to safeguard children from physical or emotional harm, both on and off the water
to assure parents that their children are as safe at our club as they are when taking part in any other sport or leisure activity
to raise awareness amongst all of our members and employees, so that they know what to do if they are concerned about a child, whether the concern relates to:
the child’s welfare at our site or
something happening outside the sport that a child discloses to someone they trust at our club
to protect instructors and officials by giving them some practical, common sense guidelines to avoid placing themselves in situations
where they are open to allegations which could seriously damage their lives and careers
to protect the club, by showing that we have taken ‘all reasonable steps’ to provide a safe environment.
Our club has taken the following steps:
1. Adopted a policy statement that defines the club’s commitment to providing a safe environment for children. ‘Child Protection’ can be an emotive term because people associate it with the most serious kinds of child abuse. ‘Safeguarding’ has become a more common term for promoting children’s welfare, whilst ‘child protection’ tends to refer to actions taken in response to a specific concern or allegation.
Although we do not have a training centre attached to our club, the policy should be adopted by the whole club and all members should be aware of it, not just those directly involved in children’s training and activities. ‘Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility’ (Statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ 2018).
2. Produced a simple code of practice and procedures governing how the club runs. This covers:
the safe recruitment of staff/volunteers who will be in contact with children (see Section 4)
good practice guidelines to ensure the safety and welfare of children at all times whilst at our site, both on and off the water (see Section 5)
handling concerns, reports or allegations (see Section 6).
Everyone in the club should be aware of the policy and have access to the supporting procedures, and those working with children must be familiar with the procedures and receive appropriate induction and training.
As with all things an element of common sense must be used, and the policy and guidance should not get in the way of families spending time together and the enjoyment of sailing at our club.
Much of the guidance is currently not applicable to Porthmadog sailing Club, as it is currently the policy of the club that members do not offer organised training or coaching sessions or activities to children unsupervised by parents\carers. However it has been included in the guidance in case the Committee decide at a future date to change this policy.
If the Club does change this policy, and anti-bullying policy will become necessary.
Note: I have left employees within the policy and guidance as we employ part time cleaners