FSHA -child protection policy

This guide is designed to inform the most appropriate action in relation to concerns about either a parent or carer (e.g. outside the immediate sporting environment)

REMEMBER

· Maintain confidentiality on a need to know basis only.

· Ensure the Club CPO follows up with social services.

· The Club CPO should also report the incident to the CPD who should ascertain whether or not the person/s involved in the incident play a role in FSHA and act accordingly.

This guide is designed to inform the most appropriate action in relation to concerns about an Official within FSHA.

What to do if there are concerns

Information passed to the social services or the police must be as helpful as possible, hence the necessity for making a detailed record at the time of disclosure/concern.

Information should include the following:

ü Name of Child

ü Age of child and Date of Birth

ü Childs home address and Tel No.

ü Is the person making the report expressing their own concern or those of someone else

ü What is the nature of the allegation? Include date, time and any other special factors or relevant information.

ü Make a clear distinction between what is fact, opinion or hearsay.

ü A full description of any visible bruises or injuries. Behavioural signs and other indirect signs.

ü Witnesses to the incidents, names, addresses, tel no’s etc.

ü The child’s account, if it can be given without distress, of what has happened and how any bruising and injuries occurred.

ü Have the parents been contacted.

ü If so, what has been said?

ü Has anyone else been consulted? If so, record details.

ü If it is not the child making the report, has the child concerned been spoken to? If so, what was said

ü Has anyone been alleged to be the abuser? Record details.

Reporting the matter to the police or social services should not be delayed by attempts to obtain more information. Wherever possible, referrals telephoned in, should be confirmed in writing within 24 hours. A full record should be made of the name and designation of the social services member or police officer to whom the concerns where passed, together with the date and time of call.

Introduction

All sporting organisations that make provision for children and young people must ensure:

The welfare of the child is paramount. All Children whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and /or sexual identity, have the right to protection from abuse. All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately. All members and officials working in Fife Skater Hockey Association (FSHA) have a responsibility to report concerns to the appropriate officer. In general, members and officials are not trained to deal with situations of abuse or decide if abuse has occurred and should report all details direct to their Club Child Protection Officer .

Policy Statement

Fife Skater Hockey Association (FSHA) has a duty of care to safeguard all children involved in roller hockey 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. FSHA will ensure the safety and protection of all children involved in roller hockey through adherence to the Child Protection guidelines adopted by Fife Skater Hockey Association. These guidelines will be administered on behalf of the Executive by the FSHA appointed Child Protection Director (CPD) and locally at club level, by the FSHA approved Club Child Protection Officer (CPO).

A child is defined as under 18 years of age, in The Children Act (Scotland) 1989

Policy aims ~ The aim of the Child Protection Policy is to promote good practice:

Providing children and young people with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of FSHA and affiliated clubs.

Allow all members and officials to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues.

Promoting Good Practice with Young People

Introduction

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 any 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 may have regular contact with young people and be an important link in identifying cases where a young person needs protection. All suspicious cases of poor practice should be reported following the guidelines in this document. When a child enters the club 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 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 protect themselves from false allegations. The following are common sense examples of how to create a positive culture within roller hockey.

Good practice means:

Never be alone in a dressing room with children. Always be accompanied by another adult.

Always working in an open environment (e.g. avoiding private or unobserved situations and encouraging an open environment (e.g. no secrets).

Treating all young people/disabled adults equally and with respect and dignity.

Always putting the welfare of each young person first, before winning or achieving goals.

Maintaining a safe and appropriate distance with players (e.g. it is not appropriate to have an intimate relationship with a child or to share a room with them).

Building balanced relationships based on mutual trust that empowers children to share in the decision-making process.

Make sport fun, enjoyable and promoting fair play.

Ensuring that if any form of manual/physical support is required, it should be provided openly and according to guidelines provided by the Coach Education Programme. Care is needed, as it is difficult to maintain hand positions when the child is constantly moving. Young people should always be consulted and their agreement gained. Some parents are becoming increasingly sensitive about manual support and their views should always be carefully considered.

Involving parents/carers wherever possible (e.g. for the responsibility of their children in the changing rooms). If groups have to be supervised in the changing rooms, always ensure parents/teachers/coaches/officials work in pairs.

Ensuring that if mixed teams are taken away, a male and a female member of staff should always accompany them. (NB however, same gender abuse can also occur).

Ensuring that at tournaments or residential events, adults should not enter children’s rooms or invite children into their rooms.

Being an excellent role model - this includes not smoking or drinking alcohol in the company of your people.

Giving enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.

Recognising the development needs and capacity of young people and disabled adults - avoiding excessive training or competition and not pushing them against their will.

Securing parental consent in writing to act in loco parentis, if the need arises to give permission for the administration of emergency first aid and/or other medical treatment.

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

Requesting written parental consent if club officials are required to transport young people in their cars.

Practice to be avoided

The following should be avoided except in emergencies. If cases arise where these situations are unavoidable they should only occur 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:

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

Avoid taking children to your home where they will be alone with you.

Practice 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 in 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, which they can do for themselves.

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

NB It may sometimes be necessary for officials to do things of a personal nature for children, particularly if they are young or 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.

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 come into physical contact or 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.

Guidelines of 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. It is advisable that all clubs be vigilant with any concerns to be reported to the Club CPO.

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 aware that this is part of the coaching programme and care should be taken in the distribution and storing of such films.

Recruitment and selecting of Officials and volunteers

FSHA 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. When undertaking pre-selection checks the following should be included.

· All officials should complete and application form (Volunteering Fife SCRO Check). The application form will elect information about applicants past and a self-disclosure about any criminal record.

· Consent should be obtained from an applicant to seek clearance from the Scottish Criminal Records Office through Volunteering Fife.

· Two confidential references, including one that pertains to previous work with children. These references must be taken up and confirmed through telephone contact.

· Evidence of identity (Passport or driving licence with photo)

Responding to suspicions or allegations

It is not the responsibility of anyone working in FSHA to take responsibility or to decide whether or not child abuse has taken place. However there is a duty to act on any concerns through contact with the appropriate authorities.

FSHA will assure all parents/members/officials that it will fully support and protect anyone, who in good faith reports his or her concern that a colleague has in the past, is at present, or may be, abusing a child.

Where there is a complaint against a member or official, there may be three types of investigation.

· A criminal Investigation.

· A child protection investigation.

· An FSHA disciplinary or misconduct investigation.

The results of the police and child protection investigations may well influence the FSHA disciplinary investigation, but not necessarily.

Action if there are concerns

The following action should be taken if there are concerns (See appendix A)

Poor Practice

· If, following consideration, the allegation is clearly about poor practice, the Club CPO will deal with it as a misconduct issue.

· If the allegation is about poor practice by the Club CPO, or if the matter has been handled inadequately and concerns remain, it should be reported to the FSHA Child Protection Director (CPD) who will decide how to deal with the allegation and whether or not to initiate FSHA disciplinary proceedings.

Suspected Abuse

· Any suspicion that a child has been abused by either a member or an official, should be reported to the Club CPO, 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 Club CPO will refer the allegation to the social services who may involve the police, or go directly to the police if out-of-hours.

· The parents or carers of the child will be contacted as soon as possible following advice from the social services or police.

· The Club CPO should also notify ASAP, the CPD and Executive who will deal with all media enquiries.

· If the Club CPO is the subject of the suspicion/allegation, the report must be made to the Club Manager or in their absence, the CPD who will refer the matter to the social services / police.

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:

· The Club CPO

· The parents of the person who is alleged to have been abused.

· The person making the allegation.

· Social Services / Police.

· The Executive and CPD.

· The alleged abuser (and parents if the alleged abuser is a child). *

Seek social services advice on who should approach alleged abuser.

Information should be stored in a secure place with limited access to designated persons only, in line with data protection laws (e.g. that all information is accurate, regularly updated, relevant and secure)

Internal Enquiries and Suspension

· The CPD 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 the police inquiries, the FSHA disciplinary Committee will assess all individual cases to decide whether a member or official can be reinstated and 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 FSHA 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 children should always remain paramount.

Support to deal with the Aftermath

· Consideration should be given about what support may be appropriate to children, parents and members/officials. Use of Helplines, support groups and open meetings will maintain an open culture and help the healing process. The British Association of Counselling Directory may be a useful resource.

· Consideration should be given about what support may be appropriate to the alleged perpetrator of the abuse.

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 an official who is still currently working with children). Where such an allegation is made, the club should follow the procedures as detailed previously in this policy, and report the matter to the social services or police. This is because other children, either within or outside the 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.

Action if Bullying is suspected

The same procedure should be followed as set out in Section 6.3 if bullying is suspected. All settings in which children are provided with services or are living away from home should have rigorously enforced anti-bullying strategies in place.

Action to Help the Victim and prevent Bullying in Sport

· Take all signs of bullying very seriously.

· Encourage all children to speak and share their concerns. Help the victim to speak out and tell the person in charge or someone in authority. Create an open environment.

· Investigate all allegations and take action to ensure the victim is safe. Speak with the victim and the bully (ies) separately.

· Reassure the victim that you can be trusted and will help them, although you cannot promise not to tell anyone else.

· Keep records of what is said (what happened, by whom, when).

· Report any concerns to the Club CPO or the school (wherever the bullying is taking place).

Action Towards the Bully (ies).

· Talk with the bully (ies), explain the situation, and try to get the bully (ies) to understand the consequences of their behaviour. Seek an apology to the victim.

· Inform the bully (ies) parents.

· Insist on the return of borrowed items and that the bully (ies) compensate the victim.

· Provide support for the coach of the victim.

· Impose sanctions as necessary.

· Encourage and support the bully (ies) to change behaviour.

· Hold meetings with the families to report on progress.

· Inform all members of action taken.

· Keep a written record of action taken.

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