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Rockleaze Rangers FC |
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Child Protection Policy |
Child Protection Policy
(last
updated September 2008)
Introduction
Rockleaze Rangers Football Club aims to ensure that that the
necessary steps are taken to protect the children who participate in football
at the club, and that football takes place in an environment that is safe and
enjoyable. ·
The
child's welfare is paramount ·
All
children have a right to be protected from abuse regardless of their age,
gender, disability, culture, language, racial origin, religious belief or
sexual identity ·
All
suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to
swiftly and appropriately. Contacts and Complaints Procedure
The Rockleaze CWO (Child Welfare Officer) is Luba Balderson. Luba can be contacted
by email on cwo@rockleazerangers.org.uk The Rockleaze Chairman is The Rockleaze Secretary is 1. · phone on 07970 434174 2. · email on ian@rockleazerangers.org.uk
If you
have a complaint that is football related,
you should do the following ·
talk to one of your
year group coaches and try to resolve the matter ·
if this is not
possible or if this does not work, contact If you
have a child welfare issue, you
should do the following ·
talk to one of your
year group coaches and try to resolve the matter ·
if this is not
possible or if this does not work, contact Luba who will try to help If for any
reason you still have a problem, contact Ian Definition of
Abuse
Child
abuse is a term used to describe ways in which children or young people are
harmed, usually by adults but increasingly by peers. Often these are people
they know or trust. It refers to the damage done to a child's or young
person's physical, mental or emotional health. Children or young people can
be abused within or outside their family, at school and within the football
environment. Abusive situations arise when adults or peers misuse their power
over children or young people. The 5 main
forms of abuse are 3. · Physical Abuse – examples of this
are 4.
·
Hitting, shaking, squeezing, biting or
burning. 5.
·
Giving children or
young people alcohol, cigarettes, inappropriate drugs or poison. 6.
·
Using excessive and inappropriate
training methods. 7. · Neglect – this includes situations
in which 8.
·
A child's or young
person's basic physical needs (e.g. for food, warm clothing) are not met. 9.
·
Children or young
people are consistently left alone and unsupervised. 10.
·
There is a failure to
ensure children or young people are safe and not exposed to undue extremes of
weather or risk of injury e.g. through unsafe equipment. 11. · Sexual Abuse - where adults/peers use
children or young people to meet their own sexual needs through 12.
·
Fondling through to full intercourse. 13.
·
Showing them
pornographic books, photographs or videos or taking photographs/videos for
pornographic purposes. 14. · Emotional Abuse – examples of this
are 15.
·
Persistent lack of
love, affection or attention shown to a child or young person. 16.
·
Overprotecting and
preventing them from socialising. 17.
·
Frequently shouting
at, or taunting .children or young people 18. · Bullying - this is not always easy
to define and can take many forms and is usually repeated over a period of
time. There are 3 main types of bullying 19.
·
Physical - hitting,
kicking or theft 20.
·
Verbal - racist or
homophobic remarks, threats and name calling 21.
·
Emotional - isolating
an individual from activities Identifying
Abused Children
Children
are reluctant to tell someone when they are being abused, so it essential
that we are aware of the possible signals that a child’s welfare or safety is
being threatened. These signs include 22. · Unexplained or suspicious injuries,
particularly if situated on a part of the body not normally prone to such
injuries. 23. · Any injury for which the explanation
seems inconsistent. 24. · A child or adult expressing concern
about the welfare of another child or young person. 25. · Unexplained changes in behaviour
e.g. becoming very quiet, withdrawn or displaying sudden outbursts of temper. 26. · Sexual awareness that is
inappropriate for the child’s age. 27. · Being mistrustful of adults,
particularly those with whom a close relationship would normally be expected. 28. · Having difficulties in making friends. 29. · Loss of weight for no apparent
reason. 30. · Becoming increasingly dirty or unkempt. However,
there is rarely a clear sign and we may have to piece together various
snippets of information and rely on our instinct that something is not quite
right. Taking Action
It is NOT our job to decide or not whether
a child is being abused. However, it IS
our responsibility to share our concerns. The law points out that we all have
a duty of care towards children, and it also emphasises that everyone shares
this responsibility for protecting children in the community. If a child
or young person informs you directly that he/she is concerned about someone's
behaviour towards them, or you become aware through your own observations or
through a third party of possible abuse occurring within a football setting,
you should take the following actions 31. · React calmly so as not to frighten
them. Tell them they are not to blame and they were right to tell. Take what
they tell you seriously. 32. · Ensure their safety. If the child
or young person needs immediate medical treatment, take the child to hospital
or call an ambulance. Inform doctors of the concerns and ensure that they are
aware that this it is a child protection issue. 33. · Avoid leading the child or young person
and keep any questions to the absolute minimum necessary to ensure a clear
understanding of what has been said. 34. · Reassure the child or young person,
but do not make promises of confidentiality or outcome, which might not be
feasible in the light of subsequent developments. 35. · Make a full record of what has been
said, heard and/or seen as soon as possible. 36. · Parents and guardians should only
be contacted only after advice from social services. 37. · Report your concerns to the club
child protection officer who will take matters further as necessary. If the
child protection officer is not available, inform them when available. 38.
In
matters relating to child protection, inaction is NOT an option. You must
act. Do not assume that somebody else will. Best Practice
for Club Coaches
In order
to provide a safe and enjoyable environment for football, the club coaches
should adopt the following standards of behaviour 39. · Coaches must respect the rights,
dignity and worth of each equally within the context of the sport. 40. · Coaches must place the well being
and safety of each player above all other considerations, including the
development of performance. 41. · Coaches must adhere to all guidelines
laid down by the rules of The Football Association. 42. · Coaches must develop an appropriate
working relationship with each player based on mutual trust and respect. 43. · Coaches must not exert undue
influence to obtain personal benefit or reward. 44. · Coaches must encourage and guide
the children to accept responsibility for their own behaviour and
performance. 45. · Coaches must ensure that the
activities they direct or advocate are appropriate for the age, maturity, experience
and ability of players. 46. · Coaches should, at the outset,
clarify with the player (and, where appropriate, their parents/guardian)
exactly what is expected of them and also what they are entitled to expect
from their coach. 47. · Coaches must co-operate fully with
other specialists (e.g. other coaches, managers, officials, doctors) in the
best interests of the player. 48. · Coaches must always promote the
positive aspects of the sport (e.g. fair play) and never condone violations
of the Laws of the Game, behaviour contrary to the spirit of the Laws of the
Game or relevant rules and regulations of the use of prohibited substances or
techniques. 49. · Coaches must consistently display
high standards or behaviour and appearance. Best Practice
for Medical Treatment of Children
Anyone in
the club involved in medically treating children should be aware of the
following recommended standards of behaviour ·
It is recommended that
no child or young person should be treated in any way in a situation where
the child or young person is on his/her own in a treatment room with the door
closed. ·
It is strongly
recommended that all treatment procedures should be ‘open’, i.e. the door
remains open and parents/guardians are invited to observe treatment
procedures. Where strict medical confidentially is to be observed then the
parents or guardian of the child or young person should be invited to attend.
·
It is recommended that
if treating an area of the body, which is potentially embarrassing to a child
or young person (i.e. the groin) a suitable consenting adult acting as a
chaperone, should be present. ·
It is important to
maintain medical confidentiality and patient dignity at all times. ·
Prior to medical
treatment being carried out on a child or young person, parental/guardian
consent in written form must be sought where appropriate. ·
It is recommended that
all treatment procedures are explained fully to the child or young person and
verbal consent is given before they are carried out. General
Guidelines in the Care of Children and Young People
It is
possible to reduce situations in which abuse can occur and help protect club
volunteers by promoting good practice. ·
Always be public and
open when working with children or young people. Avoid situations where a
coach and an individual child or young person are
completely unobserved. 50. · Always treat players in an open environment
or, if treatment is required within a closed area, ensure parents/guardian
are aware of this. ·
Where appropriate,
parents/guardian should take on the responsibility for their children or
young person in the changing rooms. If groups have to be supervised in the
changing rooms, always ensure coaches/managers work in pairs. ·
Where there are mixed
teams away from home, they should always be accompanied by a male and female
coach/manager. 51. · When working with children or young
players of the opposite sex, coaches/managers must agree with parent/guardian
when, or if, it is appropriate to enter the changing area. It may be prudent
to set a time, for example 10 minutes before a game, when the coach/manager
could enter the room accompanied by parents/guardian, at least one of which
must be of the opposite sex. Everyone
in the club should also be aware that as a general rule you should not ·
Spend excessive
amounts of time alone with a child/young person. ·
Take children or young
people alone on car journeys, however short. ·
Take children or young
people to your home where they will be alone with you If cases
arise where these situations are unavoidable, they should only occur with the
full knowledge and consent of someone in charge in the organisation and/or
the child's/young person's parent or guardian. Summary
The ideals
of Child Protection in football are to enable every child to participate in
‘The Beautiful Game’ in a safe environment. Adults should be ‘role models’
for children. If we all remember this each week, then the game will be far
more enjoyable for everyone Footnote
Further
information on Child Protection and how it affects football can be found at http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/GOALChildProtection/
and http://www.gloucestershirefa.com/Governance/ChildProtection/
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