Safeguarding & Children's Welfare Policy

Our Commitment

Sports Camps NE is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and expects all colleagues to share this commitment. We have a legal duty to recognise and respond appropriately to concerns about a child's welfare.

Recognising Concerns

Colleagues should be alert to the following potential indicators:

• Significant changes in a child's behaviour
• Deterioration in their general wellbeing
• Unexplained bruising, marks or signs of possible abuse
• Signs of neglect
• Comments children make which give cause for concern

Any suspicions or allegations of abuse will be taken very seriously and acted upon quickly by following the procedure set by the relevant Safeguarding Children Partnership.

Categories of Abuse

The four main categories of abuse are Neglect, Physical, Sexual and Emotional. Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Forced Marriage are also recognised as serious forms of child abuse and are illegal. Peer-on-peer abuse should be taken as seriously as abuse by adults.

Dealing with a Disclosure

1. Listen and stay calm. Do not condemn the abuser, do not judge, do not make promises you cannot keep.
2. Reassure them. Tell them you believe them, that it happens to others, and that they are brave to tell you.
3. Stay with them. Ground the child back to a comfortable state through normal conversation if needed.
4. Record accurately. Note the child's words precisely. Make clear whether it is fact, opinion or hearsay.
5. Report immediately. Escalate to your relevant manager or head office as soon as possible.
6. Third-party concerns. If a third party expresses concern, encourage them to contact Social Care directly. If they will not, Sports Camps NE is obliged to do so and will log the incident accordingly.

Protecting Yourself

Colleagues must also take steps to protect themselves from allegations. This includes:

• Avoiding being alone with a child at any time
• Taking a register of children for each session, noting the time
• Keeping doors open if entry to a room with a child is unavoidable
• Not encouraging children to sit on your lap
• Challenging inappropriate language immediately
• Not building special relationships with individual children
• Not making or accepting personal contact with a child outside of your role
• Only photographing children whose parents have given consent; deleting images from personal devices after use
• Not publishing images without authorisation from a company director

Whistleblowing

Sports Camps NE will not accept or condone any behaviour by colleagues or other adults that is contrary to our aims, objectives, policies and procedures. We actively encourage and fully support the reporting of such behaviour. We provide a confidential reporting form on our website for concerned parties to report worries directly to the Safeguarding Lead.

Allegations Against Staff

If a serious allegation of abuse is made against a colleague, Sports Camps NE will suspend them whilst an investigation is carried out, to protect all parties. Sports Camps NE has a legal duty to inform the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) of any suspicions or allegations, even if a colleague leaves before an investigation is completed.

Prevent Duty

Sports Camps NE recognises its duty to prevent children and families from being drawn into terrorist or extremist behaviour, in line with the government document Prevent Duty Guidance for England and Wales 2015. Colleagues have access to Prevent training and are expected to report any concerns to the relevant authorities.

Good Practice

All personnel should demonstrate exemplary behaviour to promote children's welfare. This means always working in an open environment, treating all young people equally and with respect, putting welfare first, building relationships based on mutual trust, and keeping a written record of any injury or incident.

Practices Never to Be Sanctioned

• Engaging in rough, physical or sexually provocative games
• Allowing or engaging in any form of inappropriate touching
• Allowing children to use inappropriate language unchallenged
• Making sexually suggestive comments to a child
• Reducing a child to tears as a form of control
• Failing to act upon and record any allegation made by a child

Designated Safeguarding Leads

To report a safeguarding concern or major incident, contact our Designated Safeguarding Leads:

If you are not satisfied with an outcome, Local Authority contact details are displayed on the club noticeboard. You may also contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or Childline on 0800 1111.