Welfare of Young People

Welfare of Young People

Minety RFC

WELFARE OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Minety RFC has a moral obligation to ensure when given responsibility for children and young players, that coaches and volunteers provide them with the highest possible standard of care.

We recognise that we have a responsibility:-

  1. To safeguard and promote the interests and well being of all children with whom we are working, regardless of age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief and/or sexual identity.
  2. To take all practical reasonable steps to protect children from harm, discrimination, or degrading treatment.
  3. To respect their rights, wishes and feelings.

Scope

The Policy and Procedures for the Welfare of Young People at Minety RFC applies to all young players who are under 18.

Minety RFC will:

  1. Appoint a Welfare Officer (plus another person to undertake the role in the absence of the designated person) who will act as the first point of contact for concerns about the welfare of young people.
  2. Publish the Child Protection Policy within the Club.
  3. Ensure that all coaches and officers of the club uphold the guidelines on prohibited practices and Positions of Trust listed in Appendices 1 & 2.
  4. Ensure that all officers and committee members are aware of their responsibility in this area and that the Club responds to any indication of poor practice or abuse in line with RFU/W Policy.
  5. Ensure that the club has codes of conduct for all players, coaches, officials, members, spectators and volunteers and that these are well publicised and adhered to.
  6. Implement a policy of Best Practice for all adults working with young people.
  7. Ensure that all relevant members who have regular supervisory contact with children or a management responsibility for those working with young people undertake an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure within eight weeks of their appointment (Appendix 3).
  8. Identify a disciplinary panel which, where necessary, is able to manage cases of poor practice as identified by the RFU Child Protection Officer.
  9. Ensure that at least one member of each age group coaching and management team has taken the RFU ‘A Guide to Child Protection & Best Practice Programme’.
  1. Ensure that at least four members of the club’s youth section (one of whom is a coach) have has attended a child protection training course.
  2. Ensure all parents are aware of the club policy on child protection and the correct protocols for voicing concerns.
  3. Ensure that the club has contact details of parents / carers and emergency / alternative contacts and confidential procedures in place to deal with this information.
  4. In consultation with the county welfare officer ensure all reported incidents are managed at the appropriate level in line with RFU/W procedures.
  5. In all cases strict confidentiality will be upheld with regard to any person involved in disciplinary proceedings unless there is an overriding obligation in the interests of child safety or enforcement to share information with other interested parties.
  6. Ensure that Child Protection is covered in the induction of all new coaches and volunteers.

Appendix 1

Prohibited Practices

Within RFU Regulations a male player is permitted to play in the adult game when he reaches his 17th birthday. In these circumstances, bullet point6 below cannot practically be applied. However, Minety RFC coaches responsible for the management of adult teams which include 17 year olds will at all times be mindful of their safety and wellbeing.

Coaches, managers or volunteers must never:

  1. Take young people to their own home or any other place where they will be alone with them;
  2. Spend any amount of time alone with young people away from others;
  3. Take young people alone on car journeys, however short;
  4. If it should arise that such situations are unavoidable they should only take place with the full knowledge and consent of someone in charge in the Club and/or a person with parental responsibility for the young person. In exceptional circumstances where a coach, manager or volunteer cannot obtain the consent of the above then if it is in the welfare interest of the young person the above do not have to be followed. If this occurs the adult must record the occurrence with the Club/governing body welfare officer.
  5. Engage in rough, physical games, sexually provocative games or horseplay with children/young people;
  6. Take part as a player in any dynamic contact games or training sessions with young people. If there is a need for an adult to facilitate learning within a coaching session through the use of coaching aids e.g. contact pads, this should be done with the utmost care and with due regard to the safety of the young players;
  7. Share a room with a young person unless the individual is the parent/guardian of that young person;
  8. Engage in any form of inappropriate sexual contact and/or behaviour;
  9. Allow any form of inappropriate touching;
  10. Make sexually suggestive remarks to a young person even in fun;
  11. Use inappropriate language or allow young people to use inappropriate language unchallenged;
  12. Allow allegations by a young person to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon;
  13. Do things of a personal nature for a young person that they can do for themselves unless you have been requested to do so by the parents/carer (please note that it is recognised that some young people will always need help with things such as lace tying, adjustment of Tag belts, fitting head guards and it is also recognised that this does not preclude anyone attending to an injured/ill young person or rendering first aid);
  14. Depart the rugby Club or agreed rendezvous point until the safe dispersal of all young people is complete;
  15. Cause an individual to lose self esteem by embarrassing, humiliating or undermining the individual;
  16. Treat some young people more favourably than others; or
  17. Agree to meet a young person on their own on a one to one basis.

Appendix 2

Positions of Trust

All adults who work with young people are in a position of trust which has been invested in them by theparents, the sport and the young person. This relationship can be described as one in which the adultis in a position of power and influence by virtue of their position.

Sexual intercourse or touching by an adultwith a child under the age of 16 years is unlawful, even where there is apparent consent from the child.A consensual sexual relationship between an adult in a position of trust within the rugby setting and a childover 16 years of age is contrary to the Policy and Procedures for the Welfare of Young People in the Sportof Rugby Union.

Adults must not encourage a physical or emotionally dependant relationship to develop between the personin a position of trust and the young person in their care.

All those within the organisation have a duty to raise concerns about the behaviour of coaches, officials,volunteers, administrators and professional staff which may be harmful to the children, young people in theircare, without prejudice to their own position.

Appendix 3

CRB Disclosure

All adults who have ‘regular supervisory contact with young people’ will undertake CRB disclosure withineight weeks of their appointment to a position which involves regular supervisory contact with young people.

These adults will include;

• All coaches/assistant coaches

• Junior Committee members

• Heads of Youth Rugby Sections

• Team Managers

• All Referees who regularly officiate mini/midi and youth games

• Welfare Officers

• Club administrators.

Appendix 4

What Constitutes Child Abuse?

The term child abuse is used to describe all the ways in which children are harmed, usually by adults and often by those they know and trust. It refers to the damage that has been, or may be, done to a child's physical or mental health. This damage may occur at home, at school or even within a sports environment. An adult may abuse a child both by inflicting harm and by failing to prevent harm. Alternatively, a child may abuse another child and evidence suggests that this is an increasing concern for young people. Child abuse can take many forms but can be broadly separated into five categories.

Neglect– failing to provide adequate food shelter or clothing, constantly leaving a child alone unsupervised, failing to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment, refusing to give children affection or attention. Neglect in a sport situation could include a coach failing to ensure that children are safe and comfortable, or exposing them to undue cold or to unnecessary risk of injury.

Physical Abuse – when someone physically hurts or injures a child by hitting, shaking, throwing, scalding, suffocating or causing deliberate physical harm. Giving children inappropriate drugs or alcohol also constitutes physical abuse. Physical abuse in a sports situation may be deemed to occur if the nature and intensity of the training and competition exceeds the capacity of the child's immature and growing body.

Sexual Abuse – occurs when adults or other children use children to meet their own sexual needs. This could include masturbation, oral sex, intercourse or fondling. Showing children pornographic materials also constitutes sexual abuse. In some cases, physical contact between the coach and the child is essential for safety reasons, failure on the part of the coach to explain at the outset may result in concerns that sexual abuse is taking place.

Emotional abuse – children who have suffered neglect, physical or sexual abuse will also have suffered some level of emotional abuse. Also by imposing developmentally inappropriate expectations on them, making them feel worthless, unloved, inadequate, making them feel frightened or in danger, shouting at, threatening or taunting them, overprotecting them or conversely, failing to give them the love and affection they need. Emotional abuse can occur in sport if children are subjected to constant criticism, name calling, sarcasm, bullying or unrealistic pressure to consistently perform to high expectations.

Bullying and Harassment – The effects of bullying may be invisible, but can leave lasting emotional scars. The bully is not always obvious to others and the victim often keeps quiet. (Please see anti bullying policy). Harassment is closely associated withaspects of bullying and occurs when an individual feels that they are subject to behaviours from others that is unacceptable to them. The competitive nature of sport makes it an ideal environment for the bully, it could be a parent that pushes a child too hard, a coach who shouts at, or humiliates children or children who actively seek to make sport a difficult or unhappy experience for others.

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