Policy: Season 12-13

Safeguarding Vulnerable People Policy

As Club Safeguarding Officer (CSO) of Wortley Rugby Union Football Club (WRUFC) it is my duty to follow the following key tasks:
• Develop the clubs own ‘Safeguarding Vulnerable People Policy’ and procedures in conjunction with the RFU policy and circulate & promote the RFU or clubs Codes of Conduct;

• Be visible and approachable to all club members and ensure my contact details are available to all young people, parents and club personnel and that these are posted on club notice boards, are on the club website and are registered on RugbyFirst;

• In conjunction with the CBSM, develop an effective CRB processing system within the club to ensure that all individuals working with young people undertake a CRB application every three years;

• To co-ordinate a programme of training, in conjunction with CBSM and/or RDO, for club personnel, including club management committee, involved in working with young people (i.e. Safeguarding & Protecting Young People in Rugby Union courses);

• To ensure that all safeguarding issues and incidents involving adult(s) and children/young people under 18 are reported promptly to the CBSM (or RFU Safeguarding team in their absence);

• To have contact details for the local statutory agencies (police / social services etc.) and liaise with them when necessary;

• To ensure that the club has an induction pack, which includes the club safeguarding/child protection policy, for new mini & youth players and that all parents sign for its receipt;

• Be aware of individual children’s special educational or medical needs and the need to inform appropriate club age-group coaches/managers;

• To be an active or co-opted member of club management committee;

• To ensure that the clubs first aid co-ordinator complies with RFU medical/first aid protocols

• To monitor club website for inappropriate content and report/amend as appropriate;

• To be involved in a club’s Seal of Approval accreditation and to verify and confirm the information provided to the RDO is correct; and

• To distribute literature, electronic communication and new developments concerning the safeguarding of young people to club personnel as appropriate.

The RFU’s aim is to create culture where everyone feels confident to raise legitimate concerns without prejudice to their own position. Concerns about the behaviour of coaches, officials or any members of the paid and volunteer workforce which may be harmful to a child or vulnerable adult in their care must be reported to the RFU Safeguarding Team through the Club Safeguarding Officer
or CB Safeguarding Manager. While remembering that it is the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable adults that is of paramount importance, there will be times when those responsible will need to exercise discretion and common sense to ensure their wellbeing. This guidance is designed to provide information on a number of different topics which CBs, clubs and their volunteers and employees may find useful and will help them to create safe, friendly and welcoming environments for children and vulnerable adults.
Further guidance is available from the Club Safeguarding Toolkit, or from rfu.com/ManagingRugby, or the RFU Safeguarding Team.

Safe Environments
A safe environment is one where:
the possibility of abuse is openly acknowledged; volunteers and employees are vetted and trained;
and those who report suspicions and concerns are confident that these will be treated seriously and
confidentially. Communication is central to maintaining a safe environment; this includes information given to parents at the start of the season (such as the CSO’s name), choosing the correct and appropriate method of providing information to children and vulnerable adults (email/phone to parents), listening to children’s views on matters which affect them, as well as considering how to communicate in an emergency (mobile/landline). Messages relating to children, sent via telephone, emails and texts, should be through their parents/guardians. Where appropriate older players may be copied in but this should always be done by blind copying in order to protect their data. Direct personal communication with children should always be avoided, unless in exceptional circumstances.

Recruitment
Clubs should have a suitable paid and/or volunteer workforce and all reasonable steps should be taken to exclude anyone who may pose a threat to children or vulnerable adults. When recruiting new volunteers, clubs should consider asking anyone unknown to the club to provide a written reference, which the club should then verify.

Training
Clubs should encourage all adults who have a coaching role to attend an appropriate Rugby Union Coaching Award course and an RFU Safeguarding and Protecting Young People in Rugby Union training course. All Club Safeguarding Officers must, within six months of being appointed, attend the RFU Club Safeguarding Officers Workshop, which covers their role and responsibilities. Failure to attend means they may not be permitted to continue in the role. The behaviour and performance of new volunteers and employees should be monitored for a period to ensure they are using best practice.

Supervision
To provide a safe environment, clubs should ensure that their volunteers and employees when working with children or vulnerable adults avoid working in isolation out of the sight of parents or other volunteers. Whilst volunteers and employees are awaiting their CRB disclosure they must be supervised by someone who does have CRB clearance. Contingency planning should ensure

that if a player’s injury requires significant attention, or coaches are absent or away with a team, levels of supervision can be maintained by suitably vetted individuals. However, in an emergency, the first attention must be paid to an injured player and if there are insufficient suitably vetted people available to supervise the remaining players, clearly, responsible adults will need to be asked to step in.

Adult : Child Ratios
There should always be more than one suitably vetted adult in charge of any group of children or vulnerable adults. The RFU recommends a minimum ratio of:
• 1:10 for children over 8 years old or vulnerable adults
• 1:8 for children under 8 years old
• 1:6 for children under 7 years old

On Tour
These Policy guidelines apply equally on tour as at the club. When on tour if an adult is solely there supporting their own child they will not need CRB clearance but they will if they are acting in any official capacity with other children. This would apply to those on bedtime or other supervisory duties. When on tour with a group of vulnerable adults clubs are advised to conduct a thorough risk assessment and apply a suitable ratio based on the individuals and their companions/carers within the tour party. For more detailed guidance please read the Club Safeguarding Toolkit and Tour guidelines.

Inappropriate Relationships with Children or Vulnerable Adults
An adult in a position of trust must not enter into a sexual relationship with a child in their care. Sexual intercourse, sexual activity, or inappropriate touching by an adult with a child under the age of 16 years is a criminal offence, even where there is apparent consent from the child. A consensual sexual relationship between an adult in a position of trust and a child over 16 years of age, or a vulnerable adult, is a breach of trust and an abuse of the adult’s position. Whilst it may not be a criminal offence, in a rugby union setting it will be treated very seriously and may result in RFU disciplinary action, including suspension from attending rugby clubs. The RFU has a legal duty to refer anyone removed from Regulated Activity to the Independent Safeguarding Authority. Therefore, an adult in a position of trust involved in a consensual sexual relationship with a child over 16 years of age, or a vulnerable adult, may be referred to the ISA for consideration. This could result in the adult being barred from working with children or vulnerable adults by the ISA. No-one in a position of trust should encourage a physical or emotionally dependent relationship to develop between them and a child or vulnerable adult in their care; this is often referred to as grooming. Adults must never send children or vulnerable adults inappropriate or sexually provocative messages or images by text, or other electronic media.

Safeguarding Disabled Children & Vulnerable Adults
Disabled children and adults and their families may need additional information, help and support. The club’s paid and volunteer workforce may require training and advice to ensure they include and safeguard them. Some children and vulnerable adults may be more susceptible to harm than other participants because they may: lack the mutual support and protection of a peer group, require higher degrees of physical care and support, have limited communication skills, find it difficult to resist inappropriate interventions, have several carer making it difficult to identify an abuser,

have a history of having limited or no choice or have a degree of dependency on a carer conflicting with the need to report harm or raise concerns. For disabled children, the RFU recognises the guidance in the Government document Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) which states: Detailed guidance covering a wide range of disabilities and strategies for managing challenging behaviour may be found at: rfu.com/ManagingRugby.

Good role models
The paid and volunteer workforce should consistently display high standards of personal behaviour and appearance and refrain from pursuits considered unhealthy in front of their players. They must not make sexually explicit comments to children or vulnerable adults and any language which causes them to feel uncomfortable or lose confidence or self-esteem is unacceptable, as is the use of obscene or foul language.

Alcohol
It is important that all rugby clubs’ management committees take considered, positive action to ensure that they are responsible licensees. It is against the law:
• To sell alcohol to someone under 18
• For an adult to buy or attempt to buy alcohol on behalf of someone under 18
• For someone under 18 to buy alcohol, attempt to buy alcohol or to be sold alcohol
• For someone under 18 to drink alcohol in licensed premises, with one exception - 16 and 17 year olds accompanied by an adult can drink but not buy beer, wine and cider with a table meal
• For an adult to buy alcohol for a person under 18 for consumption on licensed premises, except as above
At training sessions and games for children, adults’ drinking habits may affect both children’s attitude to alcohol and their emotional well-being. As role models adults should avoid excessive drinking in their presence. The unexpected can always happen; there should always be adults who abstain from drinking alcohol to deal with any emergencies and to manage the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable adults in their care.

Contact rugby
The wellbeing and safety of children and vulnerable adults must be placed above the development of performance. Contact skills must be taught in a safe, secure manner paying due regard to the physical development of the players involved. Adults and children must never play contact versions of the sport together including training games or contact drills. They may play either tag or touch rugby together if these games are managed and organised appropriately (rfu.com/TakingPart/Play/Leisure). A risk assessment on the conditions, players and apparent risks should be carried out by a person responsible for the overall session.

Coaching techniques
Any inappropriate or aggressive contact or touching between adults and children or vulnerable adults is unacceptable and a number of principles should be followed when teaching contact rugby:
• Physical handling by a coach must only be used for safety reason or where there is no other way of coaching the technique (Level 1 Coaching Award in Rugby Union)
• The reasons for physical contact should be explained wherever practicable so that children and their parents are comfortable with this approach.
The activity should always be conducted in an open environment and in the presence of another
appropriately vetted adult.
Physical intervention
Discipline on the field of play is the responsibility of the players. Coaches, team managers and parents must always promote good discipline amongst their players, both on and off the field. Penalising lack of discipline on the field of play which contravenes the laws of the game is the responsibility of the referee. Coaches, managers and spectators should not intervene or enter the field of play. Coaches of U7s and U8s may direct and develop play in a coaching sense on the field of play from behind their teams. In a situation where individuals have to consider whether to intervene to prevent a child being injured, injuring themselves or others, physical intervention should always be avoided unless absolutely necessary. In these situations it is imperative to:
• Consider your own safety
• Give verbal instructions first
• Use the minimum reasonable force and only when necessary to resolve the incident, the purpose being restraint and reducing risk
• Do not strike blows, act with unnecessary force or retaliate
• Avoid contact with intimate parts of the body, the head and neck
• Stay in control of your actions
The CSO or CBSM should be notified at the earliest opportunity of an incident of physical intervention which involves possible dispute as a complaint might be lodged with the RFU or the police by a parent whose child has been physically restrained. The incident should be recorded on the RFU Incident Report Form and sent to the RFU’s Safeguarding Team. Further guidance on managing challenging behaviour can be found at rfu.com/ManagingRugby

Changing rooms and showers
Adults and children must never use the same facilities to shower or change at the same time. Adults must only enter changing rooms when absolutely necessary due to poor behaviour, injury or illness. Adults must only ever enter the changing rooms by themselves in an emergency and when waiting for another adult could result in harm to a child. If children or vulnerable adults need supervising in changing rooms, or coaches or managers need to carry out a range of tasks in that environment this must involve two suitably vetted adults of the same gender as the children or vulnerable adults. For mixed gender activities separate facilities should be available. If the same facilities must be used by adults and children or vulnerable adults on the same day a clear timetable should be established. No pressure should be placed on children or vulnerable adults who feel uncomfortable changing or showering with others, if this is the case they should be allowed to shower and change at home.
Where a disability requires significant support from a parent; or carer, the person concerned and their parents should decide how they should be assisted to change or shower. Before any assistance is offered by another person, appropriate consent should be given by a parent.

Transportation
Clubs should develop a transport policy preferably publicised to parents via the club welcome pack and club website giving advice on dropping off and collecting children. It should be made clear that in most instances it is the responsibility of parents, not the club, to transport their child or vulnerable adult to and from the club or nominated meeting point. If parents make arrangements
between themselves this is a private arrangement and at the parents’ discretion. If the club formally arranges transport eg using minibuses or people carriers (as opposed to facilitating travel arrangements between parents) then the club should ensure that:
• Drivers have a valid driving licence and recruitment procedures, including vetting criteria have been followed and appropriate insurance and breakdown cover has been arranged

• The vehicle is suitable for the number of passengers and has operational safety belts and appropriate child car seats
• Parents give their consent and have the driver’s contact details, with the driver having easy access to parents’ contact details including mobile phone numbers
• No child or vulnerable adult is left alone in the car with the driver, unless it is the adult’s own child or vulnerable adult. If, in extenuating circumstances, this situation arises the child or vulnerable adult should sit in the back of the car if possible
• The children involved are happy with the arrangement and adults are alert to any signs of disquiet.
If a club hires a coach from a reputable commercial coach company it is entitled to assume that the company provides properly maintained and insured vehicles and properly licensed drivers. However, children must never travel unaccompanied. A member of the club must travel with the children and that adult’s contact details must be readily available to any parent who has reason to contact them. In the event of a late collection of children or vulnerable adults, coaches and volunteers should: attempt to contact the parents, wait with the child or vulnerable adult, preferably in the company of others, notify the CSO/ club official and remind parents of their responsibility to collect their child
promptly.

Photographic Images
The RFU welcomes the taking of appropriate images of children in rugby clubs and has developed guidance for parents and the paid and volunteer workforce to enable suitable photographs to be taken celebrating the Core Values of the sport. There are risks associated with the use of photographic images. RFU Guidance on Photographic Images and professional photography can be found on the Safeguarding pages of rfu.com; it is based on common sense. Clubs are advised to ensure that everyone is fully aware of, and complies with, this guidance.

Sharing of electronic material/media
Clubs and CBs should be made aware of the advice contained in the Cyber- Guidance, available on Safeguarding pages of rfu.com. Websites can be a positive way to communicate with children. However, there are risks associated with internet usage. Rugby clubs are legally responsible for their website content and there should be nothing included which could harm a child, directly or indirectly. It is important to note that it is not acceptable to share sexually explicit or inappropriate material via any form of media with children or vulnerable adults. The online environment is ever changing; the guidance will be reviewed and updated when necessary.

Wortley RUFC

1. Child Protection 1