BRITISH GYMNASTICS CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

 3.1 GOOD PRACTICE FOR CLUBS

It is essential that child protection is paramount for all club activities, not only to provide the best possible protection for children in gymnastics, but also to avoid allegations of poor practice and to ensure the safety of staff and participants. Failure to follow the following guidelines could place young people, coaches and the club in a vulnerable position.

• Adoption of the British Gymnastics' Child & Vulnerable Adults protection policy and procedures.

• Promotion of the policy to all club members and parents to show the club's commitment to a safe environment.

• Promotion of an environment where all legitimate concerns can be raised without fear of victimisation or reprisal.

• Establishing procedures through which complaints or concerns can be voiced and dealt with confidentially, complying with BG reporting guidelines.

• Requesting written consent for participation, contact details, photography consent, medical information and an agreement to act in loco parentis in an emergency.

• Keeping written records of any poor practice or child protection related incident and accidents, and any action taken.

• Provision of regular training for coaches, assistants and officials.

• Provision of an open-door environment.

• Ensuring that every effort is made to prevent situations where an adult is alone with a child or group of young people.

• Ensuring that there are at least two responsible adults present at training sessions.

• Ensuring that there are good practice guidelines in place for any trips or events away from the regular training venue. (Refer to BG Club Management module for further guidance)

• Keeping parents and gymnasts fully informed about child protection procedures.

• Designating a person to deal with child protection and welfare issues and ensuring this person undergoes a criminal records disclosure and receives appropriate training.

• Ensuring that equal opportunities and equity policies are adhered to, and that discrimination is prohibited.

• Careful screening of all coaches, helpers, or officials according to the guidelines.

• Adopting British Gymnastics' guidelines to control the use of photographic and filming equipment, and monitor the use of photographic materials involving children.

• Publicising an anti-bullying policy.

• Providing regular Monitoring and Appraisal opportunities to receive feedback regarding staff training needs and issues such as poor coaching practice.

• Encouraging coaches to observe exponents of good coaching practice.

• Offering support to those who report concerns regarding suspicious or poor practice.

3.2 GOOD PRACTICE FOR COACHES AND OFFICIALS

All participants have the right to be safe and to be treated with dignity and respect. The promotion of good practice will reduce the possibility of abusive situations occurring. A good and caring coach will continually reflect upon their own coaching style, philosophy and practices to ensure the safety and well-being of the participants at all times. Although these guidelines are written with coaches in mind, they are applicable to all adults with access to children through gymnastics.The following are examples of good practice, which will create a safe and desirable environment:-

• Always be publicly open when working with children. Avoid situations where a coach and an individual child or vulnerable adult cannot be observed.

• Always ensure that there is at least one other responsible adult present during training sessions.

• Care should be taken when providing manual support (spotting). Recognised/advised techniques for spotting should be used. Avoid inappropriate contact.*

• Where possible, parents should be responsible for young children in the changing rooms or toilets. If a group of children must be supervised in the changing rooms try to ensure that adults work in pairs to supervise the children.

• Ensure that if mixed teams are taken away on trips, at least one male and one female member of staff accompany the gymnasts.

• Treat all participants equally with respect and dignity.• Always place the safety and welfare of the participants as the highest priority.• Behave in an exemplary manner and provide a role model for excellent behaviour.

• Keep up to date with your knowledge and technical skills.

• Do not exceed the level of your competence and qualifications.

• Respect the needs and wishes of the participants and do not exert them against their will.

• Recognise the stage of psychological and physical development of the individual and avoid excessive training or competition.

• Motivate the participants through positive feedback and constructive criticism.

• Create a safe and enjoyable situation.

• Obtain written consent from parents to act in loco parentis and, if the need arises, to administer emergency first aid, and/or other medical treatment.

• Request written consent from parents when children and young people are required to be transported by coaches or officials.

• Maintain a written report of any incident or injury together with any subsequent treatment or action.

• Ensure all members of BG adhere to the codes of ethics and code of conduct and antidoping policy

• Do not take a child alone on a car journey accept in unforeseen circumstances.Where these situations are unavoidable, they should only occur with the full knowledge and consent of the senior coach/official in the club and/or the child’s parents. If transporting children, obtain prior consent from parents. Organise central pick-up and drop-off points to ensure the driver is not alone with a child and make sure the route and breaks (if necessary) are well planned.

Practice never to be condoned.  You should never:-

• Take children to your home or other secluded place where they will be alone with you.

• Engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games.

• Share a room with a child.

• Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching.

• Make sexually suggestive remarks to a child or vulnerable adult - even in fun.

• Reduce a child to tears as a form of control.

• Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged.

• Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon.

• Do things of a personal nature for a child that they can do for themselves, unless you have been requested to do so by the parents, or do so with the utmost discretion.

• Depart from the premises until you have supervised the safe dispersal of the children.

• Abuse your privileged position of power or trust with children or adults.

• Resort to bullying tactics, or verbal abuse.

• Cause a participant to lose self esteem by embarrassing, humiliating or undermining the individual.

• Spend excessive amounts of time alone with children away from others. British Gymnastics accepts that on occasion there may be situations where the unexpected does occur. In these situations, you should report immediately to another colleague and make a brief written note of the event. Where appropriate ensure that the parent is informed of any incident. Examples could include:-- If a young person becomes distressed in your presence.- If you accidentally hurt a child.- If a young person misunderstands/misinterprets something you have said or done.- If a performer appears to be sexually aroused by your actions.

*Additional Guidance on Spotting and Manual Support

Supporting and shaping the gymnast is an essential part of coaching gymnastics in that it helps the gymnast to understand shapes, movement patterns and complex skills, but also reduces the risk of injury due to a fall or error in performance. Guidance on appropriate/recognized supporting techniques is given on British Gymnastics coaching awards but the coach must ensure that support is only used when necessary and “over-handling” is avoided. However the coach should always be alert to the possibility of performance errors or anxiety, which may increase the risk of injury.Supporting techniques must not inhibit performance, and any physical contact should not be invasive of sensitive areas of the body.Infrequent non-intentional physical contact can arise out of error on the performer or coaches part. Such situations should not be ignored and should be acknowledged through an apology to the gymnast and reported to the Club Welfare Officer or head coach and parents.It is also good practice to explain and provide some written guidance, perhaps as part of an induction pack, to new members and parents that some physical contact will be required but that only appropriate non-invasive techniques should be used. If a gymnast or parent has any concerns, they should be raised with the club welfare officer. In any circumstance where abuse is suspected, BG reporting procedures should be followed.

3.3 GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS

A good coach will develop a strong, trusting bond with his/her gymnasts. This is essential in a successful coach/gymnast relationship. However, as a parent you should check that:-•

 The club has a published child protection policy, which ensures that all young people are protected and kept safe from harm. Clubs may adopt a Health, Safety and Welfare policy, which includes a Child Protection policy and procedures.

• The club has an anti-bullying policy.

• The club has codes of conduct for all members including coaches, staff and volunteers, parents and gymnasts.

• There is a designated person (Welfare Officer) in place with a responsibility for Child Protection, and young people and adults are aware that they can talk to them about concerns without fear of victimisation or reprisal.

• There are procedures in place for dealing with concern, complaints and disciplinary issues.

• The club has procedures in place for safe recruitment including criminal record disclosures.

• The coach in charge has a minimum qualification of BG Club Coach Award.

• The coach has a qualification appropriate to the gymnasts' performance level.

• The club makes every effort to ensure that at least two responsible adults are present during training sessions. (NB The second adult could be a parent helper or club official)

• There are suitable procedures for intimate care needs for children and the disabled: Routines for toileting and supervising.

• The club encourages all staff and volunteers to attend Child Protection Awareness training.

• There is guidance in place regarding arrangements for travelling to events.

• Parents are not discouraged from watching or becoming involved.