W.A.A. Safeguarding Policy

Whittlesey Angling Association acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice and The Child Protection in Sport requirements.

Whittlesey Angling Association recognises that the welfare and interests of children and adults are paramount in all circumstances. Therefore, it aims to ensure that regardless of age, gender, religion or beliefs, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or socio-economic background, all persons:

• have a positive and enjoyable experience of sport in all activities run and supported by Whittlesey Angling Association and can do so in a safe environment

• are protected from abuse whilst participating in angling on our waters.

The welfare of children and adults is paramount.

• A child is defined by law in England and Wales as a person under the age of 18 years.
• All children and adults, regardless of their age, race, religion or belief, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation, have the right to protection from abuse.
• All concerns and allegations of abuse and poor practice will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
• All children and adults have the right to be safe.
• All children and adults have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
• Whittlesey Angling Association will work with adults, children and their parents/carers and external organisations to safeguard the welfare of children and adults participating in angling.
• We recognise the authority of the statutory agencies and are committed to complying with Local Safeguarding Children Board Guidelines (LSCB),
• Working Together under the Children Act 2004, and any legislation and statutory guidance that supersedes these.
• Whittlesey Angling Association is committed to working in partnership with other key UK Angling bodies (e.g. Angling Trust) to continually improve and to promote safeguarding initiatives across the sport.
• Whittlesey Angling Association owes a legal duty of care to children and adults on their premises or engaged in their activities.

Whittlesey Angling Association aims to:

• Provide a safe environment for children, young people and adults participating in angling activities and try to ensure that they enjoy the experience.
• Ensure robust systems are in place to manage any concerns or allegations.
• Support adults (committee members, coaches, volunteers and external visitors) to understand their roles and responsibilities regarding their duty of care and protection of children and adults.
• Provide appropriate level training and resources for coaches to make informed and confident responses to specific safeguarding issues and fulfil their role effectively.
• Ensure that children and their parents/carers are informed and consulted and, where appropriate, fully involved in decisions that affect them.
• Reassure parents and carers that all children and young people will receive the best care possible whilst participating in club activities and communicate Policy and Procedure to them through website/letter/consents.

Whittlesey Angling Association will seek to promote the principles of safeguarding children by:

Reviewing their policy and procedures every three years or whenever there is a major change in legislation. Guidance from Angling Trust will be sought as part of the review process.

Conducting a risk assessment of any activities with regard to safeguarding and take appropriate action to address the identified issues within suitable timescales.

Using appropriate recruitment procedures to assess the suitability of coaches and volunteers working with children and young people in line with guidance from the Angling Trust.

Following National Governing Body (NGB) procedures to report concerns and allegations about the behaviour of adults and ensuring that all coaches, volunteers, parents and children are aware of these procedures.

All coaches/volunteers will work with at least one other coach/volunteer to ensure that no individual is placed in a vulnerable situation.

Coaching sessions for under 18s will be conducted in public spaces. Parents/Carers must attend/support these sessions.

During children’s matches the children must be accompanied by a parent/carer.

During mixed adult/children matches children must be accompanied by a parent/carer.

Children will be given a peg next to their parent/carer if both are fishing.

Safeguarding concerns may be incidents of minor poor practice, serious or repeated poor practice or actual abuse. The suggestion that a child, young person or adult has or is being abused can evoke strong emotions. It can be very difficult to hear suspicions or allegations, but it is important that concerns are acted on and reported to the appropriate authorities to deal with in a timely manner. Sometimes concerns will involve individuals operating within angling (e.g. coaches, volunteers or other anglers) and sometimes they will involve issues that have occurred outside of the sport (e.g. at home, school or in the wider community). In either case where you are concerned about a child’s welfare this should be reported to the Club Welfare Officer (CWO), Deputy Angling Trust Safeguarding Officer or AT Safeguarding Officer (ATSO).

Every sports organisation should designate a person to promote the welfare of children and vulnerable adults within the sport.

Reporting/referral procedure when a safeguarding concern arises:

Even if you are unsure about how serious your concerns about a young person may be, you should first contact your CWO, then the ATSO or Deputy ATSO to discuss this as soon as possible.

If the child or adult requires emergency medical attention, contact the emergency services and inform them that this may be a safeguarding concern. If the CWO, ATSO or Deputy ATSO are not available, contact Children’s Social Care or the Police for advice and inform the CWO, ATSO or Deputy ATSO at the earliest opportunity.

to record the information provided and will then report to the ATSO or the deputy ATSO for further guidance. If neither ATSO or the deputy ATSO are available the CWO will contact the relevant professional bodies.

If the concern is about the CWO then this should be reported to the club chairman, the ATSO or the deputy ATSO.

Recording of any incident should initially follow this procedure. In all situations, including those in which the cause of concern arises either from a disclosure of abuse or from suspicion of abuse, it is vitally important to record the details, regardless of whether they are shared with a statutory agency, as soon as possible using the Incident Report Form in the AT Guidance Documents. All coaches should be informed on how to complete these either by the CWO or from the AT.

An accurate note should be made of the following information:

• Name of person reporting the incident;

• Date, time and location of the incident, disclosure or suspicious conversation or observation;

• Name, age and any impairment of the individual about the person concerned;

• Any information you have about relevant adults who are involved in the concern;

• Parties who were involved, including witnesses;

• What was said, seen or done and by whom;

• Whether consent to share information has been given and if not, whether there is an over-riding public concern about safety of the individual or others;

• Distinguish between facts and opinions;

• Name of the designated person, whether they have been contacted and when. If not, who has been informed and when;

• Immediate actions taken and date of actions;

• Who else has been informed or should be informed;

• Whether a coach or volunteer is involved in the allegation and any further action, e.g. suspension;

• What support is required and has been offered to the child or vulnerable adult, the volunteer or member of Whittlesey Angling Association Committee involved;

The record should be clear and factual as it may be needed by child or adult protection agencies, and may, in the future, be used as evidence in court. Records should be kept securely and only shared with those who need to know about the incident, in line with General Data Protection Regulations. Throughout the process of any safeguarding cases, accurate records should be made and maintained.

Some children, young people or vulnerable adults may seek to speak to club coaches or volunteers in confidence about harm or abuse. Coaches and volunteers must understand that it is not possible to give young people absolute guarantees of confidentiality because they would be unable to take steps to protect them or others. It is particularly difficult if the coach or volunteer has a good relationship with the person and worries that this might be jeopardised by passing on information.

Personal information acquired in the course of being involved in sport with children, young people and adults can be regarded as confidential. However, information that relates to potential or actual harm to children or young people must be passed on in line with the AT information sharing guidance.

Every effort should also be made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained with information shared on a ‘need to know basis’ only. This includes but is not limited to the following people:

• the Club/Regional Welfare Officer;

• the parents of the person who is alleged to have been abused (only following advice from ATSO and/or Children’s Social Care);

• Children’s Social Care/police;

• ATSO and AT Chief Executive;

• the alleged abuser (and parents if the alleged abuser is a young person) but only following advice from ATSO and/or Children’s Social Care.