Child Protection Policy

Billingham Amateur Swimming Club complies with Swim Englands Child Protection Policy and Procedures, and the Swim England Policy for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults.  In this Policy, “child” or “young person” shall be construed to include “vulnerable adult” and “children” or “young persons” shall be construed to include “vulnerable adults” as defined in the Swim England Policy for the Protection of Vulnerable Adults’. National Standards have been developed by the NSPCC that aim to promote best practice so that a safe environment for children and young people is achieved.

The principles behind these standards are: –

  • The Child’s welfare is the first consideration.
  • All Children regardless of age, any disability they might have, gender, racial origin, religious belief and sexual orientation have a right to enjoy sport and be protected from abuse and exploitation.
  • Sporting organisations have a duty of care to children and young people who take part in our sport.
  • The welfare of children is the responsibility of everyone involved in the club, i.e. administrator, club official, coach, teacher, parent, friend and the children themselves. Everyone involved can help.

Billingham Amateur Swimming Club acknowledges their duty of care towards all our members and is committed to a practice that protects children from harm. BASC ensure that those persons working with children undertake the appropriate training and relevant DBS checks and adhere to the required practices for safeguarding children. It is generally acknowledged that there are five main types of abuse: –

  • Physical, which involves hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scolding, drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing physical harm or deliberate ill health to a child. It might also occur if a child is forced to train beyond his / her capabilities.
  • Sexual, which involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. It may involve physical contact, including penetrative or non-penetrative acts, involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.
  • Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child that adversely effects their development. It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless, unloved, and inadequate, or where inappropriate expectations are put upon them. In a sporting connect this include severe parental or coaching pressure to succeed. Racially and sexually abusive remarks constitute emotional abuse and it can be a feature of bullying.
  • Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and / or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development, such as failing to provide shelter, food clothing, or unresponsiveness to a child’s basic emotional needs. In a sporting contact it could also mean failing to ensure that a child is safe or exposing them to harm.
  • Bullying is the use of aggression with the intention of hurting another person. Bullying results in pain and distress to the victim.

A child is defined as a person under the age of eighteen (Children Act 1989)

All volunteers of the club are required to accept and recognise their responsibility to develop awareness of the issues that cause children harm and training in this field is provided and promoted within the club. We prioritise the sharing of information about child protection and good practice with children, parents and volunteers.

We acknowledge our responsibility towards sharing information about concerns with agencies that need to know and involving parents and children appropriately.  

Should any swimmer or parent / carer or any other person wish to raise any issue related to child welfare please contact the Club’s Welfare Officers Dawn Reed or Helen Crank via the designated email below –

WELFARE CONCERNS –

Email – Welfare@billinghamasc.co.uk

Any incidents/complaints will be addressed and recorded in line with ASA welfare in swimmers procedures and guides document and wave power. The aim of wave power is to safeguard all children in line with current legislation, regulations and guidance. Wave power guidance can be found here.
 
Other useful numbers if you wish to report concerns relating to the welfare of our swimmers: –
  • NSPCC  –     0808 800 5000
  • Childline  –     0800 1111
  • The Swim England Swimline  –     0808 100 4001