BRITISH GYMNASTICS Helen Monks Regional Welfare Officer

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BRITISH GYMNASTICSHelen MonksRegional Welfare
Officer

• Safeguarding and Protecting Children
• Awareness Training Module
• September 2007

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Safeguarding Children
Means safe gym for all A Common Sense Approach

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Learning Outcomes
OHT 1

• By the end of this workshop, you should be able
  to
• Understand the meaning of a child focused
  approach
• Identify and recognise the key principles of best
  practice
• Identify and understand different forms of abuse
• recognise and respond to the signs and indicators
  of child abuse
• Identify appropriate action if concerns are
  raised
• Course Materials
• Candidates Pack current BG Policy

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Learning Agreement

• Child-focused approach
• Confidentiality
• Respect to other participants
• Anti-discriminatory practice
• Others?

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Contents

• Every Child Matters
• Child-focused Approach
• Duty of Care
• Attitudes Values Poor Practice/Abuse
• Identifying Concerns
• Disclosure and Reporting
• Discussion and closure

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SESSION 1

• EVERY CHILD MATTERS
• A CHANGING CULTURE!

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Every Child Matters

• Relates to safeguarding the welfare of all
  children.
• More than 4 million people in our country work
  with children and many more people volunteer.
• You are one of them!
• Every Child Matters is all about improving
  childrens lives through a reform of childrens
  services.
• The Children Act 2004 provides the legal
  underpinning for Every Child Matters
• At the heart of Every Child Matters are 5 key
  outcomes for children.

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Every Child Matters Outcomes

• The five outcomes are -
• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

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Activity 1

• What part can we play in helping children achieve
  the five outcomes?
• Write down the ways in which you think your club
  can help in each of the 5 outcomes.

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Achieving Outcomes

• Be Healthy - encourage a healthy diet, plenty of
  sleep and exercise
• Stay Safe have all procedures in place to
  minimise the possibility of harm and abuse. Be
  aware of indicators of abuse happening outside
  the gym.

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Achieving Outcomes

• 3. Enjoy and achieve make the gym experience as
  pleasurable as possible. Use sensible
  progressions to achieve realistic goals
• 4. Make a positive contribution enable children
  to have a say in decision making. Encourage young
  people to become involved in coaching or
  officiating.

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Achieving Outcomes

• 5. Achieve economic well-being
• try to enable disadvantaged or minority groups to
  participate in gymnastics. No child should be
  precluded from participation in sport.
• Help children grow in confidence. A confident
  child is more likely to become a confident adult.
• Developing transferable skills
• Give children an interest for life which could
  possibly lead to a sport-related career.

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SESSION 2

• A CHILD-FOCUSED APPROACH

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Children have rights!

• The welfare of the child is paramount

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Childrens Rights

• When children come to your gym they have the
  right to be kept safe, enjoy their time in the
  gym and learn.
• Activity 2
• Write down other basic rights that children have
  when they are at your club/facility.

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Do They Know They Have The Right?

• To be safe
• To be respected and treated fairly
• To achieve their potential
• To protect their own bodies
• To say no
• To get help against bullies
• To tell
• To be believed
• To not have to keep secrets

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Do They Know They Have The Right?

• To speak without fear!
• Help children to understand that in a
  whistle-blowing culture..
• ITS OK TO TELL!

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Listen to Children!

• I expect
• my coach
• to .

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• What young people expect from their coaches
• respect us
• be qualified and know the sport
• listen to us
• encourage us and dont push us too hard
• be a good role model for us
• care about the sport and the gymnasts
• NSPCC CPSU DVD Our Voice in Sport

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Activity 3

• What do you think child-focused means?
• Can you write some points that demonstrate a
  child-focused approach?

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Child focused means -

• Listening to children and hearing what they say
• Valuing and respecting each child as a unique
  individual
• Encouraging and praising
• Consulting
• Giving children the opportunity
  to be involved in decision making

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SESSION 3

• DUTY OF
• CARE

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• Appreciating the Duty of Care
• The duty of care commences from the point of
  receipt of a child to the return to the
  parent/carer
• The duty of care is non transferable
• Always place the safety and welfare of the
  participants as the highest priority

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Appreciating the Duty of Care

• General duty of care
• In loco parentis
• Reasonable person test (how would a reasonable
  trained person behave?)
• Safe environment
• Appropriate physical/psychological development
• Safe progressions
• Exercising reasonable care
• Provision of first aid
• Compliance with the relevant legislation,
  Government guidance and NGB policy

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Clubs must be aware that Parents have the right
to expect that the club to which they entrust
their children will provide appropriate care and
protection for them.
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Activity 4

• You are a caring parent and your child would like
  to join a gym club.
• What sort of questions about safeguarding might
  you ask the Club Manager before your child joins?

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Questions parents may ask

• How do I know the adults here are suitable to
  work with children?
• Is there a written code of behaviour?
• Is there a welfare officer?
• Are the coaches qualified?
• If I am worried how can I voice my concerns?
• Is there a Safeguarding Children Policy?
• Is there a Health and Safety Policy?
• Can I come and watch?
• Will I be encouraged to play a part in the club?

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Role of Welfare Officers

• All clubs must have at least one Welfare Officer.
• The Welfare Officer -
• is the first point of contact for
• raising concerns.
• is responsible for the implementation
• of safeguarding policies and procedures
• at club level.
• Helps to develop a child-focused environment.

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SESSION 4

• ATTITUDES VALUES POOR PRACTICE/ABUSE

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Conduct Behaviour

• Activity 5In respect of the list of behaviours,
  consider where do you feel they sit on a spectrum
  ranging from Excellent practice to practice that
  is harmful to children.

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Continuum of Behaviour

•  
• Harmful Poor OK
  Good Excellent

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Poor Practice

• Common types of poor practice include
• Inappropriate touching
• Use of inappropriate language
• Discrimination on the grounds of disability,
  race, ethnic origins, gender, religion, age,
  sexual orientation etc.
• Bullying/ Harassment
• Abuse of Position of Trust
• Inappropriate use of photographic equipment or
  materials.
• Unsafe environment
• Failure to use appropriate, and safe practice
• Providing inadequate supervision and/or care
• In some circumstances, some of the above examples
  could be considered abuse and be against the law.

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• Best Practice in Sport
• Always follow best practice identified in the BG
  policy
• YOU MUST NOT
• Spend time alone with children away from others.
• Take children alone in your car
• The above should be avoided EXCEPT IN
  EMERGENCIES
• If cases arise where these situations are
  unavoidable, they should occur with the full
  knowledge and consent of someone in charge of the
  organisation and/or the childs parents, e.g. a
  child sustains an injury and needs to be taken to
  hospital, or a parent fails to arrive to pick up
  a child at the end of a session.
• NEVER DEPART FROM THE PREMISES UNTIL YOU HAVE
  SUPERVISED THE SAFE DISPERSAL OF THE CHILDREN.

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Position of Trust

• A relationship of trust
• One party is in a position of power or influence
  by virtue of position e.g. 16/17 year-old gymnast
  and their over-18 coach/club manager etc
• Exploitation of position of trust
• Even though sexual activity may be consensual it
  is unacceptable.

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Position of Trust

• Any situation or behaviour which may allow a
  sexual relationship between a person in a
  position of trust and an individual in their care
  must be avoided.
• Any sexual relationship is unacceptable as long
  as the relationship of trust continues.
• Any concerns relating to the above circumstances
  must be reported to BG HR Ethics Department or
  the appropriate Home Country Lead Officer.

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Forms of abuse Emotional Physical
Neglect Sexual

• Abuse can be carried out within the club, home or
  community.
• It can be overwhelming when abuse is coming from
  more than one direction.

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Emotional Abuse
OHT 15

• Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional
  maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe
  and persistent adverse effects on the childs
  emotional development. It may involve conveying
  to children that they are worthless or unloved,
  inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet
  the needs of another person. It may feature age
  or developmentally inappropriate expectations
  being imposed on children. These may include
  interactions that are beyond the childs
  developmental capability, as well as
  overprotection and limitation of exploration and
  learning, or preventing the child participating
  in normal social interaction. It may involve
  seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.
  It may involve serious bullying, causing children
  frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or
  the exploitation or corruption of children. Some
  level of emotional abuse in involved in all types
  of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur
  alone.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children HM
  Government 2006

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Emotional Abuse in Sport

• This can also occur in a number of ways. For
  example, where
• children are being shouted at or taunted
• bullying is taking place
• too much pressure is put on the gymnast

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Bullying
OHT 16

• Bullying is deliberate hurtful behaviour, usually
  repeated over a period of time, where it is
  difficult for those being bullied to defend
  themselves. Bullying can be verbal, written
  (often by text/e-mail/online) or physical.
• Bullying might be by peers or by adults
• All clubs should have an anti-bullying policy
  which children help to formulate.

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Physical Abuse
OHT 13

• Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking,
  throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding,
  drowning, suffocating, or otherwise causing
  physical harm to a child.
• Physical harm may also be caused when a parent
  or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or
  deliberately induces, illness in a child.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children HM
  Government 2006

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Physical Abuse in sport

• performance enhancing drugs are used
• when the nature and intensity of training exceeds
  the capacity of the childs immature and growing
  body
• The child is given the wrong advice on diet and
  nutrition
• the child is pressurised into losing weight.

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Neglect
OHT 12

• Neglect is the persistent failure to meet the
  childs basic physical and/or psychological
  needs, likely to result in the serious impairment
  of the childs health or development. Neglect may
  occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal
  substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect
  may involve a parent or carer failing to
• provide adequate food, clothing and shelter
  (including exclusion from home or abandonment)
• protect a child from physical and emotional harm
  and danger
• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of
  inadequate care-givers)
• Ensure access to appropriate medical care or
  treatment
• It may also include neglect of, or
  unresponsiveness to, a childs basic needs.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children HM
  Government 2006

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Neglect in sport

• Neglect in a sports situation might also occur
  if a teacher or coach fails to ensure children
  are safe or exposes them to undue cold or risk of
  injury.

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Sexual Abuse.
OHT 14

• Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a
  child or young person to take part in sexual
  activities, including prostitution, whether or
  not the child is aware of what is happening. The
  activities may involve physical contact,
  including penetrative (e.g. rape, buggery or oral
  sex) or non-penetrative acts. They may include
  non-contact activities such as involving children
  in looking at, or in the production of, sexual
  online images, watching sexual activities, or
  encouraging children to behave in sexually
  inappropriate ways.
• Working Together to Safeguard Children HM
  Government 2006

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Sexual Abuse in sport.

• Sports situations which involve physical contact
  (e.g. supporting or guiding children) could
  potentially create situations where sexual abuse
  may go unnoticed.
• Abusive situations may also occur if adults
  misuse their power over young people.

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SESSION 5

• IDENTIFYING
• CONCERNS

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Activity 6

• Identifying concerns
• Consider the possible forms of abuse of children
  in terms of -
• a) What you may see
• b) What children may say
• c) How children may behave

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Typical Signs of Abuse
OHT 17

• unexplained bruising or injuries, particularly in
  unusual places
• an injury where the explanation seems
  inconsistent
• sexually explicit language/actions/awareness
• unexplained changes in behaviour
• unable to make friends/ prevented from
  socialising
• mistrust of adults with whom a good relationship
  is expected
• variations in eating patterns over eating/loss
  of appetite
• the child describes an act that appears to be
  abusive
• something another child has said which could
  suggest abuse
• the child becomes increasingly dirty and unkempt
• loss of weight for no apparent reason
• These signs may not be proof of abuse but should
  raise concerns. In addition you should be aware
  of behaviour changes or for a cluster of signs.

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Activity 7

• Amy and Tavi Stories
• Consider the scenarios and discuss
• Your feelings/emotions/concerns
• What action you would take
• Any other considerations

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Responding to concerns

• Report concern to the Welfare Officer
• Poor practice must be challenged
• The Welfare Officer must work with the club
  committee/management/coaching staff to address
  poor practice concerns
• Report the concern to BG if the behaviour
  continues
• Contact BG if the concerns are about Welfare
  Officer

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Concerns

• Some behaviours are
• - Abusive
• Unacceptable
• Illegal
• Breaches of policy/code of practice
• It is not your role to decide but if you are
  concerned you must ensure your concern is
  reported.

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Which of these has abused a child?

• Do you know which one it is?

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Can you tell?

• No, it is impossible!

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Who Sexually Abuses Children?

• The Myth
• Dirty old man
• Loner
• Weird-looking person
• Single man with no children
• Someone of low intelligence

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Who Sexually abuses Children?(outside the family)

• The reality
• 70 were perpetrated by a boyfriend/girlfriend
• 17 were perpetrated by 'someone I recently met'
• 10 were perpetrated by a fellow student/pupil
• 6 were perpetrated by a friend of their parents
• 6 were perpetrated by a friend of their
  brother/sister
• Less than 1 experienced abuse by professionals
  in a position of trust, for example a teacher,
  religious leader or care/social worker
• Cawson et al. (2000) Child maltreatment in the
  United Kingdom a study of the prevalence of
  child abuse and neglect. London NSPCC.

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How Abusers Target and Groom

• Sexual abusers can be very clever
• They may spend years grooming their target
• They are often charismatic, lively people
• They may go to great lengths to be popular
• They are manipulative
• They will not only groom their target, but also
  their families and others.
• They may hold positions of power

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How Abusers Target and Groom

• They -
• create one to one situations
• develop special friendships
• make promises of success
• engage family, friends and other people of
  influence
• use text, internet chat rooms
• have special secrets
• extend the relationship from the gym to
  socialising
• Use gifts to buy affection

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Activity 8 Case Study Peter and Jack

• Your tutor will take you through the case of
  Peter and Jack.
• At various points you will be asked if you have
  any concerns.
• If you have concerns please raise them with the
  group.
• Where concerns are raised what actions might be
  taken?

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Everyones Responsibilities

• Everyone is responsible for safeguarding
  children.
• It is not your responsibility to decide whether
  or not a child is being abused
• .but it is your responsibility to act if you
  have any concerns.
• All concerns or allegations must be reported.

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SESSION 6 Disclosure and Reporting

• I want to tell you a secret..

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Responding to a Child Making an Allegation of
Abuse

• stay calm
• listen carefully to what is said
• find an appropriate early opportunity to explain
  that it is likely the information will have to be
  shared with others - do not promise to keep
  secrets
• allow the child to continue at his/her own pace
• only ask questions for clarification, to ensure
  you meet the threshold for referral to statutory
  agencies
• reassure the child that they have done the right
  thing in telling you
• tell them what you will do next and with whom the
  information will be shared
• record in writing what was said using the childs
  own words as soon as possible - note date, time,
  any names mentioned, to whom the information was
  given and ensure the record is signed and dated.

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Remember! Keep notes of the initial disclosure on
the same day as it happened. Hand write the
notes, sign and date them and write exactly what
the child has said, not what you think the child
has said. Do not probe if the child tells you
what happened, who did it, where it happened and
when write it down but do not ask if the
information is not disclosed. The initial
response to the child is critical. It is very
likely that you will be responding to concerns
raised by others a friend, another coach or a
parent. Take all concerns seriously.
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Reporting A Concern Of Suspected Abuse

• The first point of contact is the Club Welfare
  Officer.
• If the W.O. is unavailable do not delay!
• Report to BG and to Police or Childrens Social
  Care Services immediately.
• Follow up with your written report to both the
  external agency and to BG.
• It is everyones responsibility to safeguard
  children

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Suspensions

• Where a member is under investigation by the
  police and/or Childrens Social Care Services, BG
  will suspend the member until the case is
  resolved
• British Gymnastics provides a support service for
  suspended members that includes the services of
  an independent Member Support Officer.
• British Gymnastics also provides a free
  independent, confidential, over-the-phone
  counselling service for all members and their
  immediate families.

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Discussion -Closure

• Has awareness been increased?
• Feed back welcome
• Implementation Training is the next stage
• Training for Welfare Officers
• Links to GymMark scheme
• Certificate of attendance
• Further information from BG
• Thank you for your input and support.

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Thank you for caring about us!
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Helen MonksRegional Welfare Officer

• 07811 382 153
• helendmonks_at_homecall.co.uk