Safeguarding Policy

1. ETPRM acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and youths involved with ETPRM or any of its staff. This policy applies to all ETPRM staff and volunteers, including trustees, stakeholders, participants and the general public. ETPRM includes Ealing Trailfinders professional men’s team, Trailfinders Academy, Trailfinders Women’s, the Community Department and the Ealing Foundation Trust.
2. ETPRM confirms that it adheres to the Rugby Football Union’s Safeguarding Policy and the procedures, practices, and guidelines and endorses and adopts the Policy Statement contained in that document and any successor policy.
3. A child is anyone under the age of 18.
4. The Key Principles of the RFU Safeguarding Policy are:
   • The child’s welfare is, and must always be, paramount to any other considerations.
   • All participants, regardless of age, gender, ability or disability, race, faith, culture, size, shape, language or sexual identity, have the right to protection from abuse or harm. All allegations or suspicions of abuse, neglect, harm and poor practice will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly, fairly and appropriately.
   • Working in partnership with other organisations, statutory agencies, parents, carers, children, and young people is essential for the welfare of children.
   • Children have a right to expect support and personal and social development delivered by an appropriately recruited, vetted and managed about their participation in rugby union, whether they are playing, volunteering or officiating in the community or professional areas of the sport.
5. ETPRM recognises that all children have the right to participate in sports in a safe, positive and enjoyable environment while being protected from abuse, neglect, harm and poor practice. ETPRM recognises that this is the responsibility of everyone involved, in whatever capacity, at the club.
6. ETPRM will implement and comply with the RFU Code of Conduct and the Codes of Conduct for Coaches, Spectators and Officials as appropriate.
7. ETPRM’s Safeguarding Officer is Lindsey Cottrell, HR Manager. If you witness or are aware of an incident where the welfare of a child has been put at risk, you must, in the first instance, inform ETPRM’s Safeguarding Officer. All staff working within the Community/Schools/Nurseries etc. should immediately discuss any concerns with the Head of the Community.
8. All members of ETPM who work with children in Regulated Activity undertake an RFU Disclosure, and Barring Service (DBS) check in accordance with RFU Regulation 21. The recruiting manager initiates the process, and the manager will ensure that DBS certificates are checked, valid, up to date and retained by the appropriate manager.
9. ETPRM will ensure that all its members, whether they are coaches, parents, players or officials will comply with the Best Practice Guidance as issued by the RFU. In summary, the following are NOT acceptable and will be treated seriously by the club and may result in disciplinary action being taken by the club, the CB or the RFU:
   • Consuming alcohol whilst responsible for children.
   • Providing alcohol to children or allowing its supply.
   • Smoking in the presence of children.
   • Humiliating children.
   • Inappropriate or unnecessary physical contact with a child.
   • Participating in, or allowing, contact or physical games with children.
   • Having an intimate or sexual relationship with any child.
   • Making sexually explicit comments or sharing sexually explicit material.
10. If children attend coaching or events organised and supervised by ETPRM using changing facilities, then ETPRM will arrange for them to be led by a DBS-checked adult, ideally two, of the appropriate gender. ETPRM will ensure that all its coaches, parents, officials and spectators know that adults must not change simultaneously, using the same facilities as children.
11. ETPRM will ensure that all staff receive the support and training appropriate to their position and role. Managers will ensure that staff working with children have a detailed briefing about safe practices and the Safeguarding Policy before commencing work and regular updates and reviews. All employees must be confident in working within the scope of the policy and understand whom they must contact immediately if there are any concerns or questions of any nature.
12. Any events held on ETPRM premises or under ETPRM lead management must comply with this Policy. Any tours, overseas or domestic, undertaken by ETPRM must comply with the relevant RFU Regulations and Guidance relating to terms.
13. If a case of abuse is suspected, the following procedure will be carried out:
    • The concern will be discussed between the Head of the Community and the parent / primary carer except in cases where sexual abuse is suspected All concerns should be reported back to the Safeguarding Officer
    • Such discussion will be recorded, and the primary parent/carer will have access to such records.
    • A report will be made, including what a child may have said, any marks such as bruising or inappropriate/unusual behaviour of the child.
    • If there are still queries/concerns regarding the circumstances, the Safeguarding Officer has a duty of care to report the incident to their local department body.
    • When sexual abuse is suspected, the parents/carer are not notified, and the person reporting the incident must immediately contact the Safeguarding Officer.
14. In case of witnessing bullying from one child to another, ETPRM encourages the staff member to talk with the child to explain the situation and try to get the child to understand the consequences of their behaviour and seek an apology. Parents/carers should be informed, And the child should be encouraged to change their behaviour.
15. If a staff member suspects one child is being bullied/abused, ETPRM recommends they report their concerns to the Manager and record the allegation (date, time, staff member, name of the child and parents).
16. Occasional incidents may occur that leave staff vulnerable to being suspected of abuse. These incidents must be reported immediately to the Safeguarding Officer and include if you accidentally hurt a child, if a child seems distressed, or if a child misunderstands or misinterprets something you have done or said.
17. If allegations are made against a member of staff, the following procedure will be carried out by ETPRM and the Safeguarding Officer;
    • Record the allegation (date, time, staff member, child and parent/carer information).
    • Suspend the staff member from any work involving access to children until the allegation has been investigated.
    • Inform the local department body (where applicable).
    • The Safeguarding Officer would work closely with the local department body and the Police about the investigation.
    • Meetings would take place to discuss the appropriate course of action. Confidentiality and discretion will be maintained at all times.
18. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the process of:
    • Protecting children from maltreatment.
    • Preventing impairment of children’s health or development.
    • Ensuring that children are growing up in the circumstances consistent with providing safe and effective care.
    • Taking action to enable all children to have the best life chances.
19. All staff and volunteers have the responsibility to support children and young people to stay safe and use the internet responsibly by:
    • Educating children and young people about the potential risks and ways of avoiding/mitigating them.
    • Raising awareness of issues such as grooming, cyberbullying, technology-based sexual exploitation and pornography.
    • Providing children and young people with information about expert organisations and sources of help and advice.
    • Supporting parents and carers to monitor their children’s internet access and use effectively and help their children stay safe online. Critical messages for children and young people:
    • Know whom you’re talking to, as people aren’t always who they say they are. Learn how to use and set security settings across various devices.
    • Keep your personal information private.
    • Know how to report on sites and services you are using.
    • Implications of owning a mobile and location services.
20. Photographing and recording children is essential so that children and young people feel happy with their achievements and have visual aids to reinforce their special moments. Most occasions when people take photographs of children and young people are valid and do not provide any cause for concern. Unfortunately, there are occasions when this is not the case, and these are some of the risks associated with photographing children:
    • The collection and passing on of images which may be misused.
    • The identification of individual children to facilitate abuse.
    • The identification of children in vulnerable circumstances.

    There are several issues to be aware of:

    • Permission (verbal or written) of all the people (children and adults) who will appear in a photograph, video or webcam image must be obtained before the photograph is taken or footage is recorded.
    • It must be made clear why that person’s image is being used, what you will be using it for, and who might want to look at the pictures.
    • If images are being taken at an event attended by large crowds, such as a sports event, this is regarded as a public area and permission from a crowd is unnecessary.
    • If photographs or recordings of children/youth groups are made, and individual children can be easily identified, children/youth leaders must find out whether parents do not want their children to be in the photograph.
    • Children and young people under 18 should not be identified by surname or other personal details. These details include e-mail or postal addresses and telephone or fax numbers. In particular cases, such as a youth group in a small rural area, it might be wise to avoid even using first names since these children could be very easily traced in a small locality
    • When using photographs of children and young people, it is preferable to use group pictures.
    • Obtain written and specific consent from parents or carers before using photographs on a website/social media account.
    • Ensure the highest privacy levels are set to any website or social media account, such as Facebook.
    • Staff should be aware of the potential for inappropriate use of phones etc., between children and young people.
21. When working with groups of children or young people, it is essential that the level of supervision is appropriate to their age group and needs, which may be very specific.
    • In general, younger children need to be more closely supervised and require a higher adult-to-child ratio.
    • If the group is mixed gender, the supervising staff should include male and female workers wherever possible.
    • When deciding on the number of adults required, it is essential to bear in mind that these ratios are guidelines only: in certain situations, it will be necessary to have a higher number of adults than our recommendations suggest. If, for instance, the children or young people have specific support needs, or a risk assessment identifies behaviour as a potential issue for the group or event, the number of supervising adults will need to be higher.
    • It may not always be possible to adhere to these recommended ratios. However, every effort should be made to achieve the best level of supervision of children at all times.
22. To prevent children from being radicalised, we will strive to improve lives through sports and encourage children from all walks of life to engage. If this were to a child, we would raise it and seek advice from the local authorities.
23. At Ealing Trailfinders Professional Rugby Management, we recognise our legal responsibility to safeguard children and promote their welfare. We will therefore act within the framework set by the Children Act 1989 and The Children Act 2004. We will also follow the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013 guidance.
24. All child protection records will be secured in a locked cupboard with the safeguarding officer holding the key.

ETPRM Safeguarding Officer

Lindsey Cottrell
07792 854787
lindsey.cottrell@etprm.com