Update: COVID-19

We’re committed to providing our young people with a fun and educational environment, for them to continue gaining skills that will last for a lifetime.

During this time Respect Through Sports will be following the National Youth Agency for guidance on how we should be approaching indoor and outdoor activities.

This will include our;

- Sports Mentoring Camps
- 1-1 and Group Sessions
- PE Provision

Follow the link below for their guidance..

https://backend.nya2.joltrouter.net/wp-content/uploads/1092-NYA-COVID-19-Guidance-26_5_21-P2.pdf

You can find information about our Safeguarding procedures by reviewing the information below

Name of organisation/club: Respect Through Sports

This policy was issued on: January 2021

Date of next review: January 2022

Safeguarding Designated Lead: Troy Shim-hue – t.shim-hue@respectthroughsports.com

Safeguarding Officer: Rory Britton – r.britton@respectthroughsports.com

Contact information: info@respectthroughsports.com

Policy Statement

Respect Through Sports acknowledges the duty of care to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people and is committed to ensuring safeguarding practice reflects statutory responsibilities, government guidance and complies with best practice.

The policy recognises that the welfare and interests of children are paramount in all circumstances. It aims to ensure that regardless of age, gender, religion or beliefs, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or socio-economic background, all children:

Have a positive and enjoyable experience of sport at Respect Through Sports in a safe and child centred environment
Protected from abuse whilst participating in equestrian sports or outside of the activity.

Policy Aims As part of our safeguarding policy Respect Through Sports will:

Promote and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people
Ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and is provided with appropriate education/training to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and young people
Ensure that all staff and volunteers working in equestrianism are aware of their responsibility to report concerns to their Safeguarding Officer
Ensure that all suspicions and allegations of abuse and poor practice are taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
Ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of incidents/concerns of abuse and support provided to the individual/s who raise or disclose the concern
Ensure that confidential, detailed and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns are maintained and securely stored
Prevent the employment/deployment of unsuitable individuals
Ensure robust safeguarding arrangements and procedures are in operation
Respect Through Sports will work in close partnership with children, young people and parent/guardians to review and implement child protection and safeguarding procedures.

Responsibilities

This policy will be available to and adhered by all members, parents/guardians, staff, volunteers and participants.
The organisation’s employees has responsibility for responding to any allegations, concerns or child protection incidents, passing information to the Safeguarding Officer or the designated lead
Members, Parents/Guardians, staff, volunteers and participants all have a responsibility to work together with the organisation in implementing procedures. The policy and procedures will be widely promoted and are mandatory for everyone involved in Respect Through Sports. Failure to comply with the policy and procedures will be addressed without delay and may ultimately result in dismissal/exclusion from the organisation.

Safeguarding Policy

Good Practice, Social distancing & COVID-19 advice

Parents

Parents/ Guardians will fill out a form informing us of whether they have been in contact with anybody who has contracted Covid-19 1 month prior to the date.
During arrivals and dismissal, no more than people from 5 households will be allowed inside registration area.
If possible, registration will take place outside
Respect Through Sports staff will be wearing PPE and gloves during registration
Parents are encouraged to bring their own pens/gloves where possible

Staff and Children

On arrival ALL children will be asked to wash their hands
On arrival ALL staff will wash their hand
Staff and children should be reminded to wash their hands for 20 seconds more frequently than normal, before and after every session
Chairs and tables to be set up at least 2 metres apart where possible
Staff will reinforce site rules agreement daily, speaking with children throughout the day regarding their ‘personal bubble’ that no one should enter
Respect Through Sports will provide hand wash and hand sanitiser where possible
Through Sports staff will ensure tissues/wipes are available
Respect Through Sports will try to ensure that physical contact children is kept to a minimum
Respect Through Sports staff will continue to promote key messages of hygiene and well-being as per government guidelines
Respect Through Sports staff will reassure children regularly that steps are being taken to keep them safe
Respect Through Sports staff will clean and disinfect all resources, where possible, before and after use
No hand shaking, high 5’s or holding hands

Delivery

Clean and disinfect surfaces, resources/equipment after use
Outdoor activities as much as possible
Avoid adventure playgrounds as advised by the government
Using signs, posters and regular reminders to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency, avoid touching your face, and to cough or sneeze into your arm rather than your hand
Providing hand sanitiser in multiple locations
Using disposable paper towels in handwashing facilities, where possible
Limit the number of children using the toilet at any one time and, where possible, we will avoid different groups using the same facilities at the same time
Respect Through Sports will maintain small, consistent groups of no more than 15 children with one staff member.

*The above will be updated and is subject to change*

School Policy

If a child is in our duty of care, and a safeguarding issue arises. The Respect Through Sports employee will immediately flag the issue to the school designated safeguarding lead. After the safeguarding issue has been resolved that day. A report must then be filed and sent to the Respect Through Sports, Sport and Intervention Manager at the end of that day. All schools will be made aware of this card system being in action so they can then act accordingly.

Yellow Card:

Accidents (i.e. Head bumps, Intense Cuts, and Bleeding)
Incidents (i.e. Fights or Disruptive behaviour)
Bullying / Cyber bullying
Unexplained or suspicious injuries such as bruising, cuts or burns, particularly if on a part of the body not normally prone to such injuries.
An injury for which the explanation seems inconsistent.
Unexplained changes in behaviour (e.g. becoming quiet, upset, withdrawn or sudden outbursts).
Weight loss for no apparent reason
Displays variations in eating patterns including overeating or loss of appetite.
Becomes increasingly dirty or unkempt.
Is showing signs of being drawn in to anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gang involvement and association with organised crime groups;
Misuse drugs or alcohol

Red Card:

High level safeguarding concerns (Missing child/ young person, FGM concerns, signs of abuse, and serious injury).

Grooming
Self-harm
Allegations against staff
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE)

Camp Policy

If a child is in our duty of care at one of our camps, and a safeguarding issue arises. The Respect Through Sports employee will immediately flag the issue to the safeguarding officer or lead. A report must then be filed and sent to the Safeguarding officer by the end of the day.

The camp will respond promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns regarding the safety of a child that may occur. Respect Through Sports safeguarding procedures comply with all relevant legislation and with guidance issued by the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).

There is a Safeguarding Officer available at all times while the camp is in session. The Safeguarding Lead coordinates child protection issues and liaises with external agencies (eg Social Care, LSCB).

The camp’s designated Safeguarding Lead is Troy Shim-hue.

The Deputy / on-call Safeguarding Officer is Rory Britton

At Respect Through Sports Camps, we ensure that all parents have informed us of any medical conditions through our booking system, and confirm the information provided prior to attendance of the sessions. Parents will need to bring and collect medication at the beginning and end of each day from one of our staff members. Special wristbands will be given to children with a medical condition at the beginning of each day to ensure all staff are aware of their condition.

Child abuse and neglect

Child abuse is any form of physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment or lack of care that leads to injury or harm. An individual may abuse or neglect a child directly, or by failing to protect them from harm. Some forms of child abuse and neglect are listed below.

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child so as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development. It may involve making the child feel that they are worthless, unloved, or inadequate. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

Physical abuse can involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may be also caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill health to a child.

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. This can include physical contact, or non-contact activities such as showing children sexual activities or encouraging them to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic physical and emotional needs. It can involve a failure to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, to protect a child from physical and emotional harm, to ensure adequate supervision or to allow access to medical treatment.

Signs of child abuse and neglect

Signs of possible abuse and neglect may include:

Significant changes in a child's behaviour
Deterioration in a child’s general well-being
Unexplained bruising or marks
Comments made by a child which give cause for concern
Reasons to suspect neglect or abuse outside the setting, e.g. in the child’s home, or that a girl may have been subjected to (or is at risk of) female genital mutilation
Inappropriate behaviour displayed by a member of staff, or any other person. For example, inappropriate sexual comments, excessive one-to-one attention beyond the requirements of their role, or inappropriate sharing of images.

If abuse is suspected or disclosed

When a child makes a disclosure to a member of staff, that member of staff will:

reassure the child that they were not to blame and were right to speak out
listen to the child but not question them
give reassurance that the staff member will take action
record the incident as soon as possible.

If a member of staff witnesses or suspects abuse, they will record the matter straightaway using the Logging a concern form. If a third-party expresses concern that a child is being abused, we will encourage them to contact Social Care directly. If they will not do so, we will explain that the camp is obliged to and the incident will be logged accordingly.

Peer-on-peer abuse

Children are vulnerable to abuse by their peers. Peer-on-peer abuse is taken seriously by staff and will be subject to the same child protection procedures as other forms of abuse. Staff are aware of the potential uses of information technology for bullying and abusive behaviour between young people.

Staff will not dismiss abusive behaviour as normal between young people. The presence of one or more of the following in relationships between children should always trigger concern about the possibility of peer-on-peer abuse:

Sexual activity (in primary school-aged children) of any kind, including sexting
One of the children is significantly more dominant than the other (e.g. much older)
One of the children is significantly more vulnerable than the other (e.g. in terms of disability, confidence, physical strength)
There has been some use of threats, bribes or coercion to ensure compliance or secrecy. If peer-on-peer abuse is suspected or disclosed We will follow the same procedures as set out above for responding to child abuse.

Extremism and radicalisation

All childcare settings have a legal duty to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and being drawn into extremism. There are many reasons why a child might be vulnerable to radicalisation, e.g.:

Feeling alienated or alone
Seeking a sense of identity or individuality
Suffering from mental health issues such as depression
Desire for adventure or wanting to be part of a larger cause
Associating with others who hold extremist beliefs

Signs of radicalisation

Signs that a child might be at risk of radicalisation include:

Changes in behaviour, for example becoming withdrawn or aggressive
Claiming that terrorist attacks and violence are justified
Viewing violent extremist material online
Possessing or sharing violent extremist material

If a member of staff suspects that a child is at risk of becoming radicalised, they will record any relevant information or observations on a Logging a concern form, and refer the matter to the Safeguarding Officer.

Logging a concern

All information about the suspected abuse or disclosure, or concern about radicalisation, will be recorded on the Logging a concern form as soon as possible after the event. The record should include:

Date of the disclosure, or the incident, or the observation causing concern
Date and time at which the record was made
Name and date of birth of the child involved
A factual report of what happened. If recording a disclosure, you must use the child’s own words
Name, signature and job title of the person making the record.

The record will be given to the camp’s Safeguarding Officer who will decide on the appropriate course of action.

For more serious concerns about child abuse, the Safeguarding Officer will contact Social Care, along with a following up all referrals to Social Care in writing within 48 hours. If a member of staff thinks that the incident has not been dealt with properly, they may contact Social Care directly.

For minor concerns regarding radicalisation, the Safeguarding Officer will contact the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB).

For serious concerns the Safeguarding Officer will contact the Police on the non-emergency number (101), or the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321.

For urgent concerns the Safeguarding Officer will contact the Police using 999.

Vetting staff

Our vetting process is a crucial part of our service and no candidates are placed into a school, or our mentoring camps before all checks have been completed and verified by our dedicated compliance team.

Our vetting process is rigorous and includes:

A pre-screening telephone interview
A face-to-face interview
Minimum of 2 years References
D. & right to work checks
Previous employment history checks
Barred List check (formerly List 99)
Enhanced DBS
Qualifications & QTS
Overseas police check
Teacher agency & prohibited check
Disqualification & disqualification by association declaration

After going through these procedures. Candidates will:

Be provided with regular, up-to-date safeguarding training for all staff to develop and maintain their overall awareness
Be provided training specifically on the Respect Through Sports safeguarding policy and procedures to ensure that staff understand what to do when an incident/ accident occurs.
Be required to attend safeguarding and child protection staff meetings.
Help children to understand what acceptable behaviour is, how they can stay safe from harm, and how to speak up if they have a safeguarding concern.
Understand the correct procedures on how to report an allegation against a staff member, parent or anyone else who has contact with children.

Allegations against staff

If anyone makes an allegation of child abuse against a member of staff:

The allegation will be recorded on an Incident record form. Any witnesses to the incident should sign and date the entry to confirm it.

Any allegation must be reported to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and to Ofsted. The LADO will advise if other agencies (eg police) should be informed, and the Club will act upon their advice. Any telephone reports to the LADO will be followed up in writing within 48 hours.

Following advice from the LADO, it may be necessary to suspend the member of staff pending full investigation of the allegation.

If appropriate the Club will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Promoting awareness among staff

Use of mobile phones and cameras

Photographs will only be taken of children with their parents’ permission. Only the club camera will be used to take photographs of children at the Club, except with the express permission of the manager. Neither staff nor children nor visitors may use their mobile phones to take photographs at the Club.

Review

The policy will be reviewed annually or if the following circumstances arise:
• Changes in legislation and/or an update in government guidance
• As required by the Local Safeguarding Children Board, UK Sport and/or Home Country Sports Councils and Ofsted.
• As a result of any other significant change or event

This policy is our statement on child safeguarding and welfare. It should be read in conjunction with the additional policies and procedures related to Respect Through Sports, all of which are available upon request.

Contact numbers

Brent Council Children's Care Services / Social Care: 020 8937 4300
Social Care out of hours contact: 020 8937 5250
LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer): Brent Front Door – 020 8937 4300 – family.frontdoor@brent.gov.uk LSCB (Local Safeguarding Children Board): Mike Howard Local Authority Prevent Co-ordinator: Brent Front Door – 020 8937 4300 -

family.frontdoor@brent.gov.uk

Police: 101 (non-emergency) or 999 (emergency)
Anti-terrorist hotline: 0800 789 321
NSPCC: 0808 800 500