Guide to Child Protection
Introduction
The club is committed to ensuring that all young people who participate in Karate have a safe and positive experience. This guide is intended for all people involved in Karate. It should be read by all coaches/instructors, volunteers, officials, parents and anyone involved in the sport. It will provide an overview of child welfare and protection, child abuse and how to act on any concerns you may have. It will also provide some good practice advice for all those involved with young people and Karate. The club believes that the welfare of young people is everyone’s responsibility, particularly when it comes to protecting young people from abuse. However, it is important to remember that it is not the responsibility of those working in Karate to determine if abuse has taken place but it is their responsibility to act upon and report any concerns.
What is child abuse?
Abuse is a powerful and emotive term. Child abuse is a term used to describe ways in which children can be harmed by adults and other young people and often by those they know and trust. The coach often holds this trust and may be at risk of misusing their power over a young person, quite unaware.
Abuse can be any of the following:
Physical abuse
When adults or other young people deliberately inflict injuries on a young person, or knowingly do not prevent such injuries. It includes being kicked, punched or hit. It also includes forcing a young person to train/compete beyond their capabilities.
Emotional abuse
When adults persistently fail to show young people due care, love or affection, where a young person may be constantly shouted at, threatened or subjected to sarcasm and unrealistic pressures. It includes constant criticism, name-calling and ridiculing the young person.
Sexual abuse
Where girls and boys are abused by both male and female adults, who use young people to meet their own sexual needs. This includes making sexually suggestive comments and touching in an inappropriate manner.
Neglect
Where adults fail to meet a young person’s basic needs such as food, warmth, adequate clothing and medical attention. It includes exposing young people to undue cold, heat or unnecessary risk of injury.
Bullying
Where another young person uses deliberate, aggressive, hurtful behaviour, usually over a period of time, where it is difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves. It can include hurtful text messages, violence, tormenting, name-calling and the spreading of rumours. Safeguarding the welfare of our young participants is paramount. Coaches and volunteers have a moral and at times legal responsibility to provide the highest possible standard of care to all young people involved in Karate.
Good practice guidelines
All those who work within the Karate environment should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behaviour at all times in order to protect children and themselves from allegations. The following are common sense examples of how to create a positive culture and environment within Karate:
- Always be publicly open when working with young people
- Situations will occur when in order to keep the young person safe or to coach certain techniques, it will be necessary to make contact with the young person.
- Always inform the young person beforehand and ask if they have any objections
- If groups are to be supervised in changing rooms, always ensure that adults work in pairs, and that the gender is appropriate
Where mixed teams train away from home they should always be accompanied by at least one male and one female adult - Coaches must place the well-being and safety of the participant above the development of performance
You should:
- Avoid overtraining and over competing of participants
- Ensure development comes first, winning second
- Never allow injured participants to train or compete
- Ensure all equipment and facilities are safe and appropriate
- Never overtly criticise young people – their confidence is paramount
You should never:
- Spend excessive amounts of time alone with young people away from others
- Take young people alone on car journeys, however short
- Take young people to your home
- Engage in inappropriate physical contact including horseplay Share a room with a young person
- Permit young people to use unacceptable or explicit language unchallenged
- Make sexually suggestive comments to a young person, even in fun
- Agree to meet a young person on your own, outside the context of the normal coaching or mentoring process
- Allow allegations made by a participant to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon
Remember you are a role model and mentor to young people
Safeguarding and protecting phildren
The club adheres to the English Karate Federation Child Protection Policy part of its commitment to ensuring that the sport provides a safe, friendly and enjoyable experience for young people.
The Child Protection Policy provides the sport with the tools to ensure that the whole sport takes up the challenge of continuously improving the participation conditions for young people.
It also greatly enhances the value of existing activities and practices throughout Karate’s extensive Club network ensuring that the many hundreds of coaches/instructors and volunteers integral to the sport are continually supported.
The policy is backed up by a comprehensive structured implementation plan and a sensitive process to respond to concerns.
How will child protection affect me?
Child welfare and protection in Karate is mandatory to all. The Child Protection Policy has been developed to provide a comprehensive and complete guide to all those who compete, coach, officiate, assist and volunteer in Karate.
How does child protection affect my club?
Abuse can occur anywhere where there are young people of any age. Sadly, there are some people who will seek to be where young people are simply in order to abuse them; this includes a Karate Club. It is therefore imperative that each and every club adopts and implements its own robust child protection policy.
Club welfare officers
The club has a Club Welfare Officer who will advise and ensure that child welfare and protection is being adhered to in the club. They will be the point of contact for all Child Protection concerns and queries. The Club Welfare Officer has been CRB checked.
The English Karate Federation Child Protection Policy can be viewed via the British Karate Association website http://www.thebka.co.uk/child-protection
Acting on concerns
It is not your responsibility to determine if abuse has taken place. However, it is your responsibility to act upon and report any concerns.
If you have any concerns regarding a young person or if a young person informs you directly that he/she, or another young person, is concerned about someone’s behaviour towards them you should:
- React immediately
- Remain calm, so not to frighten or deter the young person
- Tell the young person that he/she is not to blame and that he/she was right to tell
- Reassure the victim that you can be trusted and will help them, although you cannot promise to tell no–one else
- Make a detailed note of your observations and/or what was said exactly
- Contact the Club Welfare Officer immediately, if they are unavailable or part of the concern contact the Chief Instructor
- You can use these 24 hour free telephone helplines for advice