The protection and support of children (being those persons
under the age of 18) in cricket is of paramount importance to Brook Cricket
Club (the Club), which has adopted the following system for
individuals to follow to respond to, record and report any concerns or
issues that they may have, relating to a child at the Club or under their
care. There may be an number of reasons why an individual finds it necessary
to report a concern, including, in response to: something a child has said;
signs or suspicions of abuse; allegations made against a member of the Club
or a volunteer; allegations made against a parent, carer or someone not
working within the sport; bullying; a breach of a code of conduct or poor
practice; observation of inappropriate behaviour, etc.
There are 3 steps involved in taking appropriate action.
These are known as the 3 R’s, and each is essential:
-
Responding to the
disclosure / suspicion and / or allegation;
-
Recording the relevant
information; and
-
Reporting the relevant
information.
Throughout the entire process confidentiality is of critical
importance.
The legal principle that the ‘welfare of the child is
paramount’ means that the considerations which might apply to other
situations within the organisation should not be allowed to over-ride the
right of children to be protected from harm. However, every effort must be
made to ensure that confidentiality is maintained when an allegation has
been made and is being investigated. The procedures require that only those
that need to know are told. This means only those individuals stated within
the reporting structure and no-one else unless directed by statutory
agencies or the ECB Child Protection Team.
Step 1 Responding to Disclosure, Suspicions and / or
Allegations
Anyone responding to a disclosure, suspicions and / or
allegations must always:
-
stay calm ( never show any
disgust or disbelief);
-
ensure the child is safe and
feels safe;
-
listen carefully to what is
said;
-
ask questions only where they
are really necessary to clarify what you are being told (and always avoid
asking leading questions;
-
keep an open mind – do not make
assumptions or judgments, show disgust or disbelief;
-
take the concern seriously;
-
reassure the child and stress
that they are not to blame;
-
be honest and (as soon as you
can feasibly mention it) explain that you will have to tell someone else
to help with the situation (do not agree to keep secrets between you and
the child); and
-
maintain confidentiality – only
tell others if it will help protect the child.
Never:
-
approach any alleged abuser to
discuss the concern;
-
rush into actions that may be
inappropriate;
-
make promises you cannot keep;
or
-
take sole responsibility –
consult someone else (where possible, the Club’s Welfare Officer) so you
can begin to protect the child and gain support for yourself.
Step 2 Recording the Incident
Information passed to the ECB, Children’s Social Care and /
or the Police must be as helpful as possible, which is why it is important
to make a detailed record at the time of the disclosure / concern. The ECB
Incident Reporting Form (which the Club has adopted is attached to this
guide; further copies are available from the Welfare Officer and the
Secretary) should be used wherever possible.
Information recorded needs to include the following:
-
details of the child (i.e. full
name, age / date of birth, address, gender);
-
details of the parent or
guardian and whether they have been informed or not;
-
details of the facts of the
allegation or observations;
-
details of any person(s) alleged
to have caused the incident / injury including their name, address and
date of birth or their approximate age;
-
a description of any visible
bruising or other injuries;
-
the child’s account, if it can
be given, of what has happened and how;
-
the identity of witnesses to the
incident(s);
-
any times, dates or other
relevant information;
-
a clear distinction between what
is (known to be) fact, opinion or hearsay; and
-
a signature, date and time on
the report.
Step 3 Reporting
Please remember this key point when reading this section:
It is everyone’s duty to report suspected cases of abuse or
concern to protect children. It
is for the professionals to decide if abuse or neglect has
taken place.
The principle strand of the “Safe Hands” Safeguarding
Programme is provision of an appropriate mechanism to provide correct and
comprehensive reporting procedures for concerns. The ECB has a reporting
framework which operates on three levels.
-
The primary level involves a
Welfare Officer at local level such as in a club or league.
-
Sitting above this Welfare
Officer is a County Welfare Officer who is appointed by, and accountable
to, the County Cricket Board. There is a County Welfare Officer for each
of the ECB’s 39 County Cricket Boards.
-
Sitting above the County Welfare
Officer is the ECB National Child Protection Team. A concern should be
reported to the Club’s Welfare Officer in the first instance or, in the
absence of the Welfare Officer either to the Club Chairman or Secretary,
who will ensure that the appropriate further reporting is undertaken.
Role Description – Club Welfare Officer
Core Tasks
-
Promote good practice in
safeguarding and protecting children in their club, working with the
coaching teams, club committee and club members to create a child centred
environment and develop a proactive safeguarding culture within the club.
-
To help safeguard and protect
children by assisting in the promotion and implementation of the
Safeguarding Children Policy at a Club level.
-
To be the first point of contact
for all club safeguarding and child protection issues.
-
To act as a source of advice on
current best practice and provide support to the Club Management Committee
and the members of that Club on safeguarding issues and procedures.
-
To attend Club Management
Committee meetings as a member of the club management committee by right
of the role (not through combining roles of established positions) and
ensure that child safeguarding is a mandatory standing item on the
committee agenda.
-
To advise the Management
committee in establishing which roles within the club require the post
holder to undertake the ECB Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
disclosure process, ensuring that such CRB applications and any necessary
self-declaration forms are completed.
-
To maintain accurate records and
to keep all documentation in a secure fashion.
-
To ensure matters of a possible
child protection nature are reported / referred appropriately to the ECB
and/or statutory authorities in a timely fashion, and in accordance with
ECB procedures.