TKO Elite Gym in association with Martial Arts GB & Sports England
Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures
Index
At the TKO Elite Gym we are committed to safeguarding children and young people under the age of eighteen. We expect everyone to share this commitment. We take all welfare concerns seriously and encourage children and young people to speak to us about any worries they may have. We will always act in the best interest of the child.
TKO Elite Gym works with children and families as part of its activities.
The purpose of this policy statement is:
This policy statement applies to anyone working on behalf of the TKO Elite Gym.
Definitions
Child
In England, Northern Ireland and Wales a child is someone under the age of 18, whether living with their families, in state care, or living independently (Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018). This generally applies in Scotland (with some exceptions applying to parts of the policy).
Safeguarding
Safeguarding children is defined in “Working together to safeguard children” as:
Safeguarding vulnerable adults is defined in the “Care and support statutory guidance” issued under the Care Act 2014 as:
Child Abuse
Child abuse is any action by another person – adult or child – that causes significant harm to a child. It can be physical, sexual or emotional, but can just as often be about a lack of love, care and attention. We know that neglect, whatever form it takes, can be just as damaging to a child as physical abuse.
In addition to the above categories, there are other forms of harm or abuse that should involve the police and other organisations working together to protect children. These include:
An abused child will often experience more than one type of abuse, as well as other difficulties in their lives. It often happens over a period of time, rather than being a one-off event. Everyone should be aware that abuse, neglect and safeguarding issues are rarely standalone events that can be covered by one definition or label. In most cases, multiple issues will overlap with one another.
Poor practice
Sometimes, your concerns may relate to poor practice, where an adult or another young person’s behaviour is inappropriate and may be causing distress to a child or young person.
In the application of this policy, poor practice includes any behaviour which contravenes the principles of this document or the relevant Code of Conduct or brings Martial Arts into disrepute, or which infringes an individual’s rights. Where poor practice is serious or repeated this could also constitute abuse and should be reported immediately. Examples of poor practice towards students include:
If a young person needs assistance with personal care this level of support it should be made clear to their parent/s that this can only be carried out by a designated carer and not by the instructor as it compromises their role as trainer and places them and the child in a vulnerable position. These support arrangements should clearly be in place and agreed to by all parties prior to the activities commencing.
Signs and Symptoms
Signs that a young person may be being abused may include the following:
It should be recognised that this list is not exhaustive and the presence of one or more of the indicators is not proof that abuse is actually taking place. For example, a family bereavement, which could cause some of the changes listed above.
Remember it is not the responsibility of the TKO Elite Gym to decide if child abuse is occurring but to act on any concerns by reporting them.
The codes of conduct and ethics for all those involved at the TKO Elite, can be found as a separate guidance sheet. It is essential these are followed so the highest possible standards of behaviour and conduct in Martial Arts activities are maintained. The principles must be adhered to at all times. All those involved at the TKO Elite Gym will show their understanding and commitment to the codes of conduct and ethics by signing a copy of the relevant guidance sheet.
We all have a responsibility to make sure that concerns about children and vulnerable adults are passed to the appropriate support agency without delay. Anyone concerned about a child or vulnerable adult being at risk of being abused or neglected should not ignore their suspicions and should not assume that someone else will take action to protect that child or vulnerable adult.
Whilst accepting this duty is recognised, the TKO Elite Gym is not responsible for deciding if abuse has occurred. We do however have a duty to respond and report concerns. The TKO Elite Gym will have an appropriately trained Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
It is always difficult to hear about or witness harm or abuse experienced by a child or young person. The following points will be helpful for both us and the child should they choose to disclose abuse to us:
All safeguarding concerns and poor practice occurrences, except if the issue concerns those individuals, must be reported to the DSL. This includes issues raised concerning the activities of instructors or volunteers or, where there are concerns outside of Club activities (for example at home, school or in the wider community).
Instructors and volunteers must also report the following to the DSL and make a written record of what they have done, seen or heard, when:
Where there is an allegation against an instructor or volunteer who works with children at the TKO Elite Gym the DSL must report the matter to the Local Authority Designated Officer.
If you think a child is in immediate danger or requires medical attention, you should call the Emergency Services on 999. You can also ring the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 to report immediate risks. This is an immediate responsibility and will take priority over informing the DSL.
Should a child make a disclosure a record in writing must be made as soon as possible, using their words as closely as possible and where relevant, using the TKO Elite Gym Report Form.
Note the date, time, any names mentioned, names and addresses to whom the information was given and who else is aware of the allegation. Note or describe clearly any visible injury. Take care to distinguish between fact, observation, allegation and opinion. It is important that the information you have is accurate.
Recording of any incident, including possible abuse or poor practice incidents, should also follow this procedure. In all situations, including those in which the cause of concern arises either from a disclosure of abuse or from suspicion of abuse, it is vitally important to record the details, regardless of whether they are shared with a statutory agency, as soon as possible using the Incident Referral Form.
The record should be clear and factual as it may be needed by child or adult protection agencies and may, in the future, be used as evidence in court. Records should be kept securely and shared only with those who need to know about the incident.
The TKO Elite Gym will take all reasonable steps to ensure unsuitable people are prevented from working with children. Whilst there may be some reservations that volunteers could be put off by having to go through a recruitment process, it is important to ensure reasonable steps have been taken to identify unsuitable individuals. Please refer to our Safer Recruitment policy for more detail.
Once recruited, all staff and volunteers at the TKO Elite Gym will be informed, trained, supervised and supported to ensure that they effectively safeguard children and know how to respond to any concerns. The TKO Elite Gym will ensure that training and resources are available to encourage the development of staff and volunteers. This will include:
There are currently no formal qualifications specifically for safeguarding and protecting children in sport. However, training developed by sports and other organisations is available to strengthen the skills and knowledge of the sporting children’s workforce to safeguard children and young people. Training plays an important role in equipping staff and volunteers to do their job safely and effectively. Different safeguarding training is available depending on the person’s role within the organisation.
More information can be found on https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/training/
It’s important that people within the TKO Elite Gym have the confidence to come forward to speak or act if they’re unhappy with anything. Whistleblowing occurs when a person raises a concern about dangerous or illegal activity, or any wrongdoing within their sports organisation. The NSPCC has a whistleblowing advice line to support professionals who have concerns about how child protection issues are being handled in their own or another organisation.
In order to ensure we develop an open culture where children and staff feel able to express any concerns, we have a procedure for dealing with complaints from a child, worker, volunteer, parent or carer.
Contact details
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Name: Marshall Willock
Phone: 0121 430 3800 Email: info@birminghammartialartscentre.co.uk
Local Authority DSL
Area of Local Authority: Medway
Name: Children’s Advice & Support Service CASS
Monday to Friday:
Phone: 01634-334466
Emergency Duty Team – outside office hours:
Phone: 03000 419191
Kent Police 999
NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000
We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice annually.
This policy was last reviewed on: 1st May 2021
Unit 2 Dajen Business Park
Second Avenue
Chatham
Kent
ME4 5AU
Telephone: 07912577773
