The British Aikido Board - child protection for association and clubs

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Safeguarding help and advice for associations and clubs

The majority of children who take part in aikido do so in a safe and helpful atmosphere, with genuine support from the adults involved. But for the small minority of children who are abused during sporting activities, the picture is very different.

The sporting community, like other areas of our society, recognises the need to protect children from individuals who may abuse their position of trust. There are a number of steps that an aikido association or club must take to safeguard children and young people. On these pages you'll find advice and information to help organisations, including:

how to report a concern

safe recruitment in aikido

defining child abuse

how to develop a safeguarding policy

club guidelines - practical ways for your organisation to help safeguard children during sporting activities

working with Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) (NSPCC Web Page)

useful safety checklists and forms for sports organisations travelling to away competitions or aboard (NSPCC Web Page).

How do I report a concern?

All concerns should be discussed with your club welfare officer (designated person for safeguarding at your club) and reported in accordance with BAB Child safeguarding and protection policy and procedures. If the welfare officer is not available, contact your association child protection officer. If you have any problems please contact Sue Ward, the BAB Lead Child Protection Officer on 01271 328892 or 01271 343952 If Sue is not immediately available please leave a message and she will call you back.
You can also email - officer.
Keep written records of any poor practice or child protection and welfare related incidents, allegations or concerns. Record details of any actions taken and contact details of anyone who was either involved or a witness as appropriate. (See Appendix 1 BAB Incident Reporting Form)
When delivering activities in a school or directly under the supervision/management of school staff, the school’s arrangements for child protection will apply. You must inform the designated teacher or person for that school, who will follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures. You should also ensure that you inform your club welfare officer who will make your Association CPO and the BAB child protection lead officer aware of the situation.
When delivering activities in partnership with a school but in your club or out of school hours, you must follow your association / club child protection procedures and communicate any concerns to the club welfare officer. The club welfare officer will refer the matter to the association Lead Officer and BAB Lead Officer who will take responsibility for liaising with the school.
If the club welfare officer, Association or BAB lead officer or the school’s designated person for child protection are not available you must avoid delay and seek advice from the local Children's Services or the Police. Inform your Association and BAB lead officer as soon as possible, explaining the concern and action taken.

Safe recruitment in aikido

The majority of people who want to work or volunteer with children within aikido are well motivated, and without them aikido clubs and associations could not operate.

Unfortunately some individuals are not appropriate to work with children and young people. It is therefore essential that you have effective recruitment and selection procedures to help screen out and discourage those who are not suitable from joining your club/association.

On these pages you'll find information and guidance for the BAB's policy about:

Definition and Indicators of Child Abuse

Definition of Child Abuse

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child. A child may be abused or neglected by someone who:

• Inflicts harm,
• Fails to act to prevent harm.

A child may be abused by:

• A family member
• By a person within an institutional or community setting
• By a person known to them or more rarely by a stranger
• An adult or adults, or another child or children.

Image of Rising Stars' Sensei Helena ('H')

Types of Abuse

Physical abuse

Physical abuse may involve, for instance, hitting, shaking, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating, throwing (except in the controlled environment of an aikido class), or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately induces, illness in a child.

Aikido is a sport whereby actions including physical contact do take place. For physical abuse to take place the action would be a deliberate act and not in keeping with the ethos of the martial art; for example, applying techniques against the joint – such as nikkyo or sankyo – with children under the age of 12. (see also APPENDIX 17)

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child’s emotional development.

• It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet
the needs of another person.
• It may feature age or inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. These may include interactions that are
beyond the child’s developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploration and learning, or
preventing the child participating in normal social interaction.
• It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.
• It may involve serious bullying, causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or
corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though
it may occur alone.

In Aikido this may be child on child, or adult on child, and could include requiring children to undertake actions appropriate to the sport but not appropriate within that child’s age group.

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, including prostitution, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.

• The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape, buggery or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts.
• They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual
online images, watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Child sex abusers can come from any professional, racial or religious background, and can be male or female. They are not always adults - children can also behave in a sexually abusive way. Usually the abuser is a family member or someone known to the child, such as a family friend. Some individuals will target a sport that allows access to children specifically to commit acts of sexual abuse.

Abusers may act alone or as part of an organised group. After the abuse, they will put the child under great pressure not to tell anyone about it. They will go to great lengths to get close to children and win their trust. For example, by choosing employment that brings them into contact with children, or by pretending to be children in internet chat rooms run for children.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve parent or carer failing to:

• Provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment).
• Protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger.
• Ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care-givers).
• Ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.
• It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

In Aikido, while responsible adults must provide a Duty of Care to children in the club (provide appropriate first aid and summoning help if a child is hurt etc) it may be that the Coach or another person in the club may have concerns about a child who attends in terms of parental care. This may be identified by a child’s clothing being inappropriate for the time of year or repeated late collection of children from the session.

Bullying

Bullying is repeated deliberate actions by one or more people that causes hurt to an individual or group and where it is difficult for the bullied person(s) to prevent of deal with the bullies actions. The damage inflicted by bullying can frequently be underestimated. It can cause considerable distress to children, to the extent that it affects their health and development or, at the extreme, causes them significant harm (including self-harm).

The Anti bullying charity "Kidscape" defines bullying as a child encountering bullying attacks that includes:

• Physical. Pushing, kicking, hitting, pinching and other forms of violence or threats.
• Verbal. Name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, persistent teasing.
• Emotional. Excluding (sending to Coventry), tormenting, ridicule, humiliation.

Bullying can occur between:

• An adult and a child.
• A child and a child.
• A parent and own child.

None of the above are acceptable within aikido

The competitive nature of any sport can create an environment which provides opportunities for bullying. Examples of bullying in aikido could be:

• A parent who pushes too hard.
• A coach who adopts a win-at-all costs philosophy.
• A child aikidoka who intimidates inappropriately
• An older aikidoka who intimidates inappropriately
• An official who places unfair pressure on a person

The physical contact in Aikido, combined with the importance of discipline and respect for authority, can create the opportunity for bullying; for example, coaches who inflict pain or humiliation on child ukes or adult ukes while children are watching.

Harassment

Harassment is an act that is unwanted by the recipient. It may be the provision of items or unwanted actions from another person but by definition it is the unwanted nature of the action or item that distinguishes the nature of the act to be harassment. As an example, most clubs encourage students to change partners regularly during a class and discourage refusing practice with any one individual. This might be exploited so that a child felt unable to refuse to practice with someone who was using the practice to constantly criticise the child’s technique or to show the child that their technique was ineffective.

It is for any given individual to determine for themselves what is acceptable to them and what they regard as offensive.

Harassment can be deemed to be a criminal offence in some circumstances and can lead to the use of a restraining order or criminal prosecution. Harassment can take many forms, some examples being suggestive sexual remarks; racist insults or jokes; verbal abuse or foul language exclusion; unwelcome attention. The impact of harassment for the individual can be profound. Harassment can lead to the child feeling unhappy, demoralise, undervalued as a person. Harassment is an often a constant ongoing type of abuse where the individual causes extreme distress by the repeated action usual verbally.

Indicators of Abuse

Abuse is not always easy to identify. Children can be bruised/injured in everyday life by, for example, falling off bikes and playing with friends. In adolescence, children can be moody and unpredictable in their behaviour.

Children can react to external circumstances by a change in behaviour such as bereavement or parental divorce/separation. However some signs may alert you to a view that a child may be being abused. Some indicators of abuse are:

• The child discloses a concern and describes what may be an abusive act
• Another person raises concern about the wellbeing of a child.
• A change in the child’s behaviour to or relationship with the parent or carer
• Unexplained or concerning injuries such as burns, cuts, and bruises situated in area of the child’s body where not
   normally prone to injury through, for example, play activity.
• Physical injury where the explanation given is inconsistent.
• Unexplained changes in behaviour such as a child becoming withdrawn, quiet or aggressive/verbally violent.
• Inappropriate sexual awareness and/or behaving in a sexualised manner
• Eating disorder i.e. a child is overeating or showing a loss of appetite.
• Excessive weight loss or weight gain for no obvious reason.
• Physical appearance becomes unkempt.
• The child is withdrawn and isolates themselves from the group and seem unable to make friends
• The child is prevented from socialising with other children.
• The child displays a distrust of adults.
• Behavioural changes such as reduced concentration and/or becoming withdrawn, clingy, depressed, tearful,
   emotionally up and down, reluctance to go to school, training or sports club.
• A drop in performance at school or in the sport.
• Physical signs such as stomach-aches, headaches, difficulty in sleeping, bed-wetting, scratching and bruising,
   damaged clothes and bingeing for example on food, cigarettes or alcohol.
• A shortage of money or frequent loss of possessions.

This is not an exhaustive list of indicators and alone cannot be seen to be definitive proof a child is being abused.

Developing a child Safeguarding and protection policy

As a BAB Member Association it is required that you formally adopt the BAB Child Safeguarding Protection Policy. From then onwards all you need to do is to follow the required procedures.

Following a code of conduct

Many aikido associations have developed codes of conduct in relation to child protection, based on the principle that aikido organisations have a duty of care to safeguard children. This includes taking into account the needs of disabled children and others who may be particularly vulnerable. Following the BAB Coaching Code of Conduct is required by all associations.

If your association has not yet developed a separate code of conduct, the BAB version is show here: BAB Coaching Code of Conduct (Appendix 4)

Club guidelines

Here are some practical ways for your club / association to help safeguard the children and young people who take part in your activities:

Ratios
Changing rooms
Injuries and illness
Collection by parents/carers
Discipline
Physical contact
Sexual activity
Participants with disabilities
Good practice for linking with schools

Ratios

Adult/participant ratios should be based on the age of the children involved, the degree of risk the activity involves, and whether there are disability needs. The lower the age of the participants, the greater the need for supervision. If the activity is mixed gender, male and female staff should be available.

Please review the BAB Child Safeguarding Policy - Coaching Ratios and Supervision
(found as a PDF at the bottom of this page)

Quote:

It is recognised that coaching styles within the BAB may vary from Association to Association; however, when working with groups of children, the following ratios staff to child ratios shall apply:

• Children aged under 5 The ratio of coach/assistant/helper to these children is 1:3 with the proviso that in unforeseen circumstances it may be allowed to be 1:4 subject to risk assessment; this is to satisfy occasions of, for instance, additional children turning up unexpectedly and/or an assistant/helper not turning up for the class. In any circumstance a ratio of 1:4 is the maximum student ratio allowed.

• Children aged 5 and over. When working with groups of children aged 5 and over, the minimum ratio is one coach/assistant to 10 children. This ratio may need to be lowered in some cases to meet the Coach’s "duty of care" to the children. This could be, for instance, where the predominance of children in the class is in the range of 5-8 year olds. Where the age mix of the children is predominantly "teenagers" this ratio may be increased to 1:12, subject to risk assessment.

and

• All Children. Coaches should never work alone in or with any group of children. They should have at least one other coach, assistant coach or volunteer present at all times who has been CRB/ISA checked by their club.

• Consideration should also be given to staffing required in cases where an accident or emergency occurs with sufficient staff present to not only cope with the casualty/emergency but also supervise the remaining group members.

• Some of the many factors that should be taken into account when considering ratios of staff to children is the ability of the group, any special educational or medical needs by all or part of the group, the activity to be undertaken and the experience of the coach.

• At least 2 members of staff should remain until all children are collected and always ensure each child is collected by a responsible parent, carer, guardian or nominated adult. The adults should be suitably CRB checked unless this is not possible in the situation that arises. Follow the guidance in the section on "Late Collection of Children" if parents/carers persistently collects children late or children persistently fail to be collected by a responsible adult.

Unquote

Further information: Guidelines on staffing/supervision ratios for children/young people’s activities (NSPCC)

Injuries and illness

Your association should have guidelines and report forms for any injuries children sustain during aikido. Where staff witness an injury the parents must be told as soon as possible. If the child needs medical attention you must arrange this immediately and inform the parents/carers as soon as possible. You should always ensure you have up-to-date contact details at the aikido club or events and information about any relevant medical conditions.

Sample Accident Reporting Form (NSPCC)

BAB Accident Incident Notification Form.

Collection by parents/carers

Your organisation should develop and publicise policies about the collection of children and young people from sports activities. These policies should be based on the age of the children and the location, time and type of activity. Make sure you receive permission from parents/carers for children and young people to participate in any of the games, competitions, training or practice sessions you run. This should be done by using a consent form.

Sample Parental / Guardians Consent Form (PDF, 28KB)

This form may be one of the few formal communications with every parent therefore we would recommend that you use it to also promote the safeguarding practices you have in place. You should provide a timetable of activities at the beginning of the season. You should also notify parents/carers of any changes to this timetable in writing.

Late collection of children

Late collection of children by parents presents clubs and coaches with a potentially difficult situation. Your organisation should develop written guidelines for parents, this could be included in a parents/carers code of conduct which explains your policy for dealing with late collection of children.

Please review the BAB Late Collection Policy (Appendix 12) and S ample codes of conduct for parents / guardians (NSPCC) then

make clear that it is not your organisation's responsibility to transport children home on behalf of parents who have been delayed
include a staff/volunteer contact number and an instruction to parents/carers to phone if there is any likelihood of late collection
ask parents to provide an alternative contact name or number, for staff/volunteers to use when they are not available on their usual number.

In cases of late collection, staff and volunteers should:

attempt to contact the child's parent or carer on their contact number

use the alternative contact name/number if necessary

wait with the child/young person at the sport facility, with other staff/volunteers or parents present if at all possible

remind parents/carers of the policy relating to late collection.

In cases of late collection, staff and volunteers should not:

take the child home or to any other location

send the child home with another person without permission from a parent or carer

ask the child to wait in a vehicle or sport facility with you alone.

Discipline

When discipline is used it should be with the clear intention of teaching or reinforcing appropriate behaviour. It must not be used impulsively, to gain power, or to embarrass or humiliate a child/young person.

Discipline should be used only to:

develop a sense of responsibility for behaviour
develop respect for others and their property
reinforce the rules or values of the sport
reinforce positive behaviour or attitudes
reinforce awareness of health and safety aspects of the activity.

Sanctions

The use of sanctions is an important element in the maintenance of discipline. The age and developmental stage of the child should be taken into consideration when using sanctions. Sanctions should be fair and consistent and in the case of persistent offence, should be progressively applied. They should never be used to retaliate or to make a coach feel better. The following steps are suggested and should always be used in conjunction with the code of conduct for young people:

rules should be stated clearly and agreed

a warning should be given if a rule is broken

a sanction (for example, use of time out) should be applied if a rule is broken for a second time. The use of green, yellow and red cards can be used to help implement this.

if a rule is broken for the third time the child should be spoken to, and if necessary, the parents/guardians may be involved

sanctions should not be applied if a coach is not comfortable with them. If an appropriate action cannot be devised right away, the child should be told that the matter will be dealt with later, at a specified time and as soon as possible

a child should not be sanctioned for making errors when s/he is playing

physical activity (e.g. running laps or doing push-ups) should not be used as a sanction. To do so only causes a child to resent physical activity, something that s/he should learn to enjoy throughout his/her life

sanctions should be used sparingly. Constant sanctioning and criticism can cause a child to turn away from sport

once sanctions have been imposed, it is important to make the young person feel s/he is a valued member of the group again

where relevant, some sanctions may need to be recorded and parents informed.

rules should be stated clearly and agreed
a warning should be given if a rule is broken
a sanction (for example, use of time out) should be applied if a rule is broken for a second time. The use of green, yellow and red cards are encouraged, irrespective of the sport
if a rule is broken for the third time the child should be spoken to, and if necessary, the parents/guardians may be involved
sanctions should not be applied if a coach is not comfortable with them. If an appropriate action cannot be devised right away, the child should be told that the matter will be dealt with later, at a specified time and as soon as possible
a child should not be sanctioned for making errors when s/he is playing
physical activity (e.g. running laps or doing push-ups) should not be used as a sanction. To do so only causes a child to resent physical activity, something that s/he should learn to enjoy throughout his/her life
sanctions should be used sparingly. Constant sanctioning and criticism can cause a child to turn away from sport
once sanctions have been imposed, it is important to make the young person feel s/he is a valued member of the group again
where relevant, some sanctions may need to be recorded and parents informed.

Physical contact

Aikido requires a degree of physical contact between coaches, staff and children or young people. Coaches and staff may need to use it to instruct, encourage, protect or comfort. Your organisation should develop and publicise clear guidelines about physical contact, so that adults and children/young people understand what are the appropriate types of touching and their appropriate contexts.

Physical contact during sport should always be intended to meet the child's needs, NOT the adult's. The adult should only use physical contact if their aim is to:

develop sports skills or techniques
to treat an injury
to prevent an injury
to meet the requirements of the sport.

The adult should explain the reason for the physical contact to the child. Unless the situation is an emergency, the adult should ask the child for permission.

The contact should not involve touching genital areas, buttocks or breasts.

Physical contact should not take place in secret or out of sight of others.

All injuries should be fully recorded by staff.

Further information: see BAB Safeguarding Policy section 3 Good Practice, Physical contact and young people in sport (NSPCC)

Sexual activity

Within sport, as within other activities, sexual relationships do occur. All sports organisations should therefore be aware of the law relating to sexual behaviour and should develop and promote guidelines relating to sexual activity. These guidelines should address sexual activity both between children and young people and between adults and young people.dren/young people involved in sport should be prohibited during team events, in sports facilities or social activities organised by the club/organisation. Inappropriate or criminal sexual behaviour committed by a young person may lead to disciplinary action in accordance with the sports governing body guidance and reports being made to external agencies like the police or social work departments.

Sexual interactions between adults and young people (16+) involved in sport raise serious issues given the power imbalance inherent in the relationship. Where a young person is of the age of consent the power of the adult over that young person may influence their ability to genuinely consent to sexual activity. A coach or other adult in a position of authority may have significant power or influence over a young person’s career.

Sexual activity between adults and young people (16+) involved in the same sport should be prohibited when the adult is in a position of trust or authority (coach, trainer, official). Inappropriate or criminal sexual behaviour committed by an adult should lead to suspension and disciplinary action in accordance with the sports governing body guidance, which in the case of criminal action must include contacting the police.

Sexual activity between adults and children under the age of 16 is a criminal act and immediate action must be taken to report it.

Participants with disabilities

Children or young people with disabilities should have the same rights and opportunities as others involved in sport to have fun and be safe. Their particular vulnerability to abuse or neglect requires sports clubs/organisations to take additional steps to safeguard them.
Information relating to club policies and procedures should be fully accessible to children and young people with communication difficulties.
Specialist training or advice should be sought by clubs/organisations that involve children/young people with disabilities in sport. For example, when staff/volunteers need to guide blind or partially sighted children, training will help ensure that they use the most appropriate methods. If training is not available, ask the child for advice or seek the advice of parents or carers.
When transporting children with disabilities, the vehicles used should meet the needs of the children and be roadworthy. Appropriate and trained escorts should be in attendance in the vehicle.
When children with disabilities are lifted or manually supported, the individual child should be treated with dignity and respect. Relevant health and safety guidelines must be followed to ensure the safety of the child and those assisting. It is recommended that those assisting receive appropriate training.

It is recognised that children with a disability:

have the same needs and require the same safeguards as all children
may also have additional needs associated with their disability, which may increase their vulnerability to abuse
are often more dependent on adults, e.g. in intimate care needs and may be cared for by a number of different adults. Such children often spend a lot of time away from home
may be unable to recognise abusive behaviour because they may have learning difficulties or a lack of awareness, and /or reduced exposure to the norm of adult/children interactions. For example, a child with disabilities may have difficulty in differentiating between appropriate and inappropriate touching
particularly those with physical disabilities, may have a poor and/or incomplete body image and therefore may not recognise inappropriate behaviour.

Good practice for linking with schools

All clubs that link with schools need to be able to evidence that they meet nationally agreed minimum operating standards that demonstrate a commitment to the welfare of children and young people.

Schools and clubs need to be confident that any sporting activity provided by your aikido club for children, independently or in partnership with schools, is of high quality and both safe and fun. Here are a few good practice pointers for clubs linking with schools:

Ensure your aikido club has adopted and promoted the child protection policy and procedures of the BAB.

Ensure these are made available to all club members upon request and that all club members (coaches / staff / volunteers / parents /children) are aware of how they can get help if they have any concerns and who to contact.

Seek Clubmark accreditation - contact the BAB for details.

Appoint a club welfare officer who has been appropriately recruited and selected because of their suitability for the job and commitment to child welfare. Ensure that they have a clearly defined role and responsibilities and access to training to afford them the skills, knowledge and confidence to undertake this role.

Find out about child protection and equity training opportunities through the Association and BAB lead child protection officer and actively encourage staff, volunteers, coaches, officials and other club members to make sure they are updated regularly.

Ensure that activities are well structured and varied to ensure that the needs of children of all abilities can participate - as an athlete, official, leader or volunteer. Ensure that you are aware of any additional support needs that any participating child might have and have a clear understanding with the school about how these needs can appropriately be addressed.

Ensure that adults working with children are appropriately recruited and vetted to ensure their suitability to work with children and young people. This should be supported by supervision, induction and training as appropriate.

Make every effort to ensure that coaches or other adults never work in isolation with a child or groups of children. At least two responsible adults must be present at all times when activities are being delivered.

Ensure that there are practice guidelines in place for any trips or fixtures away from the club or school facility that involve transportation of children.

Communicate regularly and openly with the school’s designated teacher/person, staff, parents and participants about the measures you are taking to ensure that safeguards are in place and make a difference for children. The Club Welfare Officer should take lead responsibility for this communication.

Make sure that your club welfare officer and all those who are involved with linking with the school are aware of the schools child protection procedures and how to respond to a concern in accordance with local safeguarding children boards (LSCB) guidance.

Ensure that codes of conduct and good practice guidelines are made available to all when they join the club and that these are actively promoted.

Ensure there is a clear agreement about who holds lead responsibility for any activities (e.g. school staff or club coach) and a clear programme of activities over the period that the club will be linking with the school.

If you need to communicate with a child or young person other than during the delivery of sessions, all communication must go via the school or Local Education Authority (LEA). Parental consent for each child to participate in activities should be sought and consent forms sent home with the children or young people via their school.

Child protection policy documents

Disclaimer:
The views, advice and information contained in these pages do not constitute any legal advice. The information supplied is believed to be wholly correct at the time of publication, but some content will have been gleaned by the BAB from various information sources.