How to report a concern
It’s not the responsibility of those working in aikido to decide whether or not child abuse is occurring. But it is their responsibility to act on concerns about inappropriate behaviour, abuse or bullying.
In aikido clubs the first person to contact should be your Club Welfare Officer (CWO). If the club does not have a CWO – or you do not know who they are – you must still take action.
You can contact the BAB’s Lead Safeguarding Officer (details here) or your local Children’s Social Services.
If action needs to be taken urgently to safeguard a child, contact the police by dialling 999.
If you are unsure about what to do then you can always chat through your concerns – in confidence – by calling the NSPCC’s 24 hour Helpline on NSPCC helpline.
If you have a concern or complaint then you need to act. Initially we advise you to contact the club concerned.
- ‘Concerns’ can often be dealt with informally within the club. Hopefully after a discussion with the relevant people they can be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.
- ‘Complaints’ differ to ‘concerns’ in as much as they are subject to a more formal procedure i.e. cannot be easily resolved by a general chat within the club. It might be, for example, that the concern is about someone ‘in charge’ – or you have tried to resolve it locally without any success
This section concerns complaints from parents which cannot be resolved at club level. The nominated person appointed to deal with complaints is the BAB Lead Safeguarding Officer.
The procedure is staged and our hope is that issues will be resolved quickly and informally. However, the policy also provides a clear procedure that can be followed in situations where a parent/carer feels this has not been possible.
There are three possible stages:
Stage 1 – Informal Procedure
If there is any aspect of your child’s time within a BAB Club that you are not happy with (and that you cannot resolve locally) please contact us immediately and we will endeavour to arrive at a resolution that is satisfactory for all involved.
If a resolution is not found within 10 working days then you may wish to proceed to stage 2.
Stage 2 – Formal Procedure
If the issue cannot be resolved using Stage 1, you should make your complaint in writing to the BAB Lead Safeguarding Officer (please include an email address and telephone number). Upon receipt of a written complaint we will endeavour to contact you within 7 working days to acknowledge receipt of letter and inform you of the procedure that we will follow in order to resolve the complaint.
The BAB Lead Safeguarding Officer will need to discuss the matter with relevant staff and/or students to carry out necessary investigations and give the matter full and detailed consideration with the input of senior colleagues. The outcome of this will be communicated in writing within 21 working days and will offer reasoning alongside proposed or taken actions. Written records will be kept of all aspects of the investigation/complaint and will be held in accordance with the BAB’s data handling policy.
If the parent/carer is not satisfied with the decision arising from Stage 2, they should proceed to stage 3
Stage 3 – Independent Panel Hearing
Complainants who are not satisfied by the Stage 2 of the BAB’s Complaint Handling procedure must write to the BAB Chairperson within 10 working days and request that the complaint be further considered by an independent panel.
On receipt of this letter the BAB Chairperson will be responsible for the appointment of a panel to consider the matter further. The panel will consist of 3 people not directly involved in the matter, e.g. Trustees, Executive Committee members). You may be asked to contribute further to this meeting (by phone or Skype or in person).
Minutes will be taken by the Chair of the panel and parents/ carers will be notified within 21 working days of the result of this meeting.
We suggest that you talk to your parents or carers so that they can support you.
You can follow the same procedure as for “Parents” – however if you don’t have the support of your parents/carers the BAB will appoint someone to support you and represent your interest
REMEMBER – YOU CAN ALWAYS CONTACT CHILDLINE ON 0800 11 11 or visit http://www.childline.org.uk/
ACTION TO TAKE IF THE INCIDENT OCCURRED INSIDE THE SPORT
If a child informs you directly that he/she is being abused in an Aikido environment
OR,
through your own observations
OR,
through a third party you become aware of possible abuse or poor practice within the Aikido environment.
You must REACT IMMEDIATELY. Follow the template below:
This page is part of the BAB Safeguarding Policy which is held as a PDF document in the download area (shown below) and should be considered as the only reference document.
Although these pages will be kept up to date as much as possible they may not be as current or may be abridged in comparison to the Safeguarding Policy. After reading any information here please reconfirm from the latest version of the Safeguarding Policy.
ACTION TO TAKE IF A SAFEGUARDING INCIDENT OCCURRED OUTSIDE THE SPORT
If a child informs you directly that he/she is being abused in outside the Aikido environment
OR,
through your own observations
OR,
through a third party you become aware of possible abuse or poor practice, follow the template below:
This page is part of the BAB Safeguarding Policy which is held as a PDF document in the download area (shown below) and should be considered as the only reference document.
Although these pages will be kept up to date as much as possible they may not be as current or may be abridged in comparison to the Safeguarding Policy. After reading any information here please reconfirm from the latest version of the Safeguarding Policy.
Dealing with allegations
Any allegations involving child welfare must be taken seriously, acted upon and treated confidentially. Children have a right to be believed and have their concerns acted on. All information received and discussed must be only be shared with those who will be able to manage and/or resolve the situation.
If an allegation is made against a particular person in aikido, the outcome may include any or all of the following:
- The club may immediately ask the person to leave the club (without prejudice) while an investigation is carried out. This is a precaution to protect all parties involved.
- On completion of the investigation, the BAB will help the club decide whether it’s appropriate for the person to return to work with children in aikido, and how this will be managed.
- The BAB will signpost sources of support for the person about whom allegations have been made
Safeguarding |
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| Child Safeguarding & Protection Policy (CSPP) | December 2020 Version 1 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Child Safeguarding Principles & Responsibilities | April 2021 V.1a | 15-04-2021 | |
| Child Transport, Late Collection & Missing Child - Responsibilities | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Child-on-Child Bullying - Anti-Bullying Guidelines | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Dress Code & Use of Changing Rooms | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Drugs and Weight Management - Sport Aikido | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Electronic Communications | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Guidance on Children and Adults on the mat together | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Joining a Club - Suggested Welcome letter to Parents & Children | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Persons Accused of Child Abuse | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Photographic & Recorded Images of Children | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Recruitment and DBS Guidance | 5th May 2016 | 10-03-2017 | |
| Relay Issue 10 - Child Protection in Sports Unit Newletter | Autumn 2009 | 06-11-2009 | |
| Role of the Association Child Protection Officer | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Role of the Club Welfare Officer | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Safeguarding - Action to take if the incident occurred inside the sport (flow chart) | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Safeguarding - Action to take if the incident occurred outside the sport (flow chart) | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Safeguarding - The Coach Code of Conduct and responsibilities within their relationship of trust | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Safeguarding Case Management Group (CMG) | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Safeguarding Incident Report Form | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Safeguarding Recruitment Policy - Volunteers & Employees | March 2010 | 22-03-2010 | |
| Safeguarding Structure Within the BAB | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
| Vulnerable Adults Info Sheet | December 2020 | 08-12-2020 | |
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