PetworthLTC

Petworth Lawn Tennis Club is committed to prioritising the well-being of all children and adults at risk, promoting safeguarding in our club at all times, including all programmes and events we run. This Policy strives to minimise risk, deliver a positive tennis experience for everyone and respond appropriately to all safeguarding concerns/disclosures.

Concern Reporting a Safeguarding Concern

Anyone who is concerned about the well-being of a child/ adult at risk, or has a disclosure of abuse or neglect made to them must follow the procedure below:

If you have a concern about abuse or the welfare of a child, young person or adult at risk, please report your concern at https://safeguardingconcern.lta.org.uk and contact your local authority children 01403 229900 /adult 01243 642121 services team. If the concern involves an immediate risk of harm please call the police on 999. If you would like advice and support before contacting the LTA you can call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. If you are a child or young person you can also contact Childline on 0800 1111.

If you have a query in the future, please check our safeguarding webpage and FAQs. In the event the FAQ’s don’t give you what you need, then the Contact Us form will be your fastest route to a resolution.

Safe and Inclusive Code of Conduct

All employees, those under contractual arrangements, club officials, volunteers, members and others using the club facilities are required to abide by this Code of Conduct. This is required in order to support the club in providing a welcoming and safe environment for all children and young people and in the implementation of its child protection policy and procedures.

Those working in the club should at all times:

• Prioritise the well-being of all children and adults at all times
• Respect the rights, dignity, and worth of every person within the context of our sports
• Display high standards of behaviour. Always work in an open environment (i.e. avoid private, or unobserved, situations). Act with integrity at all times
• Help to create a safe and inclusive environment both on and off court and promote the Fair Play values: enjoy; respect
• Place the well-being and safety of children above the development of performance
• Value and celebrate diversity and make all reasonable efforts to meet individual needs
• Keep clear boundaries between your professional and personal life, including on social media
• Check you have the relevant consent from parents/carers, children and adults before taking or using photos and videos
• Ensure your own roles and responsibilities, and those of everyone you are responsible for, are clearly outlined and everyone has the information, training and support to carry them out
• Where possible, do not be alone with a child or adult at risk (NB LTA guidance does allow for public 1 to 1 coaching as defined within the good practice guidelines)
• Coaches and volunteers must takepositive action to protect both themselves and raise concerns if they feel uncomfortably placed in a position of working alone and/or unsupervised
• Do not abuse, neglect, harm or discriminate against anyone; or act in a way that may be interpreted as such*
• Doing nothing is NOT an option: report all concerns and disclosures as soon as possible, following the Concern Reporting Procedure. If someone is in immediate danger, call the police (999)

*It is illegal to have a relationship with someone who is under 18 years old if you are in a position of trust; it is illegal to have a sexual relationship with anyone under the age of 16 whether they give consent or not.

The Code of Conduct should be interpreted in a spirit of integrity, transparency and common sense, with the best interests of children and adults at risk as the primary consideration.

Contact Details

Club welfare officer

Jole Johnson – 07767 778252

Deputy Welfare Officer

Oliver Ormsby –07714 293328

LTA Safeguarding Policies

The LTA provide a safeguarding policy for children and any adults at risk. This documentation can be found here.