Children and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy

Harrogate Gymnastics Club strives to ensure that children and vulnerable adults are protected and safe from harm whilst participating in gymnastics, trampolining and ballet classes. We endeavour to promote the highest standards of care for participants and willingly accept responsibility for:

• A duty of care for all children and vulnerable adults whilst they are on the premises

• Specifically appointing and training a staff member for the role of “Children & Vulnerable Adults Protection and Welfare Officer” (contact details displayed on notice boards). This person is available as a confidential and accessible route for people to voice their concerns or allegations regarding issues of protection and welfare

• Dealing with all issues of protection and welfare sensitively, swiftly and in confidentially

• Enforcing a code of conduct for all members, backed up by a disciplinary policy (both documents displayed on notice boards)

• Operating a strict coaches code of conduct and employee disciplinary procedure

• Carefully recruiting coaches and ensuring that they hold both valid training qualifications, and certification from the criminal records bureau indicating their suitability to work with children

• Promoting the ongoing training and development of coaches both through the British Gymnastics Coaching Schemes, and in child protection training

• Ensuring that situations do not arise wherein a child is alone and unobserved with a coach/adult either on the premises, or during travel to a competition. At all times on site children will work in groups or with other coaches and children in the gym. On visits off-site where it is necessary for children to travel with a coach, where possible more than one adult will attend the trip, where this is not possible the children will not travel unless with the express permission of the parents/guardians

• The Club adopts the British gymnastics Child safeguarding and Protecting Children policy

Chloe Carey, Director

Last updated July 2017