Hingham Tennis is committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable. Our Welfare Officer is Dr Emily Cary .

Please see here for the full policy Hingham Tennis safeguarding policy  and scroll down for a copy of the HiT photography policy for under 18s.  

If you have any concerns about a child, young person or adult at risk should be raised with your club's welfare officer Emily Cary by phone (07974 734265) or via hinghamtennis@gmail.com or contact the LTA  Safe and Inclusive Tennis team as soon as possible using one of the methods listed below:

If you need to report a safeguarding concern please use the concern reporting form using this link Reporting a Concern form or email safeguarding@lta.org.uk or you can call the LTA Safe and Inclusive  team on 020 8487 7000 (view operating hours).

If you'd like to speak to someone outside of office hours, you can call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000

If someone is in immediate danger, call the police (999)

Please see our full Safeguarding policy at Hingham Tennis Safeguarding Policy

Hingham Tennis adheres to this safeguarding code of conduct:

• Prioritise the well-being of all children and adults at all times
• Be a positive role model. Act with integrity, even when no one is looking
• Help to create a safe and inclusive environment both on and off court and promote the Fair Play values: enjoy; respect
• 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
• 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. 

PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILMING POLICY

Hingham Tennis recognises that parents, carers and spectators may use photographic equipment to capture their child or friend playing tennis to support and encourage their experience and to promote positive images of individuals playing tennis. Consent from both the child and, if under 16yrs, the parent/guardian must be obtained before sharing any photographic materials with others or on any social media platforms and follow the guidelines in the ‘image and video content’ section below.

It is important to be aware of child protection and safeguarding issues when people are taking photos or filming children: some people may use sporting events as an opportunity to take inappropriate photographs. The potential for misuse of images can be reduced if Club members and parents are aware of the potential risks and dangers so that all children, young people and adults at risk are safeguarded from abuse and have an enjoyable tennis experience. This policy covers all forms of images, including photographs and videos for the club tennis activities and outlines a range of measures that can be taken to reduce such risks.

Please be aware that Hingham Tennis is located in a public area and, as such, we have no control over who can take photographs of your child from the public areas, but we should all challenge any behaviour that appears inappropriate. If an individual is taking photographs that are making the children, coach or parents uncomfortable, it is best to approach the photographer and politely request they stop taking photographs and remind them they are required to gain consent from child and parents if they wish to publish any photos.

If any parent has concerns about inappropriate photography, this should be reported immediately to the Welfare Officer, event organiser or coach who will follow child protection procedures. The Club Welfare Officer(s) will take these very seriously and concerns will be reported to the LTA and appropriate authorities using LTA forms and guidelines.

Parents and guardians should explain to their children that it is normally okay for friends and family to take photos when they are on court. However, if they see someone taking photos or filming that makes them feel worried, they should tell their parent/guardian, coach, event organiser or someone else in authority straight away.

PHOTOGRAPHY AT HINGHAM TENNIS EVENTS

Hingham Tennis will not share photographs, video or other images of young people to be taken without consent. If the child is under 16, consent must be also be obtained from a parent / guardian.

Consent for photography during club events will be sought at the beginning of the event. Any images will be held in accordance with the data protection provisions. There is a written consent form available for this purpose which is available via hinghamtennis@gmail.com or here: HiT photography consent form

IMAGE AND VIDEO CONTENT

All individuals featured in photographs or film captured must be:

a) Appropriately dressed with clothing covering their torso from their neck to their thighs (e.g. a t-shirt and shorts or skirt). Images of individuals in a state of undress, such as whilst they are changing before or after a match should not be captured or shared in any circumstance

b) In groups with other children or adults where possible and captured in the tennis environment/ with people engaged in tennis

c) Try to take photographs that represent the broad range of youngsters participating safely in tennis. Think about the gender, ethnicity, ability and age of the children you photograph and try to capture the diversity of the children you work with.

d) Images of a young person should not be recorded and published where a court order prohibits this.

When publishing images in publicity material, online, in print and/or on social media thought must be given to the selection of images used. If a photograph caption is used, give the young person’s first name only (no surname), or avoid naming them altogether. Personal details such as email addresses, home addresses and telephone numbers should never be revealed. Avoid streaming any content directly to a website.

HiT reserves the right to ask for photographs or film to be deleted and/or removed from internet sites or social media platforms.

VIDEO USE FOR COACHING PURPOSES

There is no intention to prevent coaches using video equipment as a legitimate coaching aid, however, players and parents/guardians should consent to this image capture and be made aware that this is part of the coaching programme and that material will be stored securely and deleted or destroyed when requested or no longer needed.

DATA PROTECTION

Under applicable data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act 2018, individuals have a right to object to their images being processed. Depending on the circumstance, consent from the individual or their parent/guardian should be obtained before capturing, sharing or publishing images where an individual is identifiable. Whilst it is not always possible to avoid a specific image being captured, where an individual does object to their image being captured, attempts should be made to avoid photographing that individual and images of them should be deleted on request. In addition, as with all personal data, images and footage should be processed in accordance with the applicable data protection principles, other relevant legislation and guidance.

Images obtained with consent (as detailed above) may be stored by HiT on cloud storage platform (Sync and /or Dropbox) which use secure end to end encryption of files.

Images must not be stored on personal cameras or phones, although these devices may be used for initial capture of the images in line with the policy above.

CONTACT

If you have any questions about this policy or its implementation, please contact hinghamtennis@gmail.com.