Oundle Tennis Club Safeguarding Policy

The Club Welfare Officer is Tean Hatt  who can be contacted on: 07770 263159 - teanhatt@btinternet.com

Oundle Tennis Club takes the welfare and safeguarding of its members seriously, particularly those who are aged under 18 and/or who are considered to be at risk.  Should members, parents or guardians have any concerns, they should use the diagram in the image at the top of this page as guide to reporting any safeguarding concerns.

Safeguarding Policy

1. Policy statement

Oundle 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. All activities, events and competitions arranged by the club run in accordance with the LTA’s Safeguarding at Events, Activities and Competitions guidance. This Policy strives to minimise risk, deliver a positive tennis experience for everyone and respond appropriately to all safeguarding concerns/disclosures.

2. Use of terminology

Child: a person under the age of eighteen years.

Note that some legislation in Scotland defines a child as a person under sixteen years old. However, where there is any safeguarding concern, anyone under the age of 18 is regarded as a child unless advised otherwise by the LTA Safeguarding Team.

Adult at risk: a person aged eighteen years or over who is, or may be, in need of community care services by reason of disability, age or illness; and is, or may be, unable to take care of, or unable to protect him or herself against abuse or neglect.

Safeguarding children: protecting children from abuse and neglect, preventing the impairment of children’s health or development, ensuring that they grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care, and taking action to enable all children to have the best life chances.

Safeguarding adults at risk: protecting adults from abuse and/or neglect. Enabling adults to maintain control over their lives and make informed choices without coercion. Empowering adults at risk, consulting them before taking action, unless someone lacks the capacity to make a decision, or their mental health poses a risk to their own or someone else’s safety, in which case, always acting in his or her best interests. 

(Click here the NSPCC website to gather more detail about types of abuse).

3. Scope

This Policy is applicable to all staff, volunteers, committee members, coaches and club members. It is in line with national legislation and applicable across the UK.

Advice, guidance and support is available from the LTA Safeguarding Team.

4. Responsibility for the implementation of the Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct and Reporting Procedure

SAFEGUARDING IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY: NOT RESPONDING TO A SAFEGUARDING CONCERN IS NOT AN OPTION.

• Our club’s committee has overall accountability for this Policy and its implementation
• Our club Welfare Officer, Tean Hatt, is responsible for updating this Policy in line with legislative and club developments 
• All individuals involved in/present at the club are required to adhere to the Policy and Code of Conduct
• The LTA Safeguarding Team and Tennis Scotland, Tennis Wales and Tennis Foundation Safeguarding Leads can offer support to help clubs proactively safeguard.

Where there is a safeguarding concern/disclosure:

• The individual who is told about, hears, or is made aware of the concern/disclosure is responsible for following the Reporting a Safeguarding Concern Procedure shown in the flowchart at the beginning of this policy and the guidance in Appendix A. Unless someone is in immediate danger, they should inform their club Welfare Officer, LTA Safeguarding Team or National Safeguarding Lead.
• The club Welfare Officer and Safeguarding Leads are responsible for reporting safeguarding concerns to the LTA Safe Safeguarding Team.
• The LTA Safeguarding Team is responsible for assessing all safeguarding concern/disclosures that are reported to them and working with the club Welfare Officer and National Safeguarding Leads to follow up as appropriate on a case-by-case basis, prioritising the well-being of the child/ adult at risk at all times.
  
  Dependent on the concern/disclosure, a referral may be made to:
• The police in an emergency (999);
• Local Authority - Northamptonshire County Council Children’s Services 0300 126 1000
• Designated Officer (England only) for concerns/disclosures about a member of staff, consultant, coach, official or volunteer.

5. Breaches of the Safeguarding Policy, Code of Conduct and Reporting Procedure

Breaches of this Policy and/or failure to comply with the outlined responsibilities may result in the following:

• Disciplinary action leading to possible exclusion from the club, dismissal and legal action
• Termination of current and future roles within the club and roles in other clubs, the LTA, Tennis Wales, Tennis Scotland and the Tennis Foundation.

Actions taken by players, parents or carers, staff, consultants, volunteers, officials, coaches inside or outside of the club that are seen to contradict this Policy may be considered a violation of this Policy.

Where an appeal is lodged in response to a safeguarding decision made by the club, the individual should adhere to the club’s appeal procedure. Copy on request.

6. Whistleblowing

Safeguarding children and adults at risk requires everyone to be committed to the highest possible standards of openness, integrity and accountability. As a club, we are committed to encouraging and maintaining a culture where people feel able to raise a genuine safeguarding concern and are confident that it will be taken seriously.

What is whistle blowing?

In the context of safeguarding, “whistle blowing” is when someone raises a concern about the well-being of a child or an adult at risk.

A whistle blower may be:

• a player;
• a volunteer;
• a coach;
• other member of staff;
• an official;
• a parent;
• a member of the public.

How to raise a concern about a child or an adult at risk at the club

If a child or an adult at risk is in immediate danger or risk of harm, the police should be contacted by calling 999.

Where a child or an adult at risk is not in immediate danger, any concerns about their well-being should be made without delay to the Club Welfare Officer. The Club Welfare Officer will pass the details of the concern on to the LTA Safeguarding Team at the earliest opportunity and the relevant local authority and the police will be contacted, where appropriate.

If, however, the whistle blower does not feel comfortable raising a concern with the Club Welfare Officer, the whistle blower should contact the LTA Safeguarding Team directly on 020 8487 7000, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

The Club Welfare Officer, Tean Hatt, can be contacted on: 07770 263159, teanhatt@btinternet.com.

Information to include when raising a concern

The whistle blower should provide as much information as possible regarding the incident or circumstance which has given rise to the concern, including:

• their name and contact details (unless they wish to remain anonymous);
• names of individuals involved;
• date, time and location of incident/circumstance; and
• whether any witnesses were present.

What happens next?

All concerns raised by a whistle blower about the well-being of a child or an adult at risk will be taken seriously and every effort will be made to deal with each concern fairly, quickly and proportionately.

If the whistle blower does not believe that the concern has been dealt with appropriately and wishes to speak to someone outside the club or the LTA Safeguarding Team, the NSPCC Whistleblowing advice line should be contacted on 0800 028 0285 or by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk.

Support

The club will not tolerate any harassment, victimisation or unfair treatment of, and will take appropriate action to protect, whistle blowers when they raise a concern in good faith.

This Policy is reviewed every two years (or earlier if there is a change in national legislation).

This Policy is recommended for approval by:

Club Committee Chair:  Jason Atkinson Date:  5 June 2024

Club Welfare Officer:  Tean Hatt        Date:  5 June 2024

Appendix A: What to do if a disclosure from a child or adult at risk is made to you:

1. Listen carefully and calmly to the individual
2. Reassure the individual that they have done the right thing and what they have told you is very important
3. Avoid questioning where possible, and never ask leading questions
4. Do not promise secrecy.  Let the individual know that you will need to speak to the Welfare Officer/LTA Safeguarding Team because it is in their best interest.  If you intend to speak to the police or social care, you should let them know this too.
5. Report the concern. In an emergency, call the police (999), otherwise talk to the Welfare Officer/LTA Safeguarding Team as soon as possible. Do not let doubt/personal bias prevent you from reporting the allegation
6. Record details of the disclosure and allegation using the LTA’s online reporting a concern form within 24 hours. If you do not have access to the online form, write down the details using what you have available then sign and date it.

Appendix B: Reporting a Safeguarding Concern outside the Tennis Environment

What to do if someone is worried that a child is being abused outside the tennis environment (e.g. at home, school or in the community) but the concern is identified through the child’s involvement in tennis.

For Tennis Wales / Tennis Scotland cases, on-going consultation will take place with them.