Club Welfare Officer Bulletin

Issue No. 1:  MAY 2018

Dear

Welcome to the first British Orienteering Club Welfare Officer Bulletin.

British Orienteering has committed to communicating to Club Welfare Officers on a regular basis to ensure that they stay up to date with the latest safeguarding policies and practices. If there is someone else in your club that you feel it is appropriate to send this bulletin to as well please let us know as we are committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all those involved in the sport of orienteering.  If you are no longer the safeguarding officer and would like to be removed from the list please let us know.

In this bulletin:

·       CPSU Annual Review
·       Overnight Accommodation
·       Examples of Good Practice
·       Training Opportunities
·       British Orienteering Safeguarding Email Address

CPSU Annual Review

The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU) is a partnership between the NSPCC, Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland and Sport Wales. In Scotland, there's a similar partnership between Children 1st and SportScotland.

The CPSU works with National Governing Bodies (NGBs), County Sports Partnerships (CSPs) and other organisations to help them minimise the risk of child abuse during sporting activities.

The CPSU Annual Review is an audit of British Orienteering’s Safeguarding Practices. This year several factors, not least allegations of historical abuse in sport, has lead to a tightening up of these standards.

One outcome of the review is an implementation plan which details actions that British Orienteering needs to take on safeguarding over the next 12 months. This will happen at all levels of the organisation and includes the Board, the National Office, the regions and the clubs.

Regular communication with Club Welfare Officers via a regular bulletin is one of these actions.

Overnight Accommodation

One area  where members have requested further guidance is around young athletes and overnight accommodation. Although this is referred to in the O-Safe policy document (page 14) we accept that further guidance would be useful to ensure that trip organisers are fully aware of the potential safeguarding risks to both young people and accompanying adults. The draft document is currently being reviewed and will be published soon.

Examples of Good Practice

The England Development Officers, in their conversations with clubs, have already identified some examples of good practice in safeguarding. However, British Orienteering would be extremely pleased to hear from any other clubs that can demonstrate good practice in safeguarding. Our intention would be to share the experiences with Club Welfare Officers as they will provide valuable insight into how implementing good practice in safeguarding works on the ground.

Please send any examples of good practice to:  info@britishorienteering.org.uk

Training Opportunities

If you need support in identifying relevant training for individuals in your club or association then the 'Child Protection in Sport' website is a good place to start. Their page 'Choosing the Right Training' will help to signpost you in the right direction. This page can be found at the following link: https://thecpsu.org.uk/training-events/choose-the-right-training/

British Orienteering Safeguarding Email Address

British Orienteering's primary responsibility is to ensure that concerns and any relevant information are reported and where appropriate passed on to the Police and Children’s Social Care without delay. These organisations have the statutory responsibility to make enquiries to establish if a child is at risk of harm.

One of the mechanisms that British Orienteering has to facilitate the reporting of potential safeguarding concerns British Orienteering is a safeguarding email address. This email allows individuals to report safeguarding concerns directly to the Lead Safeguarding Officer. Reports could include any concerns about the welfare of children either within orienteering or outside of orienteering and any concerns over adult behaviour related to the welfare of children, including those away from the sport that involve members or participants. Please could you ensure that all your club members are aware of the email address and where possible that it is publicised at events.

The British Orienteering safeguarding email address is: safeguarding@britishorienteering.org.uk

Many thanks to those that responded to the earlier communication requesting National Office Support with safeguarding. 

We are very grateful for this. The individuals have been contacted and have already been given a task to do! If you or someone else you are in contact with have any safeguarding expertise to offer then we would love to hear from you. 

Please contact: info@britishorienteering.org.uk