Sports coach UK Develop Your Coaching Workshop Safeguarding and Protecting Children (16 ─ 18)...

sports coach UK

Develop Your Coaching Workshop

Safeguarding and Protecting Children (16─18)

February 2010

For use by those accredited through sports coach UK’s Head Office Education and Training Team

The Learning Agreement

equity

confidentiality

professionalism

ownership

a child-focused approach

personal safety (emotional well-being)

Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 1

In the workshop we will be promoting:

Workshop Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

identify and recognise good coaching practice and the implications for your coaching

recognise your values and feelings in relation to child abuse, and understand their potential impact on your response

establish the signs and symptoms of child abuse and poor practice

take appropriate action if you have concerns about a child


Values and Feelings

What are values?

How are values formed?

Who influences your values?

What are feelings?


Safeguarding v Child Protection?

Safeguarding (the umbrella) ─ all children involved in our clubs and activities

Child protection ─ one panel of the umbrella-specific children who are at risk of suffering significant harm (this may relate to one or two children in our sessions).


Legal Framework andGovernment Guidance

Safeguarding and protecting

children

Children Act 1989 Children Act 2004

Recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

Other legislation

Human Rights ActUN Convention on the Rights of the Child

What does legislation do?


Legal Framework and Government Guidance (cont’d)

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006:

– Guidance document for organisations, working with children and young people

– States how organisations and individuals should work together to safeguard children


Safeguarding and Protecting Children in the Context of

the Legal Framework


Learning Outcome 1

Identify and recognise good coaching practice, and the implications for your coaching


Clip 1 - Poor practice (010)


Code of Practice for Sports Coaches – Key Principles

Rights – coaches must respect and champion the rights of every individual to participate in sport

Relationships – coaches must develop a relationship with athletes (and others) that is based on openness, honesty, mutual trust and respect

Responsibilities: personal standards – coachesmust demonstrate proper personal behaviour and conduct at all times

Responsibilities: professional standards – to maximise benefits and minimise the risks to athletes, coaches must attain a high level of competence through qualifications, and a commitment to ongoing training that ensures safe and correct practice


Rights

Coaches must respect and champion the rights of every individual to participate in sport


Coaches should:

create an environment where every individual has the opportunity to participate

create and maintain an environment free of fear and harassment

recognise the rights of all athletes to be treated as individuals

recognise the rights of athletes to confer with other coaches and experts

promote the concept of a balanced lifestyle, supporting the well-being of the athlete both in and out of the sport


Relationships

Coaches must develop a relationship with athletes (and others) that is based on openness, honesty, mutual trust and respect


Coaches should always:

promote the welfare and best interests of their athletes

empower athletes to be responsible for their own decisions

clarify the nature of the coaching services being offered to athletes

communicate and cooperate with other organisations and individuals in the best interests of athletes

Coaches must not:

engage in or tolerate behaviour that constitutes any form of abuse (ie physical, sexual, emotional, neglect)


Responsibilities: personal standards

Coaches must demonstrate proper personal behaviour and conduct at all times


Coaches should always:

be fair, honest and considerate to athletes and others in their sport

project an image of health, cleanliness and efficiency

be positive role models for athletes


Responsibilities: professional standards

To maximise benefits and minimise the risks to athletes, coaches must attain a high level of competence through qualifications and a commitment to ongoing training that ensures safe and correct practice


Coaches will:

gain governing body of sport coaching qualifications appropriate to the level at which they coach

be professional and accept responsibility for their actions

promote safe and correct practice in line with codes of practice

provide a safe environment that maximises benefits and minimises risks to athletes

make a commitment to providing a high quality service to their athletes


Learning Outcome 2

Recognise your values and feelings in relation to child abuse, and understand their potential impact on your response


True or False?

1 Children are abused mostly by strangers

2 It is only men who sexually abuse children

3 Disabled children are less likely to be victims of abuse

4 Girls are much more likely to be abused than boys

5 In some cultures, it is acceptable for children to be abused

6 If social services or children’s social care are involved, children are usually removed from their homes


True or False? (cont’d)7 Children are resilient and, therefore, recover

quickly from abuse

8 Children under the age of five are more likely to be abused than older children

9 More children are abused now than 20 years ago

10 Children often lie about abuse

11 There is widespread reported occurrence of abuse in sport

12 Coaches have many opportunities to abuse children emotionally, as well as physically


True or False Answers

1 False

2 False

3 False

4 False

5 False

6 False

7 False

8 True

9 False

10 False

11 True

12 True


Acceptable or Unacceptable Behaviour?

1 A four-year-old child is left alone for half an hour

2 A 12-year-old child is left alone in the house for the evening

3 A five-year-old girl is sent to school in January, wearing a thin cotton dress and a summer jacket

4 A 13-year-old boy goes without lunch and dinner

5 An instructor takes a group hill walking without adequate clothing

6 A father smacks his 12-year-old daughter because she arrives home two hours late


Acceptable or Unacceptable Behaviour? (cont’d)

7 An organisation’s requirements for a particular competition cause the performer to make abnormal changes to her body composition/shape

8 A father bathes his 11-year-old daughter

9 A mother bathes her 10-year-old son

10 A female babysitter bathes a 10-year-old boy who is physically disabled

11 A male coach enters the girls’ changing room to talk before the competition

12 A male coach physically supports a young female gymnast during a tumbling routine



13 A coach has sexual intercourse with one of his 16-year-old athletes

14 A male coach expresses his delight following a good performance by slapping the buttocks of one of his young female athletes

15 A parent has sexual intercourse with his or her child

16 A female coach works alone with a squad of male athletes

17 Parents make their 16-year-old child help out in the family shop every night and each weekend, rather than allowing him/her to socialise with his/her peers



18 Parents constantly taunt their 12-year-old son who hates sports and enjoys ballroom dancing

19 A teacher regularly undermines the efforts of a 15-year-old girl and publicly reports all the errorsshe makes on her homework

20 A coach drives an eight-year-old child to exhaustion and tears during training

21 A player calls another player names

22 Initiation ceremonies within sports teams


Feelings

Recognise your feelings about an issue or concern

What would happen if your emotionsled your actions?


Learning Outcome 3

Establish the signs and symptoms of child abuse and poor practice


Different Types of Abuse

NeglectPhysicalSexualEmotional

Bullying


Neglect occurs when adults fail to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, and is likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development

Examples of neglect include:

failing to provide a child with adequate food, shelter or clothing

regularly leaving a child alone or unsupervised

failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger

failing to ensure a child has access to appropriate medical care or treatment

refusing to give a child affection and attention


Neglect

Examples in sport

Neglect in a sport situation could include a coachfailing to ensure children are safe and comfortable, exposing them to undue cold or to unnecessary risk of injury


Physical abuse occurs when someone causes physical harm or injury to a child (in this case)

Examples include:

hitting, shaking or throwing

poisoning, burning or scalding

biting, suffocating or drowning

giving children inappropriate drugs or alcohol

otherwise causing deliberate physical harm


Physical Abuse

Examples in sport

Physical abuse in a sport situation may be deemed to occur if the nature and intensity of training and competition exceed the capacity of the child’s immature and growing body

This includes instances where drugs are used to delay puberty, control diet or enhance performance


Sexual abuse occurs when adults or other young people (both male and female) use children to meet their own sexual needs

This could include:

full sexual intercourse

masturbation, oral sex, anal intercourse or fondling

involving children in producing pornographic material (eg videos or photographs)

showing children pornographic material (eg magazines, videos or pictures)


Sexual AbuseExamples in sport

There are situations within all sports in which the potential for this form of abuse exists:

Some individuals have deliberately targeted sports activities, in order to gain access to, andabuse, children

There is evidence that individuals have sometimes ignored governing body codes of practice, and used physical contact within a coaching role to mask their inappropriate touching of children

Some people have used sporting events as an opportunity to take inappropriate photographs or videos of sportspeople (including young and disabled participants) in vulnerable positions


Emotional abuse is the emotional ill treatment of a child, resulting in severe and persistent adverse effects on his/her emotional development. Although it can occur in isolation, children who have suffered neglect or physical or sexual abuse will also have suffered some level of emotional abuse

Research shows that children who experience an emotionally abusive environment are at a higher risk of suffering other forms of abuse


The emotional abuse of children of all ages can occur in a number of ways, including:

imposing developmentally inappropriate expectations on them

making them feel worthless, unloved, inadequateor valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person

making their positive self-image entirely dependent on sporting achievement and success

making them feel frightened or in danger

shouting at, threatening or taunting them

overprotecting them or, conversely, failing to give them the love and affection they need


Examples in sport

Emotional abuse in sport may occur if children are subject to constant criticism, name-calling, sarcasm, bullying, racism or unrealistic pressure to perform to high expectations (this may be from parents or coaches)


Emotional Abuse

Bullying is deliberately hurtful behaviour, usually repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves. Bullying can be verbal, written or physical.

Forms of bullying can include:

physical assaults name-calling, sarcasm and racist taunts threats and gestures unwanted physical contact graffiti stealing or hiding personal items being ostracised or ignored


Bullying

unexplained bruising or injuries

sexually explicit language/actions

sudden changes in behaviour

something a child has said

a change, observed over a long period of time

The presence of one or more of these indicators does not necessarily mean that abuse is occurring

In the first instance, you may wish to raise your concerns with your head coach/mentor


Possible indicators of abuse include:

It is not your responsibility to decide whether or not a child is being abused…

…but it is your responsibility to act if you have any concerns


Responsibility

Learning Outcome 4

Take appropriate action if concerns about a child arise


What Are You Going To Do?

Don’t panic! Stay calm; do not show disbelief

Support the person making the disclosure/allegation

Listen carefully

Write down exactly what is said

Take the concern seriously

Pass the information to head coach/mentor

Be aware of mirroring!


Reporting Structure


Poor Practice to Potential Abuse


Workshop Outcomes


Can you:

identify and recognise good coaching practice and the implications for your coaching

recognise your values and feelings in relation to child abuse, and understand their potential impact on your response

establish the signs and symptoms of child abuse and poor practice

take appropriate action if you have concerns about a child?

Where Next?

For further information on sports coach UK workshops, visit www.sportscoachuk.org

For further information on safeguarding children, please visit www.nspcc.org.uk

For further information on safeguarding children in sport, please visit www.thecpsu.org.uk


Do You Have Any Questions?

Thank you for your participationand support

Good luck with your coaching


Sports coach UK Develop Your Coaching Workshop Safeguarding and Protecting Children (16 ─ 18)...

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Transcript of Sports coach UK Develop Your Coaching Workshop Safeguarding and Protecting Children (16 ─ 18)...