These procedures are designed specifically for Bolton Sports Federation Ladies Rounders League, in particular for Club/League officials and volunteers because of their direct contact with children and young people who may be, or may become, victims of abuse. These responsibilities are created by The Children Act 1989.

B.S.F. Ladies Rounders League (Rounders League) recognises and accepts its responsibility for the safety and well being of those children and young people who come within the care of the Rounders League and its volunteers. These children and young people include those who play and train within the Rounders League.

Young people have a lot to gain from the Rounders League. Their natural sense of fun and spontaneity can blossom in positive sporting environments, which can promote progress in a child-centred way. The Rounders League provides an excellent medium in which children and young people can learn new skills, become more confident and maximise their own unique potential.

The Rounders League accepts its responsibility in the belief that the welfare and protection of children and young people is paramount. The Rounders League believes that this recognition will provide a solid foundation for the development of the children and young people and for effective Safeguarding Children practice within the Rounders League.

The Rounders League will put into place systems that will prevent or minimise the risk of abuse occurring within its own organisation. As an integral part of this process, the Club will ensure that children and young people will have access to a complaints procedure. In all Safeguarding Children issues, The Rounders League will work under the guidance of the Area Safeguarding Children Committee.

The Rounders League will appoint an appropriate person who will act as the "Designated Person for Safeguarding Children" to whom any concerns about the welfare of a young person should be reported. The Rounders League will ensure that systems are in place so that the welfare of young persons will be dealt with appropriately and sensitively. The Rounders League will also appoint a "Safeguarding Children Officer" who will act in an advisory capacity.

All the Rounders League members working with children and young people will be required to share in the Rounders League's ethos of responsibility for the protection of children and young people. All volunteers will receive appropriate training in "Safeguarding Children Awareness" and in the Rounders League's "Procedures" for implementing its Safeguarding Children Policy. The Rounders League will ensure that all its current and potential volunteers are checked with the Criminal Records Bureau as to their suitability to work with children and young people *.

* within a time scale agreed by The Rounders League Committee.

The parents and carers of children and young people working with the Rounders League will be informed of the Rounders League's "Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures".

Because of their statutory responsibility for children and young persons **, all Social Services Departments have a set of procedures giving guidance and information on protecting children and responding to child abuse.

The following principles extracted from the 'Children Act 1989', have been highlighted as being the most important for the purpose of these procedures.

The welfare of the child is paramount.

In the case of children born after December 2003, fathers although not married to the mother but whose name appears on the birth certificate shall have parental responsibility.

"The duty which rests upon an individual or organisation to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure the safety of any person involved in any activity for which that individual or organisation is responsible."

All those working with children and young people are deemed to have a 'Duty of Care' (Children Act, 1989).

"A person who is regularly involved in caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of a child or young person and in the course of his/her involvement has unsupervised contact, whether face to face or by any other means, is deemed, in law, to be in a "Position of Trust".

A volunteer might become involved in a Safeguarding Children Issue when:

Rounders League volunteers working with young people should have built up good, trusting relationships. This may also mean that the young people come to see a volunteer as someone they can confide in and to whom they may go for help and protection.

In the course of their work with young people, volunteers must be prepared to hear information about abuse and to take seriously what they hear. The young people may communicate that something is upsetting them, not just verbally but through their attitude, actions and behaviour. A slow but definite change in a young person's behaviour, for example changing from an outgoing, happy person to a withdrawn, passive personality may cause an alert.

These Procedures are intended to help all involved with the Rounders League to understand more about Safeguarding Children, confront some issues and consider how they might respond to a given situation.

The protection of all young people who are in the care of the Rounders League is the responsibility of all volunteers in the Rounders League. The aim is to create a safe, secure environment to enable those young people to achieve their full potential.

This section should be read with caution. It is not a comprehensive guide to assessing child abuse. The presence of one or other of these features will not necessarily mean that a child has been abused and should not be seen in isolation, but may indicate that careful investigation (by an appropriate person) is needed.

Child Abuse may be described as harm to a child or the failure by a person with responsibility for a child to provide reasonable care, or a combination of both. Abuse may take the form of physical injury, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect. Harm to a child may be caused by a child's parents or carer, a relative, a stranger or someone known to the child, or even another child.

Physical Abuse: Where adults and children or young people, physically hurt or injure others by hitting, shaking, squeezing, burning or biting, bullying or by giving them alcohol, inappropriate drugs or poison. Attempted suffocation or drowning also comes within this category.

Neglect: Where adults fail to meet a child or young person's basic needs like food or warm clothing, fail or refuse to give children or young people love, affection and attention. Constantly leaving children and young people alone or unsupervised would fall into this category.

Sexual Abuse: Girls and boys are abused by adults - both male and female - who use them to meet their own sexual needs. This could include full sexual intercourse, masturbation, oral sex, anal intercourse and fondling. Showing children and young people pornographic material (books, videos, pictures or other electronic media) is a form of sexual abuse. Taking pornographic photographs and videos of children and young people in inappropriate sporting positions is also classified as sexual abuse. Sports, which necessitate physical support with young people, could potentially create situations where sexual abuse may go unnoticed.

No Rounders League volunteer or other responsible person is allowed to communicate with a person under 18 by any electronic means, including email and text messages so that no allegations of 'grooming' can be levelled at persons who can be vulnerable to any such allegations. Global messages can be sent but it is important to retain a time and date stamped copy so that the author has an auditable trail in the event of any allegation. Where this presents a problem arrangements should be made for electronic communication with parent(s)/carer(s). (See Sexual Offences Act 2003)

Emotional Abuse: Persistent lack of love and affection, where a young person may be constantly shouted at, threatened or taunted, which may make the child very nervous and withdrawn. Emotional abuse may also occur when there is constant overprotection (which prevents children and young people from socialising), or where there is neglect, physical or sexual abuse. Racism is a form of emotional abuse.

The main types of abuse are featured in the appendices at the end of this document.

Domestic Violence witnessed or experienced by children and young people creates a considerable impact on their lives.

The amendment to the Children and Adoption Bill, recently accepted by the House of Commons, will extend the legal definition of 'significant harm' to include suffering experienced by children when witnessing the ill-treatment of another person, such as domestic violence. When a child is at risk of 'significant harm' intervention will be compulsory.

Domestic Violence may be defined as:

"Any form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship, in most cases the relationship between partners (married, co-habiting or otherwise) or ex-partners."

Whilst physical and sexual assaults are the most common form, domestic violence can include harassment, mental violence, restriction of liberty or availability of money, and damage to and loss of property.

Research shows that domestic violence can affect children in a number of ways:

Sexual experimentation between children is part of normal development. It can be difficult to differentiate between consensual experimentation and sexual abuse.

Abusive behaviour in a child or young person, however, will have at least one of the following characteristics:

Girls and boys of all ages may display sexually abusive behaviour, such behaviour must always be taken seriously.

When it is alleged that the abuse of a child is said to have been carried out by another child or young person, it is important that the appropriate Safeguarding Children Procedures should be followed in respect of both the victim and the alleged abuser.

When such an incident is alleged it should be reported to the Designated Person immediately. Whilst these allegations are being investigated the Rounders League should consult with the "Safeguarding Children Officer" about whether the young person should continue to attend any Rounders League activity because of the risk they may pose to others.

Bullying is the deliberate attempt by an individual or group to hurt, torment, tease, frighten or upset someone causing him/ her to feel intimidated uncomfortable or unhappy. Bullying includes racist and homophobic behaviour.

Bullying can be the physical, mental or emotional abuse of a person. It can take many forms, some more obvious than others. The following examples of bullying should be watched out for.

The Rounders League aims in relation to bullying are:

Bullying is often hidden. It is best prevented by Rounders League volunteers being alert and aware at all times.

Parents should be encouraged to inform the Rounders League if they suspect their child is being bullied. The above strategies should then be applied.

ADULTS too may be guilty of bullying!

They should avoid:

If a specific incident or injury gives cause for concern or if a child/young person says that something has happened to them that falls within the remit of "Recognised Abuse", the Designated Person must be contacted immediately and a "Rounders League Referral Sheet" must be completed.

Concerns can sometimes arise about a child/young person without any specific incident or injury having occurred. These may be concerns that you have monitored over a period of time, or worries that you might wish to discuss with the "Designated Person".

It is important to mention your concern rather than to keep it to yourself as this could be vital in preventing a situation from becoming worse. In these circumstances the concern should be written up on the "Referral Sheet", and an arrangement for an early meeting with the "Designated Person should be made. In these situations, the Designated Person may decide to make an "advice call' to the Local Authority Social Services or to the police.

In all matters relating to allegations of Abuse it should be realised that Confidentiality must be observed. Referral (and discussion about the allegation) must only be conducted with the Designated Person or Safeguarding Children Officer.

The Rounders League will appoint an appropriate person as "Designated Person for Safeguarding Children'.

The Designated Person is responsible for all Safeguarding Children and Child Welfare matters within the Club. The Designated Person is the link between the Rounders League and other agencies.

The Designated Person will be responsible for the management and co-ordination of Safeguarding Children issues. She/He will set up and maintain a system of "Safeguarding Children Records" including notes of all concerns referred to her/him, and be responsible for the security and confidentiality of this information.

These records will include:

The Designated Person will:

The Designated Person may also wish to contact Social Services with regards to general concerns
in order to receive advice about the best way to proceed.

Referrals will be made to the area Social Services unless it is known
the child/young person has a named Social Worker from another authority.

Child abuse can evoke strong emotions in those facing such a situation and it is important to understand these feelings and not to allow them to interfere with your judgement. Abuse can occur within many situations including the home, school and the sporting environment.
Some individuals will actively seek employment or voluntary work with young people in order to harm them.
A coach, manager, referee or volunteer etc may have regular contact with young people and be an important link in identifying cases where a young person needs protection. Any case of poor practice should be reported and further guidance and/or support offered.

In addition, all members should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behaviour in order to protect themselves from false allegations. The following are specific examples of where care must be taken (ü ) when working within the Rounders League:

The following should be avoided (x). If cases arise where these situations are unavoidable, they should only occur with the full knowledge and consent of the identified person in the section or the child's parents/carers:

The following must never (Ø ) be sanctioned. You should never:

It may sometimes be necessary for volunteers to do things of a personal nature for young people, particularly if they are very young or have disabilities. These tasks should only be carried out with the full understanding and consent of parents/carers and the young people involved. There is a need to be responsive to a child's reactions. If a child is fully dependent on you, talk with her about what you are doing and give choices where possible. This is particularly necessary if you are involved in any dressing or undressing of outer clothing, or where there is physical support or lifting or assisting a child to carry out particular activities.

If you accidentally hurt a child and they seem distressed in any manner, appear to be sexually aroused by your actions, or misunderstands or misinterprets something you have done, report any such incident immediately to another Rounders League member, and make a brief written note of it. The child's parents/carers should also be informed of the incident, preferably in person.

Always make an accurate record of the things you have observed or have been told. This should include a note of the date and time of a particular incident, or when a particular concern came to your attention. If a young person has told you something, it is essential that you write this down in the young person's own words. The written record should include a note about the size and appearance of any injury (a sketch is helpful). Injuries a young person arrives with at the start of any session should be noted: any injuries received during a session should always be recorded in the "Accident Book". This information will be useful when making a referral about suspected abuse. Your Designated Person may ask to see these records should there be a referral to Social Services.

The purpose of confidentiality is to protect young people, by providing appropriate privacy to young people and their families. The Rounders League will ensure that abusers are not assisted by access to confidential information. Information (written or verbal) should be shared only on a need to know basis. All Safeguarding Children records should be kept separately from a young person's open records. They should be kept in a secure place and be accessed only by designated persons. Parents, volunteers and officials have no right of access to separate Safeguarding Children Records which remain confidential at all times.

Young people need to be listened to and allowed time and space to talk about their experiences, even if they might have chosen a time inconvenient to you. They need to know that they are being taken seriously and be reassured that they have done the right thing in telling you about their concern.

Appropriate Questioning

It is important to know that interviewing young people in cases of abuse is a specialist role, which should be done only by trained social workers and police officers. Remember that the young person may be asked to talk to someone else at a later stage. Try to avoid interrupting or questioning the young person and instead allow them to talk at their own pace and in their own words but you can reassure that the young person is being taken seriously.

Try not to make assumptions about what you are told and avoid using emotive words such as 'rape' 'assault' or 'beating' which might make the experience of telling even more difficult. It is important not to criticise the abuser e.g. 'X is a bad person". Try not to project your own feelings onto the young person. It might help you to sort out your own feelings if you talk to the Designated Person later.

Be honest and realistic: you should never promise not to tell or say you can do something you are unable to do. You have a duty to pass on any allegations or suspicions about abuse to the appropriate person. If you are going to pass information on, it is right to let the young person know why you are doing this and who you will be contacting. Older children will naturally be able to understand more fully what is to happen.

If sexual abuse is suspected, or if there is any reason to believe that alerting the parent/carer might compromise the young person's welfare, you are advised not to discuss the matter with the parent/carer but you should contact the Designated Person immediately. Otherwise, if you see an injury about which you have suspicions or you have concerns about a young person's behaviour or welfare, you should ask the parent/carer for an explanation. If the parent/carer, when asked seems unaware of the injury, or will say nothing at all, is evasive or is inappropriately hostile, this may support your suspicions that the injury was non accidental. Tell the parent/carer that you are concerned. Say that injuries to young people must be investigated because young people are vulnerable. Say that there is a procedure you must follow. Tell the parents/carer that the procedure is to provide help for parents/carers as well as protection for children.

Prompt action needs to be taken in all instances in which abuse is suspected or discovered.

It is important to have a high enough ratio of volunteers to children for any activity. The factors to take into consideration include:

Volunteer ratios are difficult to prescribe as they will vary according to the activity, age, group, location and the efficient use of resources but must take the above factors into consideration as part of the risk assessment. However, a general guide for activities, in normal circumstances, might be:

The above are examples only. Volunteer leaders should assess the risks and consider an appropriate safe supervision level for their particular group. There should be a minimum of one Volunteer leader in charge.

In addition to the volunteer leader in charge there should be enough volunteers to cope effectively with an emergency.

Where there is more than one volunteer leader/supervisor a group leader should be appointed who has authority over the whole group. If more than group is involved, an overall group leader should be identified, usually the person with the most experience in leading activities.

Where a high adult child ratio is required, it is not always feasible to use Rounders League volunteers alone.

Parents/volunteers may be used to supplement the supervision ratio. They should be carefully selected and ideally they should be well known to the Rounders League and the child group. Anyone who has not had a criminal conviction check should never be left in sole charge of children.

For the protection of both adults and children, all adult volunteers should ensure that they are not alone with a child wherever possible.

All adult volunteers, including group leaders and parent/volunteer helpers, must understand their roles and responsibilities at all times. It may be helpful to put this in writing. In particular, all volunteers should be aware of any children who may require closer supervision, such as those with special needs or those likely to cause trouble. Group leaders retain responsibility for the group at all times.

Whatever the length and nature of the visit, regular head counting of children should take place, particularly before leaving any venue. All volunteers should carry a list of all children and adults involved in the activity at all times. Children, particularly in school years 1 to 3, should be easily identifiable, especially if the activity is in a densely populated area. Brightly coloured caps or T-shirts can help identify group members more easily. Children should not wear name badges. Consider providing children with badges displaying the name of the Rounders League and its emergency contact number. The group leader should establish rendezvous points and tell children what to do if they become separated from the group.

The group leader should establish during the planning stage of the activity, whether the children are competent in remote supervision and should ensure parents have agreed this part of the activity. The group leader remains responsible for children even when not in direct contact with them.

Parents should be told, before the activity, whether any form of remote supervision will take place.

a. Refuse to play or continue the game

b. Remove the players from the field of play

The following circumstances may necessitate the volunteer to implement the above:

i. no access for emergency services

ii. no access for wheel chairs, prams or other similar facilities

iii. where there is no first aid provision

iv. confrontation between the parties associated with each team

v. where parents and spectators are failing to adhere to the code of conduct

Parents and spectators have a great influence on children's enjoyment and success in rounders. All children play rounders first and foremost because they love the game - its fun. It is important to remember, that however good a child becomes at a sport within our League, it is vital for parents and spectators to give positive encouragement, which will contribute to:

A parent's and spectator's expectations and attitude have a significant bearing on a child's attitude towards:

Parents and spectators are reminded that the children's enjoyment and development is paramount and winning is not.

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Actual or likely physical injury to a child, or failure to prevent physical injury or suffering to a child.

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.

Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns the symptoms of, or deliberately causes ill health to a child they are looking after (fabricated or induced illness).

Particular attention should be paid to bruising on the head or face (including eyes, ears and around the mouth). Bruises on shins and knees may be consistent with the normal activities of a young person, but marks on softer parts of the body e.g. inner thighs, arms, shoulders, neck or buttocks should be treated with suspicion. Attention should also be paid to finger-tip bruises (small round or oval) grasp marks on arms or chest, or hand prints and bruises with unusual outlines which may suggest the use of an implement such as a belt or stick.

Blood spots can indicate abuse. Black eyes, in particular two black eyes, may indicate a fracture of the skull as a result of an assault. Bruising around the nose and forehead is more likely to be present with black eyes as a result of an accident.

A fracture could be indicated if there are signs of severe, pain, loss of function, displacement or swelling. The most common fractures are to arms, legs and ribs.

These may show a marked 'edge' with an undamaged 'inner' or an outline of two sets of teeth in a round or oval shape.

These may include cigarette burns (circular, punched out, with a dark thick base appearance), burns on buttocks or scalds caused by immersion in hot water. Burns may be seen in unusual places such as the back of the hand. Care should be taken not to confuse these with conditions such as impetigo.

Injuries within the abdomen can be life threatening e.g. a torn liver, spleen or ruptured intestine. These can be present without any bruising to the abdominal wall.

These may include bleeding or soreness (see Section on Sexual Abuse)

With all these injuries a number of other factors need to be taken into account, including whether the explanation matches the injury or if it appears inconsistent or vague. Suspicion of the use of any implement such as a stick or a belt should alert you. Any repetition or continuation of injuries e.g. bruises which appear to be of different ages may be significant when you are considering whether a child has been abused.

It should be noted that only a clinical medical officer or a consultant paediatrician should diagnose when an injury is non-accidental. It is not the responsibility of the Rounders League to determine the cause of an injury.

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development

It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failing to protect a child from physical harm or danger, or the failure to ensure access to the appropriate medical care or treatment.

It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to a child's basic emotional needs.

Neglect is the most difficult form of abuse to detect, but the impact of neglect can damage the child right through to adulthood.

Children need loving care and concern, stimulation, praise and encouragement as well as sufficient food, warmth, clothing and medical care in order to grow and develop properly.

Indicators of neglect could include the following:

Sexual Abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.

The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative (e.g. rape or buggery) or non-penetrative acts.

They may include non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at or in the production of pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

The possibility of sexual abuse may be indicated by the presence of one or more of the following:

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects of the child's emotional development.

It may involve conveying to a child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.

It may feature age or developmental by inappropriate expectations being imposed on children.

It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children.

Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

Forms

The following forms are a rough representation of the forms in the  paper document

The Rounders League is dedicated to the welfare and safety of its children and young people. As part of this commitment, the only photographs allowed at all Rounders League activities will be those taken by designated Rounders League/Club officials.

All young people photographed must be properly dressed.

Photographs or recordings should focus on the activity and not on a particular player.

Images should be recorded in groups of at least four players.

Images published should not be accompanied by full name and / or personal details of the players.

Images of a player who is subject to a court order must never be used.

Images must never be entered on to a computer.

Parents / carers / students must sign and return the 'Images Permission Form' at the start of each season.

This form is to be signed by the Legal Guardian of a Child or Young Person under the age of 18, together with the Child or Young Person.

Please note that if you have more than one Child under the age of 18 registered with the Rounders League, you will need to complete separate forms for each Young Person.

The Rounders League recognises the need to ensure the welfare and safety of all children and young people in the Rounders League.
As part of our commitment to ensure the safety of children and young people we will not permit photographs, video images or other images of children and young people to be taken or used without the consent of the Parents/Carers and the child or young person.

The Rounders League will follow the guidance for the use of images of Young People, as detailed within The Rounders League Safeguarding Children and Procedures Policy (excerpt attached for information).

The Rounders League will take steps to ensure these images are used solely for the purposes they are intended, which is the promotion and celebration of the activities of The Rounders League.

If you become aware that these images are being used inappropriately, you should inform the Rounders League Safeguarding Children Officer immediately.

If at any time either the Parent/Carer or the Young Person wishes the data to be removed from the website, 7 days' notice must be given to the Rounders League Welfare Officer after which the data will be removed.

This form is to be completed by all Sections with regard to ANY ACCIDENT*
within 24 hours (or immediately on return from a game).

*An ACCIDENT is anything that may require further action to be taken.

Authorised Activity Organiser / Team Captain / Manager / Club Secretary:

(Please print in BLOCK CAPITALS)

Relevant Contact Names, Addresses and Phone Numbers

Declaration