sports coach UK Develop Your Coaching Workshop

1. 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

2. The Learning Agreement In the workshop we will be promoting: • equity • confidentiality • professionalism • ownership • a child-focused approach • personal safety (emotional well-being) Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 1

3. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 2

4. Values and Feelings • What are values? • How are values formed? • Who influences your values? • What are feelings? Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 3

5. 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). Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 4

6. Legal Framework andGovernment Guidance Safeguarding and protecting children What does legislation do? • Children Act 1989 • Children Act 2004 Recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Other legislation • Human Rights Act • UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 5

7. 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 (1618) Slide 6

8. Safeguarding and Protecting Children in the Context of the Legal Framework Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 7

9. Learning Outcome 1 Identify and recognise good coaching practice, and the implications for your coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 8

10. Clip 1 - Poor practice (010) Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 9

11. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 10

12. Rights Coaches must respect and champion the rights of every individual to participate in sport Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 11

13. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 12

14. Relationships Coaches must develop a relationship with athletes (and others) that is based on openness, honesty, mutual trust and respect Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 13

15. 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) Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 14

16. Responsibilities: personal standards Coaches must demonstrate proper personal behaviour and conduct at all times Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 15

17. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 16

18. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 17

19. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 18

20. Learning Outcome 2 Recognise your values and feelings in relation to child abuse, and understand their potential impact on your response Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 19

21. True or False? Children are abused mostly by strangers It is only men who sexually abuse children Disabled children are less likely to be victims of abuse Girls are much more likely to be abused than boys In some cultures, it is acceptable for children to be abused If social services or children’s social care are involved, children are usually removed from their homes Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 20

22. True or False? (cont’d) Children are resilient and, therefore, recover quickly from abuse Children under the age of five are more likely to be abused than older children More children are abused now than 20 years ago Children often lie about abuse There is widespread reported occurrence of abuse in sport Coaches have many opportunities to abuse children emotionally, as well as physically Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 21

23. False False False False False 6 False False True False False True 12 True True or False Answers Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 22

24. Acceptable or Unacceptable Behaviour? A four-year-old child is left alone for half an hour A 12-year-old child is left alone in the house for the evening A five-year-old girl is sent to school in January, wearing a thin cotton dress and a summer jacket A 13-year-old boy goes without lunch and dinner 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 23

25. Acceptable or Unacceptable Behaviour? (cont’d) An organisation’s requirements for a particular competition cause the performer to make abnormal changes to her body composition/shape A father bathes his 11-year-old daughter A mother bathes her 10-year-old son A female babysitter bathes a 10-year-old boy who is physically disabled A male coach enters the girls’ changing room to talk before the competition A male coach physically supports a young female gymnast during a tumbling routine Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 24

26. Acceptable or Unacceptable Behaviour? (cont’d) A coach has sexual intercourse with one of his 16-year-old athletes 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 A female coach works alone with a squad of male athletes 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 25

27. Acceptable or Unacceptable Behaviour? (cont’d) Parents constantly taunt their 12-year-old son who hates sports and enjoys ballroom dancing A teacher regularly undermines the efforts of a 15-year-old girl and publicly reports all the errorsshe makes on her homework A coach drives an eight-year-old child to exhaustion and tears during training A player calls another player names 22 Initiation ceremonies within sports teams Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 26

28. Feelings Recognise your feelings about an issue or concern What would happen if your emotions led your actions? Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 27

29. Learning Outcome 3 Establish the signs and symptoms of child abuse and poor practice Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 28

30. Different Types of Abuse • Neglect • Physical • Sexual • Emotional • Bullying Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 29

31. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 30

32. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 31

33. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 32

34. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 33

35. Sexual abuse occurs when adults or other young people (both male and female) use children to meet their own sexual needsThis 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) Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 34

36. Sexual Abuse Examples 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 35

37. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 36

38. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 37

39. Emotional Abuse Examples in sport Emotional abuse in sport may occurif 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) Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 38

40. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 39

41. Bullying Possible indicators of abuse include: • 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 40

42. Responsibility 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 41

43. Learning Outcome 4 Take appropriate action if concerns about a child arise Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 42

44. 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! Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 43

45. Reporting Structure Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 44

46. Poor Practice to Potential Abuse Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 45

47. 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? Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 46

48. 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 Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 47

49. Do You Have Any Questions? Thank you for your participation and support Good luck with your coaching Safeguarding and Protecting Children (1618) Slide 48