SAFEGUARDING POLICY
1. Safeguarding Policy Objectives
The Girls in Sports foundation fully acknowledges the responsibility to safeguard young people from the risk of harm that others might present to them or they might present to themselves.
The purpose of safeguarding with Girls in Sports is to:
The aim of this policy is to ensure that:
Our Safeguarding Policy includes both Child Protection and Prevent strands as follows:
2. Definitions
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people means:
Child protection is part of this definition and refers to activities undertaken to prevent young people suffering, or being likely to suffer, significant harm.
Abuse is a form of maltreatment of a young person and may involve inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm. Appendix 1 explains the different types of abuse.
Neglect is a form of abuse and is the persistent failure to meet a young person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the young person’s health or development. Appendix 1 defines neglect in more detail. Children includes everyone under the age of 18.
3. Safeguarding roles and responsibilities
All program leaders within Girls in Sports have a duty to protect young people. This duty extends to those who are connected to Girls in Sports as a volunteer as well
Appendix 1 – Types of Abuse
Types of Abuse
Child abuse is divided into emotional abuse, neglect, physical injury and sexual abuse. These categories are not mutually exclusive; all abuse involves some emotional damage.
Emotional Abuse Behaviours which are emotionally abusive include the following:
Physical Abuse
Behaviour that may indicate physical abuse includes:
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse can affect a young person in many ways the indicators may be:
1. Safeguarding Policy Objectives
The Girls in Sports foundation fully acknowledges the responsibility to safeguard young people from the risk of harm that others might present to them or they might present to themselves.
The purpose of safeguarding with Girls in Sports is to:
- Enable children to have optimum life chances and to enter adulthood successfully
- Ensure children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
- Ensure children grow up in a safe environment and are cared for effectively
- Protect children from mistreatment
The aim of this policy is to ensure that:
- Appropriate action is taken in a timely manner to safeguard and promote young people’s welfare
- All program leaders are aware of their statutory responsibilities with respect to safeguarding
- Program leaders are properly trained in recognising and reporting safeguarding issues
Our Safeguarding Policy includes both Child Protection and Prevent strands as follows:
- Child Protection: Safeguarding young people from neglect, emotional, physical and sexual abuse
- Prevent: Safeguarding young people from exposure to violent extremism and radicalisation
2. Definitions
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people means:
- Protecting young people from maltreatment
- Preventing impairment of young people’s health or development
- Ensuring that young people grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care
- Taking action to enable all young people to have the best outcomes
Child protection is part of this definition and refers to activities undertaken to prevent young people suffering, or being likely to suffer, significant harm.
Abuse is a form of maltreatment of a young person and may involve inflicting harm or failing to act to prevent harm. Appendix 1 explains the different types of abuse.
Neglect is a form of abuse and is the persistent failure to meet a young person’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the young person’s health or development. Appendix 1 defines neglect in more detail. Children includes everyone under the age of 18.
3. Safeguarding roles and responsibilities
All program leaders within Girls in Sports have a duty to protect young people. This duty extends to those who are connected to Girls in Sports as a volunteer as well
Appendix 1 – Types of Abuse
Types of Abuse
Child abuse is divided into emotional abuse, neglect, physical injury and sexual abuse. These categories are not mutually exclusive; all abuse involves some emotional damage.
Emotional Abuse Behaviours which are emotionally abusive include the following:
- Inducing fear,
- terrorizing,
- creating insecurity,
- tormenting,
- humiliating,
- denigrating,
- corrupting,
- scapegoating; inappropriate roles/responsibilities, isolating/ rejecting and ignoring.
- Neglect
Physical Abuse
Behaviour that may indicate physical abuse includes:
- delay in seeking medical attention,
- inadequate or no explanation of injuries,
- changing explanation of injuries,
- recurrent injuries,
- insufficient parental concern or multiple injuries occurring at different dates
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse can affect a young person in many ways the indicators may be:
- poor learning and concentration;
- heightened sexual behaviour and arousal;
- truanting and self-neglecting;
- depression and anxiety,
- psychosomatic illnesses;
- physical risk-taking;
- poor social skills;
- moments of lacking control;
- avoidance of men or women (depending on gender of abuser)
- sexually precocious behaviour and prostitution;
- solvent/alcohol/drug abuse;
- anorexia and bulimia;
- self-harming and suicide attempts;
- changes in program performance or performance in school
- isolation from peers; sexual abuse of other young people