Summary of Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults Policy
Everyone who participates in Welsh Bowls is entitled to do so in an enjoyable and safe environment. The Welsh Bowls Federation has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that, when given responsibility for children, coaches and volunteers provide them with the highest possible standard of care.
The Welsh Bowls Federation is committed to devising and implementing policies so that everyone in sport accepts their responsibilities to safeguard children from any harm or abuse. This means to follow procedures to protect children and report any concerns about their welfare to the appropriate authorities.
The aim of the policy is to promote good practice, providing children and vulnerable adults with appropriate safety/protection to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues. A child is defined as a person under the age of 18 (The Children Act 1989)
Policy Statement
The Welsh Bowls Federation fully accepts its legal and moral obligation to provide a duty of care to protect all children. The Welsh Bowls Federation is committed to ensuring that:
∙ The welfare of the child is paramount.
∙ All children, whatever their age, culture, ability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief and/or sexual identity should be able to participate in (your sport) in a fun and safe environment.
∙ All reasonable steps are taken to protect children from harm, discrimination and degrading treatment and to respect rights, wishes and feelings.
∙ All suspicions and allegations of poor practice or abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
∙ All Welsh Bowls Federation employees who work with children will be recruited with regard to their suitability for that responsibility, and will be provided with guidance and/or training in good practice and child protection procedures.
∙ Working in partnership with parents and children is essential for the protection of children.
Good Practice
All personnel should adhere to the following principles and action:
∙ Always work in an open environment (e.g. avoiding private or unobserved situations and encouraging open communication with no secrets).
∙ Make the experience of flat green bowls fun and enjoyable: promote fairness, confront and deal with bullying.
∙ Treat all children equally and with respect and dignity.
∙ Always put the welfare of the child first, before winning.
∙ Maintain a safe and appropriate distance with players (e.g. it is not appropriate for staff or volunteers to have an intimate relationship with a child, or to share a room with them).
∙ Avoid unnecessary physical contact with children. Where any form of manual/physical support is required it should be provided openly and with the consent of the child. Physical contact can be appropriate so long as it is neither intrusive nor disturbing and the child’s consent has been given.
∙ Involve parents/carers wherever possible e.g. where children need to be supervised in changing rooms, encourage parents to take responsibility for their own child. If groups have to be supervised in changing rooms always ensure parents, coaches etc work in pairs.
∙ No photographs should be taken of children without first obtaining the parents consent.
∙ Never give a lift to a child on their own, always have another adult or child in the car as well.
Appendix
All five National Governing Bodies of Bowls in Wales including the Welsh Bowls Association are members of the Welsh Bowls Federation. The Coaching and Umpiring Association are also members of the WBF.
The Child Welfare Officer for the WBF is Mostyn Lewis email address: mostynlewis@btinternet.com Mostyn is the person to contact if you need any advice or have any concerns regarding the Child Protection Policy. He also processes the CRB checks that are required for anyone working regularly with children. These checks are free for anyone working as a volunteer.
Initial enquires of the Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults Policy can be made to your County Secretaries and the W.B.A. Secretary. This legal document is some fifty pages long, so the above is just a short summary of this very important policy.