1. What are my child protection responsibilities if I work with children?
2. How do I learn more about child protection?
3. What is a Child Welfare Officer and what is their role?
5. Does Volleyball England have a policy on the use of photographic equipment?
6. How can I contact someone in my local area about child protection?
7. Is it true that that the Child Welfare Officer for a club can’t be a coach?
8. How do I manage physical contact when coaching children and young people?
1) What are my child protection responsibilities if I work with children?
Anyone working with children in Volleyball has two basic responsibilities:
1) To take any necessary action to help protect children.
2) To ensure that you model appropriate behaviour when working with children and report any inappropriate behaviour or concerns to Volleyball England or other relevant child protection bodies.
2) How do I learn more about child protection?
Volleyball England has lots of information, downloads and contacts in the welfare section of the website.
There are also courses available that you can attend; Volleyball England recommends the Sports Coach UK Safeguarding & Protecting Children in Sport workshop, details of which can be found on the SCUK website www.sportscoachuk.org
3) What is a Child Welfare Officer and what is their role?
A CWO is the designated person in the organisation/club who should be the main point of contact for issues relating to Child Protection. Their role is generally to implement and oversee child protection policies and procedures. Tasks could be the dissemination of information to parents within the organisation/club, maintain local child protection contacts, attending relevant courses and so on. Click on the link to see an example of the CWO job role
4) Who is responsible for children who have attended the club session, have left but are waiting for parents?
Volleyball England believe that each club has a duty of reasonable care to Volleyball players, which extends to the awareness on the part of the club that their junior members have been collected, in so far as possible at the conclusion of a session for example that a junior member is not left unsupervised if a parent is late. This has to be age appropriate i.e. a 17 year old is capable of getting themselves home yet a 12 year old is not.
Best practice would be for the club to make junior members and parents aware of the need to tell the club welfare officer if they are not being collected by a parent at the end of a session.
5) Does Volleyball England have a policy on the use of photographic equipment?
YES, this is located within the Child Protection Policy and Good Practice Guidance (page 8) that can be downloaded from the Child Protection section of the website.
6) How can I contact someone in my local area about child protection?
If you contact your local authority they will be able to put you in contact with a relevant local person.
7) Is it true that the Child Welfare Officer for a club can’t be a coach?
No. It is preferable that the CWO is someone who is not involved in coaching so that they are seen to be ‘independent’ and able to challenge coaching practices where necessary. However, many clubs are run by one or two volunteers who often ‘wear several hats’. Ensuring that there is someone who has the lead responsibility for child protection is the most important thing.
8) How do I manage physical contact when coaching children and young people?
Touching as part of coaching is not prohibited. Sometimes physical contact is unavoidable, even necessary e.g. to prevent an injury or accident. Physical contact should never be a surprise and always proportionate, appropriate, sensitive and respectful. Children should never be touched in any way which could be interpreted as sexual, and contact should be avoided with buttocks, the genital areas and breasts.
Good coaching practice includes verbally explaining tasks, demonstration and then, if required, physical support ensuring the child is comfortable with contact. Children and young people should be supported to understand the boundaries around physical contact and to reject any contact which makes them feel uncomfortable.
