TBC SAFEGUARDING POLICY
Posted 6th March 2026
A pdf version of the Policy below may be opened and saved/printed by clicking on the link immediately below:-
| tbc_safeguarding_policy_2026.pdf |
Introduction
1. Safeguarding creates a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved in the bowling club. It ensures that steps are taken to address and prevent any kind of harm or abuse. Safeguarding focuses on protecting individuals from harm or abuse, not on resolving broader issues like club culture or personality conflicts.
2. The constitution of every club affiliated to Bowls England (BE) must include the following text:
“We adopt and follow all policies and guidelines approved by Bowls England and UK Anti-Doping. We follow all procedures set out in Bowls England Regulation 9, 9A and 9B. We will abide with all sanctions, recommendations and/or decisions from the Case Management Panel or National Disciplinary Panel.”
Regulation 9, 9A and 9B refer to the disciplinary rules in relation to misconduct at club level, including breaches of the BE Safeguarding policy.
References: (1) Bowls England: Rules and Regulations/Regulation 2: Membership/Section 5.2: Responsibility of Membership), (2) BE Safeguarding Guidance-Nov-2024)
This means that the club is committed to safeguarding adults through a zero-tolerance approach on abuse.
3. BE guidance emphasises that the safeguarding function within a bowling club applies to any concerns of club members whether or not the concerns relate to events within the club activities. Safeguarding aims to identify any member at risk of abuse and to protect all club members against abuse from any source
4. Every BE affiliated bowling club must have a Safeguarding Officer. Stuart Brown is the officer for TBC and is registered with BE. I have completed the online Bowls Development Alliance (BDA) Safeguarding Introduction training course, and I hold the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Advanced Certificate.
Definition
5. Safeguarding is about creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved, and dealing with any kind of harm or abuse. Abuse is any form of maltreatment. It is behaviour which can be detrimental to the welfare and wellbeing of a person. It includes, but is not limited to, behaviour which is physical, psychological or discriminatory. People may react to specific behaviour in different ways and some may feel more threatened or upset than others. It is important to deal with each person individually.
Here is the BE Safeguarding website for reference: https://www.bowlsengland.com/safeguarding/
6. For more detail, here is a link to the BDA/BE document Safeguarding Adults in Bowls Policy-2022. It outlines various types of abuse and signs of abuse from Page 5 onwards.
https://www.bowlsengland.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Safeguarding-Adults-Policy-V2-2022.pdf
Procedure
7. The BE guidance specifies that the Safeguarding Officer should be the first point of contact for any member who has any concern. The officer should listen actively and empathetically in a safe place, discuss options and document what is said as soon as possible. Confidentiality can be promised but not secrecy because the information must be reported anonymously to the BE Safeguarding Team.
8. A Safeguarding Officer's key responsibility is to report concerns; they are not required to investigate. BE take all concerns seriously and no concern is too small. The BE Safeguarding Team will consider the report and get back to the Safeguarding Officer with proposals for further action.
Further information
9. There are a lot of detailed documents about this whole issue on the BE Safeguarding website, relating to safeguarding of adults and children. Areas covered include Safeguarding Policies and Documents Review Sheet, Adults Policy Template, Procedure Template, Adults Report Form and Codes of Conduct.
10. The members of TBC have always treated each other with respect and sensitivity. But awareness of the issues around safeguarding is important to avoid any risk of complacency. A short report on “Safeguarding” is an agenda item for every TBC Committee meeting, and the policy document will be reviewed each year.
Notes
11. The initial TBC Safeguarding Policy document was drafted in January 2025. It was approved by the Middlesex Bowling Association on 31 January 2025. It was then circulated to all club members for comment following a brief description of it at the AGM on 26 February 2025. It will be reviewed annually.
12. The annual review took place in January 2026. Many helpful comments and suggestions were received from Helena Keenen, the Sport Welfare Manager at London Sport.
13. There were no reported safeguarding issues at TBC during 2025.
Stuart Brown
TBC Safeguarding Officer
January 2026