TBC SAFEGUARDING POLICY
Posted 29th May 2025
Teddington Bowling Club: Safeguarding policy
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 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
3.
Every BE affiliated bowling club must have a Safeguarding Officer. Stuart
Brown is the officer for TBC and is registered with BE.
4.
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.
5.
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
6.
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 Bowls England
Safeguarding Team. A Safeguarding Officer's key responsibility is to report
concerns; they are not required to investigate. Bowls England take all concerns
seriously and no concern is too small. The Safeguarding Team will consider the
report and get back to the Safeguarding Officer with proposals for further action.
7.
There are a large number of detailed documents about this whole issue on
the Bowls England website, many relating to safeguarding of children. The
members of TBC have always treated each other with respect and sensitivity and
we have no history of concerns about abuse. But awareness of the issues around
safeguarding is important to avoid any risk of complacency. A short report on
“Safeguarding” should be an agenda item for every TBC Committee meeting.
Note:
This policy has been approved by the Middlesex Bowling Association on 31
January 2025. It has also been 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
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 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
3.
Every BE affiliated bowling club must have a Safeguarding Officer. Stuart
Brown is the officer for TBC and is registered with BE.
4.
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.
5.
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
6.
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 Bowls England
Safeguarding Team. A Safeguarding Officer's key responsibility is to report
concerns; they are not required to investigate. Bowls England take all concerns
seriously and no concern is too small. The Safeguarding Team will consider the
report and get back to the Safeguarding Officer with proposals for further action.
7.
There are a large number of detailed documents about this whole issue on
the Bowls England website, many relating to safeguarding of children. The
members of TBC have always treated each other with respect and sensitivity and
we have no history of concerns about abuse. But awareness of the issues around
safeguarding is important to avoid any risk of complacency. A short report on
“Safeguarding” should be an agenda item for every TBC Committee meeting.
Note:
This policy has been approved by the Middlesex Bowling Association on 31
January 2025. It has also been 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