English Hockey

Child Protection Guidelines for Good Practice

Introduction

All persons with responsibility for dealing with children in any hockey context should familiarise themselves with the NCF/NSPCC document “Protecting Children - a guide for sports people’’ where the nature of child abuse and advice on detecting the four main forms of abuse, neglect, physical, sexual and emotional are outlined. NSPCC HELPLINE 0808 800 5000

It is widely accepted that we all have a role to play in protecting children from abuse but it is extremely important that all people who work with children are aware that there are issues of good practice in which it is everyone’s interest to follow.

Advice given here is meant to supplement other child protection literature.  Information about other documents can be obtained from the EHA.

Chartered Physiotherapists, Doctors and other medical staff working in hockey are bound by their own professional codes of conduct that these guidelines supplement.

The EHA recommend that everyone connected with hockey adopts the following principles:

(i)         The child’s welfare is paramount

(ii)         All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious belief and/or sexual identity have the right to protection from abuse.

(iii)        All suspicions and allegations of abuse must be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

Children are defined as being under 18 years of age.  Reference to coach/leader should be understood to mean coaches, umpires, leaders, organisers and all other persons working in hockey, professional or volunteer. 

1. Recognising Signs of Child Abuse

Although it is hoped that people working with children in hockey will not encounter examples of abuse it is important that adults should be able to recognise signs of possible abuse.

(i)         Coaches/leaders are not expected to be experts in child abuse and recognition of such abuse is not always easy. Therefore, if  coaches/leaders have any concerns they should be aware of the procedure to follow. This is outlined below.

There are a number of indications that a child may be being abused, which are identified in the NCF/NSPCC document. However, it should be recognised that the presence of one or more of these indicators is not proof that abuse is actually taking place. 

It is not the responsibility of coaches/leaders to decide that child abuse is taking part but it is their responsibility to act on any concerns.

(ii)         If a coach/leader is concerned that abuse is taking place the following action should be adopted.

2.  Responding to Signs of Abuse

(i)         Responding to a child 

If a child says or indicates that he or she is being abused, or information is obtained that gives concern that a child is being abused, the person receiving this information should:

§         Take what the child says seriously.

§         React calmly so as not to frighten the child.

§         Tell the child that he/she is not to blame and is right to tell.

§         Reassure the child but do not make promises of confidentiality, which might not be feasible in the light of subsequent developments.

§         Keep questions to the absolute minimum to ensure a clear and accurate understanding of what has been said.

§         Make a full record of what has been said, heard and/or seen as soon as possible.

§         Ask the child if immediate protection is needed.

(ii)        Responding to suspicions or allegations

If any coach/leader has concerns that abuse may have taken place, these should be directed to a person of responsibility within the organisation, who shall report it to Social Services, the Police or the NSPCC.

A full record of what has been said, heard and/or seen, including dates and times, should be completed and forwarded to this responsible person within the organisation.

In urgent cases when the responsible person within the organisation is not available, the coach/leader should be aware that the local Social Services or the Police should be contacted.

Social Services will always be happy to discuss, even hypothetically, any concerns a coach/leader may have about child protection matters and advise on whether it is necessary to make an official referral.

(iii)       Allegation against Coaches/Leaders

It is important that anyone dealing with children should be aware that not all child abuse occurs within the extended family setting.

It is essential that all responsible adults must be vigilant and aware that any inappropriate actions may lead to putting themselves at risk.

Coaches/leaders should be aware that any allegations made against them will be taken seriously and will be investigated according to the steps outlined by the EHA.

An individual against whom allegations/suspicions have been raised will be treated fairly and with respect, and is presumed to be innocent until held to be otherwise.

All allegations, suspicion, comment or complaint will be treated in the utmost confidence – this applies equally to the child, the person making the allegation or the person against whom the allegation is made.

Should any club/county regional association be informed that an allegation of abuse has been made against an adult within their organisation, the EHA Chief Executive’s office must be notified immediately.

Should an adult be accused of any form of abuse they should contact the Chief Executive’s office of the EHA for advice.

Should any person involved with hockey suspect that a colleague is abusing a child, this should be reported immediately to a senior member of the organisation involved and Social Services, the Police or the NSPCC.

3.  Good Practice in the Care of Children

The English Hockey Association acknowledges that good practice when dealing with children is essential. All coaches/leaders are expected to adhere to the following guidelines when dealing with players.

§         Always be publicly open when working with children. Avoid situations where coach/leader and individual children are completely unobserved.

§         Manual support is rarely required in the sport of hockey.  If a coach feels that it is necessary, the reasons should be clearly explained to the child and, if possible, the parents/carers.

§         Where possible, parents should be responsible only for their own child in the changing rooms.

Coaches/leaders should also be aware that as a general rule it does not make sense to:

§         Spend excessive amounts of time alone with children away from others.

§         Take children alone on car journeys, however short.

§         Take children to your home where they will be alone with you.

If cases arise where these situations are unavoidable, they should occur only with the full knowledge and consent of the child’s parents.

You should never:

§         Engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay.

§         Share a room with a child or enter a room without someone else present

§         Allow or engage in any inappropriate touching

§         Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged

§         Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun

§         Allow allegations of a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon.

§         Do things of a personal nature for children that they can do for themselves

§         Invite or allow children to stay with you at your home unsupervised

§         Allow bullying or bad behaviour by children.

If you accidentally hurt a child and the child seems distressed in any manner, appears to be sexually aroused by your actions, or misunderstands or misinterprets something you have done, report any such incident as soon as possible to another colleague and make a brief note of it.  Parents or guardians should be informed of the incident.

It is strongly recommended that a coach/leader does not work completely alone with groups of children and enlists the support of others – assistants, parents/carers.  The EHA is aware that there are many situations where coaches/leaders are responsible for groups.  Also, there are situations such as training camps, residential tournaments and tours where coaches and leaders are placed in positions of trust.  The following guidelines are intended to assist coaches/leaders not to place themselves at risk.  For the well being of children in their care, coaches/leaders are asked to consider the following hockey-specific guidelines when planning/running sessions and events.  Above all, the EHA would appeal to its members to apply common sense when dealing with young people.

(i)         Training Sessions/Matches

Coaches/leaders should ensure that:

§         The facilities and surroundings are safe and well maintained and are large enough to accommodate the number of players in attendance.

§         If required, the floodlighting is adequate.

§         There are adequate changing and showering facilities

§         They are aware of the standard operating procedure of the centre being used, including emergency facilities/telephone.

§         All children complete medical and dietary consent forms.

§         All children have adequate breaks for the length of the day and the intensity of the practices/games.

§         Children are not put in physical danger through inappropriate grouping.

§         Adults take care when participating in games with young people.

§         Children do not play more than is desirable for their age and/or ability

§         All children are made aware of the importance of proper procedures for the intake of liquid and food for the activity in which they are engaged.

§         All children adhere to drinking and eating requirements during the day

§         All children are adequately protected from the effects of the weather, particularly the sun.

§         Parents are fully aware of start and finish times for a session.

§         All children wear the appropriate kit (including goalkeepers) for the activity in which they are involved, in accordance with Rules of Hockey 2000 paragraph 5, players’ dress and equipment.

§         Only qualified and/or experienced coaches should be used and they should have adequate third party liability insurance cover.

§         Contact/medical information should be available for any child involved in an adult team.

Coaches/leaders should not::

§         conduct meetings with children while they are changing,

§         be alone in a changing room with children while they are changing or showering,

§         deal with children’s injuries without having a first aid certificate and another adult present,

§         ask children to perform in training sessions or games whilst injured if by doing so they make the injury worse.  Coaches should advise players to seek appropriate medical help or advice concerning injuries,

§         expose children to excessive extremes of weather during any session,

§         be alone with individual children in any situation particularly at the end of the sessions or in the dark,

§         offer to take children home or allow others to take them home without the specific permission of the parents/guardian.

(ii)        Residential Training Camps, Tournaments and Tours

In addition to the above coaches/managers/leaders should ensure that:

§         all residential facilities are adequate for the age and number of children,

§         children and supervising adults sleep in separate rooms whenever possible. If coaches/leaders and children need to share rooms this should always be with written parental approval,

§         all information relevant to the course should be made available to parents/guardians including address, emergency telephone numbers etc.,

§         all information about parents/guardians is collected prior to the event, including telephone numbers where parent/guardians can be contacted at any time during the visit/event,

§         all children provide up-to-date health/medical Information.,

§         parents/guardians are aware of and approve all travelling arrangements and that where travel firms are used they are members of recognised organisations for passenger protection,

§         all children are adequately supervised for the duration of the visit and that a responsible adult is available for the group at all times,

§         children are fully aware of the regulations governing alcohol purchase and consumption in any country or area visited and that children are not exposed to tobacco and any form of drugs.,

§         they display high standards of behaviour, individually and as a group, recognising that their behaviour sets an example for the group. 

Coaches/managers/leaders should not:

§         shower with children under any circumstances,

§         visit children’s rooms unnecessarily,

§         conduct individual meetings with children in their rooms,

§         leave children unsupervised or unaware of the whereabouts of a responsible adult during the visit/event,

§         supply or encourage under-age children to purchase/consume alcohol or banned substances of any sort or supply or encourage pornographic material.  This is especially relevant to adult tours by clubs/organisations.

Recruitment processes should be followed before coaches/leaders are involved in work with children in hockey.  A Register of Volunteers and Reference Forms will be recommended for use by all clubs, county and regional associations.  The EHA will, during 2000, prepare and circulate more detailed recommendations for the application and appointment process for all coaches/leaders and the training for all coaches/leaders working with children.