Child Safe Policy
Purpose
Although Shuttlecats Badminton Club Incorporated (The Club) does not have any child members, as an inclusive club we do not actively exclude them and acknowledge the potential for children to be at one or more of our events.
As a result, The Committee have developed this policy to demonstrate the strong commitment of the management, staff and volunteers of the Club to child safety and to provide an outline of the policies and practices the Club has developed to keep everyone safe from any harm, including abuse.
Commitment to Child Safety
All children who attend a club event have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of children in our care will always be our first priority and the Club has a zero tolerance to child abuse. The Club aims to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and have fun and the Club's activities are always carried out in the best interests of the children.
Application of this Policy
This policy was developed by the Club and applies to all individuals involved in our organisation (paid and volunteer) including, but not limited to:
All of the people to which this policy applies have a role and responsibility in relation to child protection. They must all:
Child Abuse
Child abuse can take a broad range of forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse and neglect. People to whom this policy applies need to be aware that child abuse can occur whenever there is actual or potential harm to a child, and these are circumstances that the Club is committed to reducing the risk of occurrence.
Children’s Rights to Safety and Participation
Although it is not expected that The Club will have children as members, The Club will encourage children to express their views about their safety and will listen to their suggestions, especially on matters that directly affect them where they interact with The Club.
Recruiting Staff and Volunteers
The Club takes the following steps to ensure best practice standards in the recruitment and screening of staff and volunteers:
Supporting Staff and Volunteers
The Club seeks to attract and retain the best staff and volunteers. We provide support and supervision so people feel valued, respected and fairly treated. We have developed a Code of Conduct to provide guidance to our staff and volunteers, all of whom receive training on the requirements of the Code.
The Policy will be distributed to all members via email on completion of their membership.
Reporting a Child Safety Concern or Complaint
The Club has appointed [Stephanie Chung] as Child Safety Officers with the specific responsibility for responding to any complaints made by staff, volunteers, parents or children. The Child Safety Officers person can be contacted by emailing or in person at one of our sessions: shuttlecats@gmail.com
Risk Management
We recognise the importance of a risk management approach to minimising the potential for child abuse or harm to occur and use this to inform our policy, procedures and activity planning. In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children. To reduce the risk of child abuse occurring, adults to whom this policy applies should avoid direct, unsupervised contact with children. For example, this should be a consideration when:
Though not exclusive, note that The Club does not actively market itself to children.
Reviewing this Policy
This policy will be reviewed every two years.
Although Shuttlecats Badminton Club Incorporated (The Club) does not have any child members, as an inclusive club we do not actively exclude them and acknowledge the potential for children to be at one or more of our events.
As a result, The Committee have developed this policy to demonstrate the strong commitment of the management, staff and volunteers of the Club to child safety and to provide an outline of the policies and practices the Club has developed to keep everyone safe from any harm, including abuse.
Commitment to Child Safety
All children who attend a club event have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of children in our care will always be our first priority and the Club has a zero tolerance to child abuse. The Club aims to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and have fun and the Club's activities are always carried out in the best interests of the children.
Application of this Policy
This policy was developed by the Club and applies to all individuals involved in our organisation (paid and volunteer) including, but not limited to:
- Administrators
- Coaches
- Officials
- Participants
- Parents
- Spectators.
All of the people to which this policy applies have a role and responsibility in relation to child protection. They must all:
- understand the indicators and risks of child abuse;
- appropriately act on any concerns raised by children; and
- understand and follow all applicable laws in relation to the protection of children and reporting or management of child safety concerns.
Child Abuse
Child abuse can take a broad range of forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse and neglect. People to whom this policy applies need to be aware that child abuse can occur whenever there is actual or potential harm to a child, and these are circumstances that the Club is committed to reducing the risk of occurrence.
Children’s Rights to Safety and Participation
Although it is not expected that The Club will have children as members, The Club will encourage children to express their views about their safety and will listen to their suggestions, especially on matters that directly affect them where they interact with The Club.
Recruiting Staff and Volunteers
The Club takes the following steps to ensure best practice standards in the recruitment and screening of staff and volunteers:
- Interview and conduct referee checks on all staff and volunteers (where their positions are likely to include interaction with children)
- Require police checks and Working with Children Checks for relevant positions (for clarification, no current positions require interaction with Children).
- Our commitment to Child Safety and our screening requirements as part of the induction process for new staff or volunteers.
Supporting Staff and Volunteers
The Club seeks to attract and retain the best staff and volunteers. We provide support and supervision so people feel valued, respected and fairly treated. We have developed a Code of Conduct to provide guidance to our staff and volunteers, all of whom receive training on the requirements of the Code.
The Policy will be distributed to all members via email on completion of their membership.
Reporting a Child Safety Concern or Complaint
The Club has appointed [Stephanie Chung] as Child Safety Officers with the specific responsibility for responding to any complaints made by staff, volunteers, parents or children. The Child Safety Officers person can be contacted by emailing or in person at one of our sessions: shuttlecats@gmail.com
Risk Management
We recognise the importance of a risk management approach to minimising the potential for child abuse or harm to occur and use this to inform our policy, procedures and activity planning. In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children. To reduce the risk of child abuse occurring, adults to whom this policy applies should avoid direct, unsupervised contact with children. For example, this should be a consideration when:
- using change room facilities;
- using accommodation or overnight stays;
- travel; or
- physical contact when coaching or managing children.
Though not exclusive, note that The Club does not actively market itself to children.
Reviewing this Policy
This policy will be reviewed every two years.
