Western District Umpires Association Inc
Child Safe Policy
Prepared By: John Donegan
Approved By: Western District Umpires Association Executive
Date for Review: 2019
Purpose
This policy was written to demonstrate the strong commitment of the management, staff and volunteers of the Western District Umpires Association 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 are a part of the Club have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of the 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 in collaboration with members and parents of our Association.
This policy applies to all individuals involved in our organisation 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
The Club encourages children to express their views about their safety. We listen to their suggestions, especially on matters that directly affect them. We actively encourage all children who use our services to ‘have a say’ about things that are important to them.
We teach children about what they can do if they feel unsafe. We listen to and act on any concerns children, or their parents, raise with us.
- Junior umpires have their own coach and are allocated individual mentors to assist with their umpire development
Valuing Diversity
We value diversity and do not tolerate any discriminatory practices. To achieve this we:
- promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal children and their families;
- promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and their families;
- welcome children with a disability and their families and act to promote their participation; and
- seek appropriate staff from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Recruiting Members
The Club takes the following steps to ensure best practice standards in the screening of members;
- Require Working with Children Checks for all members who have reached the age of eighteen
Supporting Members
The Club seeks to attract and retain members. 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 members and supporters, all of whom receive training on the requirements of the Code.
- Relevant Policies are included in the Members Handbook and are discussed at coaching sessions from time to time.
- The Association Website also displays the Child Safety Policy
Reporting a child safety concern or complaint
The Club has appointed the President and the Secretary as Child Safety Persons with the specific responsibility for responding to any complaints made by volunteers, parents or children. The President Geoff Barker may be contacted at 0459584003 and the Secretary John Donegan may be contacted at 0427882383. Our complaints process is outlined inour Members Handbook and our Child Abuse allegations procedure documents (including Allegation Template report)
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 ( where possible) ;
- physical contact when coaching or managing children.
Reviewing this policy
This policy will be reviewed everytwo years and we undertake to seek views, comments and suggestions from children, parents, carers, staff and volunteers involved in the Club.
WESTERN DISTRICT UMPIRES ASSOCIATION
CODE OF CONDUCT
On acceptance of membership of the Western District Umpires Association, an umpire agrees to the following codes and standards formulated by the Executive Committee for the good of the Association as a whole and agreed to by a meeting of members in July 1995:-
Umpires should
- recognise that they are part of a team working for the benefit of Australian Football
- treat players equitably and justly, exercise measures of control calmly and non punitively, be alert to the consequences of their own behaviour, and encourage players to do the same.
- recognise the importance of relationships between clubs, players, officials and umpires.
- set high expectations of themselves and their fellow umpires
- strive to maintain and achieve a high standard for umpiring Australian Football
- be prepared to take responsibility for their own professional development
- be punctual to all appointments
- follow all Association policies, rules and the constitution
- demonstrate loyalty to the Association and its members
- dress in an appropriate manner on all occasions when representing the Association
- through their behaviour in the community, develop personal respect to enhance the image of the Association and Australian Football
- establish and maintain positive, effective professional relationships with other members of the Association
- refrain from public criticism of members of the Western District Umpires Association or other Umpires’ Associations
- participate in the Association’s democratic decision making processes and their implementation
- respect the role of the Association and the Victorian Country Football League Umpires Association in determining policies for Umpiring
- co-operate with the Association, the Zone and the Leagues in the promotion of umpiring and Australian Football in general
- be responsible in making public comments
- acknowledge the importance of and provide reasonable assistance to the sponsors of the Association
- respect and comply with any decision of the Association Executive or Appointments Board
Failure to comply with and observe any of the above matters shall be deemed to constitute conduct unbecoming and/or prejudicial to the association. Such member may be dealt with by the Executive in accordance with rule 7 of the Constitution. Any member of the Association should bring to the attention of the Executive any apparent breach of the Code of Conduct.
Western District Umpires Association Inc
Child Safe Code of Conduct
This Code of Conduct outlines appropriate standards of behaviour by adults towards children.
The Code of Conduct aims to protect children and reduce any opportunities for abuse or harm to occur. It also helps members and volunteers by providing them with guidance on how to best support children and how to avoid or better manage difficult situations. This Code of Conduct applies to all people involved inthe Western District Umpires Association’sactivities, including members,coaches, officials, volunteers and parents.
All Western District Umpires Association members and volunteers are responsible for promoting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people by:
- Adhering to our Child Safe Policy, this Code of Conduct and other Western District Umpires Association policies
- Taking all reasonable steps to protect children from abuse
- Treating everyone with respect, including listening to and valuing their ideas and opinions
- Welcoming all children and their families and carers and being inclusive
- Respecting cultural, religious and political differences and acting in a culturally sensitive way, particularly when interacting with children who are Aboriginal or otherwise culturally or linguistically diverse and those with a disability
- Modelling appropriate adult behaviour
- Listening to children and responding to them appropriately
- Reporting and acting on any breaches of this Code of Conduct, complaints or concerns appropriately and treat them seriously and with respect.
- Complying with our guidelines on physical contact with children
- Working with children in an open and transparent way – other adults should always know about the work you are doing with children
- Respecting the privacy of children and their families, and only disclosing information to people who have a need to know.
Western District Umpires Association members and volunteers MUST NOT:
- Seek to use children in any way to meet the needs of adults
- Ignore or disregard any concerns, suspicions or disclosures of child abuse
- Use prejudice, oppressive behaviour or language with children
- Engage in rough physical games
- Discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, culture, vulnerability or sexuality
- Initiate unnecessary physical contact with children or do things of a personal nature that children can do for themselves, such as toileting or changing clothes
- Develop ‘special’ relationships with specific children or show favouritism through the provision of gifts or inappropriate attention
- Have unauthorised contact with children and young people online or by phone.
By observing these standards you acknowledge your responsibility to immediately report any breach of this code to the President or the Secretary of the Association from time to time. Currently the President is Geoff Barker (0459584003) and Secretary is John Donegan (0427882383)
This Code of Conduct will be reviewed bythe Western District Umpires Association every two years.
I have read this Code of Conduct and agree to abide by it at all times.
Name:______________________ Signature:_______________________ Date:______________________
- What to do when an allegation of child abuse is made
If a child discloses an incident of abuse to you
- Try and separate them from the other children discreetly and listen to them carefully.
- Let the child use their own words to explain what has occurred.
- Reassure the child that you take what they are saying seriously, and it is not their fault and that they are doing the right thing.
- Explain to them that this information may need to be shared others, such as with their parent/carer, specific people in your organisation, or the police.
- Do not make promises to the child such as promising not to tell anyone about the incident, except that you will do your best to keep them safe.
- Do not leave the child in a distressed state. If they seem at ease in your company, stay with them.
- Provide them with an incident report form to complete, or complete it together, if you think the child is able to do this.
- As soon as possible after the disclosure, record the information using the child’s words and report the disclosure to your manager or your organisation’s child safety officer/champion,[1] police or child protection.
- Ensure the disclosure is recorded accurately, and that the record is stored securely.
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If a parent/carer says their child has been abused in your organisation or raises a concern
- Explain that your organisation has processes to ensure all abuse allegations are taken very seriously.
- Ask about the wellbeing of the child.
- Allow the parent/carer to talk through the incident in their own words.
- Advise the parent/carer that you will take notes during the discussion to capture all details.
- Explain to them the information may need to be repeated to authorities or others, such as the organisation’s management or Child Safety Officer, the police or child protection.
- Do not make promises at this early stage, except that you will do your best to keep the child safe.
- Provide them with an incident report form to complete, or complete it together.
- Ask them what action they would like to take and advise them of what the immediate next steps will be.
- Ensure the report is recorded accurately, and that the record is stored securely.
You need to be aware that some people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds may face barriers in reporting allegations of abuse. For example, people from some cultures may experience anxiety when talking with police, and communicating in English may be a barrier for some. You need to be sensitive to these issues and meet people’s needs where possible, such as having an interpreter present (who could be a friend or family member
If an allegation of abuse involves an Aboriginal child, you will need to ensure a culturally appropriate response. A way to help ensure this could include engaging with parents of Aboriginal children, local Aboriginal communities or an Aboriginal community controlled organisations to review policies and procedures.
Some children with a disability may experience barriers disclosing an incident. For example, children with hearing or cognitive impairments may need support to help them explain the incident, including through sign language interpreters. Advice on communicating with people with a disability can be found on the Department of Health and Human Services website <www.dhs.vic.gov.au/for-business-and-community/community-involvement/people-with-a-disability-in-the-community/communicate-and-consult-with-people-with-a-disability/communication-with-people-with-disabilities>.
If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000.
Legal responsibilities
While the child safe standards focus on organisations, every adult who reasonably believes that a child has been abused, whether in their organisation or not, has an obligation to report that belief to authorities.
The failure to disclose criminal offence requires all adults (aged 18 and over) who hold a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed in Victoria by an adult against a child under 16 to disclose that information to police (unless they have a reasonable excuse not to, for example because they fear for their safety or the safety of another).
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Western District Umpires Association incident report
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Incident details
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Date of incident:
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Time of incident:
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Location of incident:
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Name(s) of child/children involved:
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Name(s) of member /volunteer involved:
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If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000.
Does the child identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander?
(Mark with an ‘X’ as applicable)
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No
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Yes, Aboriginal
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Yes, Torres Strait Islander
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Please categorise the incident
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Physical violence
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Sexual offence
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Serious emotional or psychological abuse
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Serious neglect
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Please describe the incident
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When did it take place?
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Who was involved?
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What did you see?
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Other information
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Parent/carer/child use
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Date of incident:
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Time of incident:
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Location of incident:
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Name(s) of child/children involved:
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Name(s) of member
/volunteer involved:
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Office use:
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Date incident report received:
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Staff member managing incident:
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Follow-up date:
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Incident ref. number:
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Has the incident been reported?
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Child protection
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Police
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Another third party (please specify):
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Incident reporter wishes to remain anonymous?
(Mark with an ‘X’ as applicable)
