SAFEGUARDING AT THE SCOTTISH ENDURO SERIES: EVENT WELFARE PLAN
Scottish Enduro Association (SEA) is committed to protecting and promoting the wellbeing of all children and young people involved in the sport, at our events.
It is very likely that all events ran by the SEA that cater for children (those under 18 years old), and the committee will have the following elements in place:
1. Event Welfare Officer
2. Responding to Concerns Procedure at Events
3. Missing Participant Procedure at Events
4. Video & Photography Guidance at Events
Event Wellbeing Officers (EWO)
The Event Welfare Officers for the SEA will promote good practice at our events, is the ‘named point of contact’ when/if there are child welfare concerns and will understand Scottish Cycling’s reporting procedures if a concern is raised.
The EWO purpose is to:
1. Assist the Event Organiser to implement this Event Welfare Plan (also known as a Safeguarding Plan).
2. Work, including with others, to assist the SEA committee to fulfil their responsibilities to safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk.
3. To promote awareness of best practice guidance and the relevant Codes of Conduct throughout the event.
4. To promote anti-discriminatory practice. One, or more, EWOs will attend all SEA eventsand will provide a contact telephone number for the duration of the event which will be published in the rider briefing along with an email address should anyone wish to report concerns following the event.
The EWOs for the SEA will be members of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and will have completed Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport (CWPS) training.
Responding to Concerns Procedure
We understand that events can bring up a range of concerns or complaints relating to the competition or any activity associated with the event. If something is observed, overheard, or disclosed then it should be reported through the appropriate channels by following this procedure for raising concerns at the event.
All concerns will be taken seriously and anyone who reports a legitimate concern will be supported. When a concern has been reported to an event volunteer, a team official, commissaire or the Event Organiser, it will be reported to the Event Welfare Officer as soon as is practically possible.
Action will be taken to protect the wellbeing of a child or young person; this will be the priority.
The concern will be recorded by the EWO at the event.
The concern will be recorded via the Scottish Cycling’s Concern Recording Form and will detail the steps and actions that have been taken. The concern form should identify the party(ies) involved so that any follow up action or support that needs to be taken can be done so by Scottish Cycling after the event.
If the concern recording form is not available, another format (such as email will be submitted to Scottish Cycling).
The SEA when recording a concern, will do the following:
1. Make a written record of the information as soon as possible
2. Confine the documentation to the facts – what has been observed or reported.
3. Distinguish between what is their own personal knowledge and what they have been told by other people.
4. Be clear where they are giving either their own or others’ interpretation of events and the reasons for this (e.g. context, individual’s response to challenge)
5. Include dates, times, locations and context if available
The SEA will not do the following:
1. Include their own opinions on the matter.
2. Use judgemental language
3. Write the record in a way that protects the individual, club, or Scottish Cycling
Where the concern relates to the EWO directly, then the Event Organiser will take on the role and responsibilities of the EWO to avoid a conflict of interest.
The procedure has the following steps in place (see Appendix 1).
In an emergency advice will be sought from the Police Scotland or Social Care and/or NSPCC.
Missing Participant Procedure
During SEA events, the responsibility for any Under-18 participants involved lies with their parent/carer or assigned staff of their team.
If a participant is found to be missing, the procedure below will be followed:
1. A most recent description of the participant will be compiled and circulated.
2. Announcements will be made via the public address system to get the attention of the missing participant.
3. If possible, a photograph of the participant will be circulated.
4. Where a participant has gone missing and then is found, they should be brought to the Event Hub and/or registration tent within the event and reunited with their team or parents/carers.
5. A missing participant in an event will be recorded and documented along with all steps taken to find them. This will be recorded on the Concern Recording Form and then must be submitted to Scottish Cycling’s Wellbeing & Protection Team.
6. Following an event where a participant does go missing, a review of the event should take place to understand what happened and what improvements could be made.
Photography, Video and Media
Photography, video, and media provide an excellent opportunity to celebrate the achievement of young people and the spectacle of our events. This policy covers both the taking and the use of photographs at the event and afterwards to safeguard the wellbeing of children and young people.
Prior to the Event
Young people and their parents/carers will be asked to give or decline written permission for their child to be photographed or videoed prior to the event. If there are any young people whose photograph or video is not to be taken, then the details will be logged by the Event Welfare team and no photographs or videos of those young people will be taken by the Event Photographers.
This may mean that no team photos or videos are taken of teams that include a child whose parents have declined to give permission.
The following rules will be applied when taking photographs or videos prior to the Event:
All photographers, including those from national, regional and local media, and parents and spectators will undergo an accreditation process to allow them to attend the event, which will include them signing a declaration undertaking to use any photographs/images in an appropriate manner (see below). All such accredited photographers will be provided with event identification, which must always be worn.
All published photographs and images will reflect the safety and positivity of the sport.
All staff and volunteers must always be vigilant and pass any concerns to the Event Welfare Team.
The following will not be permitted at the Event:
Unsupervised access to competitors or one to one photo sessions.
Unsupervised photo sessions outside of the sports competitions.
Photography in the changing rooms and accommodation areas.
All requests for interviews, photographs etc. from any media personnel must be referred to the relevant parent/guardian who must decide if it is appropriate to allow the media request to go ahead.
After the Event:
Only official photographs or videos of children/young people whose parents have given their signed consent to photographs of their child being taken at the event will be used for publicity purposes.
The Club/Event Organiser will take the audience and purpose into proper consideration when publishing any photographic material featuring young people from the event.
Identification – Neither the visual content nor any captions will be able to be used as a means of identifying where the young person/people live. Caption will be restricted to first name and team name only.
Any young person featured in publicity will be wearing suitable dress and the photographs will focus on the activity rather than a full body shot.
Photographs or videos used will not feature young people wearing jewellery, body piercing or clothing that could cause safety issues.
All images and video will be stored securely to ensure access is restricted to appropriate people.