Child Protection
Child Protection Courses
Scottish Gymnastics requires all those working with children (i.e. coaches, judges, helpers and chaperones) within a club as well as those accompanying children on trips, regardless of whether in a paid capacity or as a volunteer, attend Child Protection courses organised through SGA. Child Protection Training should be repeated every three years (other than Safe Gym for All).
Safeguarding and Protecting Children
Safeguarding and Protecting Children, is a three hour module, which is designed to raise awareness on issues surrounding the protection of children, young people and vulnerable adults within sport and covers topics such as: duty of care, good/inappropriate practice, recognising acceptable and unacceptable behavior, how to protect yourself as a coach and others and where to go for advice and help on how to deal with issues.
It is mandatory that Coaches aged 18+ regardless of level, plus relevant officials as well as anyone else working with children i.e. helpers, chaperones and CPCs attend Child Protection Training. Any young coach, helper etc; who is within 3 months of turning 18, can attend the Safeguarding course (instead of Safe in Your Hands). Safeguarding should be repeated every three years.
Safe Gym for All
This is a 3 hour module and has three outcomes: 1) Understand the role of a Child Protection Co-ordinator (CPC) & the importance of the work they do 2) Know the steps to take to safely recruit coaches and volunteers into your club 3) Know the steps to take in the event of a disclosure i.e. a child disclosing inappropriate behaviour.
It is mandatory that all CPCs, along with the senior/head coach attend this training. A Club chair person and senior committee members are also welcome to attend if they wish. There are no exemptions available for this course.
Note: It is imperative that Safeguarding & Protecting training be attended before the Safe Gym training. However, in certain cases and depending on job role, i.e. Doctor, Social Worker, Teacher, exemption from Safeguarding training may be given. To confirm exemption please contact the Association’s Head of Child Protection.
Safe in Your Hands
Scottish Gymnastics have developed a Good Practice training module for younger coaches aged 14 – 17 years. Safe Hands is a two hour module aimed to raise awareness of child protection, good & bad practice, how to protect yourself as a young coach and how or where to report any concerns or issues you may have. There are many young coaches working within clubs, leisure centres or local authority classes who seem to be unaware of the various aspects of working and dealing with children, parents and other coaches. This is an ideal opportunity to introduce these young coaches to what can be a very emotive subject, in a less formal manner.
Please Note: If a coach embarks on a Level 2 qualification they must attend Safeguarding and Protecting Children, regardless of the expiry date of the Safe in Your Hands award.
Courses can be organised locally, depending on demand and if there are no other suitable courses available within the area. Please contact Anita Eros on anita@scottishgymnastics.org telephone number: 01786 466232 ext. 119. If you have any queries regarding the information contained above please contact lorna@scottishgymnastics.org
FAQ For Parents/Guardians when joining a club
Scottish Gymnastics Child Protection Policy - updated Aug 2012
Child Protection Co-ordinator Job Decription.
