LEISURE COMMITTEE
27 JUNE 2005
ITEM 04
CHILD PROTECTION ACCREDITATION SCHEME
Report of the:
Chief Executive
Contact:
Katie Buck
Urgent Decision?(yes/no)
No
If yes, reason urgent decision required:
N/A
Annexes/Appendices (attached):
Annexe 1: The accreditation process
Annexe 2: Child Protection Logo for Epsom and
Ewell Borough Council.
Other available papers (not attached):
Report to the Leisure Committee, 13 November
2000
Draft Borough Council Child Protection Guidelines
for Voluntary Groups in Epsom and Ewell (still to
be validated by Child Protection Sports Unit)
available for inspection in the Members’ Room.
Child Protection in Sport Unit’s Child Protection
Policy and Implementation Procedures.
Surrey Sports Development Unit’s Surrey Child
and Vulnerable Adults Protection Policy.
This report asks the Committee to consider and agree the proposal to introduce a Child
Protection Accreditation Scheme for the voluntary leisure groups in the Borough.
RECOMMENDATION (S)
That the Committee
(1)
Endorses the revised guidelines for child protection
policies and implementation procedures;
(2)
Agrees to the introduction of a Child Protection
Accreditation Scheme as set out in Annexe 1.
1
Implications for Community Strategy and Council’s Key Priorities
1.1
The Council’s Child Protection Policy encourages the development of child
protection policies in local clubs and organisations and the Community Strategy
state that greater encouragement should be given to the development of good
practice within voluntary and community groups. The Accreditation Scheme will
help address this identified need.
Page 1 of 4
LEISURE COMMITTEE
27 JUNE 2005
1.2
2
ITEM 04
The Accreditation Scheme will also address the Council’s Key Priority Objective
of improving services for young people. The Scheme will encourage voluntary
leisure groups working directly with the Borough’s young people to implement
effective procedures and policies to protect them from potential abuse.
Implications for Committee’s Key Service Priorities
2.1
The proposal will support the following Leisure Committee Key Service
Priorities:
2.1.1 To ensure that the Rainbow Centre is accessible to all sections of the
community, particularly young people, and provides a high quality service.
2.1.2 To provide a range of facilities for the Borough’s young people, both direct
and in partnership with other agencies, that meet the greatest need.
2.1.3
3
To increase the level of physical activity in the community and promote
widespread participation, including particular initiatives aimed at young
people and through sport.
Introduction
3.1
Officers have recently updated the Council’s ‘Child Protection Guidelines for
Voluntary Groups within Epsom and Ewell’. The original version was written in
2002 and it was recently identified that a revised, more up to date version was
needed. The guidelines support ongoing efforts to address child protection issues
and safeguard as many vulnerable people within the Borough as possible from
potential harm in a leisure environment. A copy of the updated guidelines is
available for inspection in the Members’ Room.
3.2
In line with these guidelines, ‘Good Practice and Child Protection’ workshops
have been organised to take place in July 2005 for all local voluntary leisure
groups who work with young people and/or vulnerable adults. The groups will
receive instructions and advice on best practice to safeguard not only the
vulnerable people they work with and who are members of the group, but also on
how to protect the adult leaders/coaches from entering a situation that could put
them at risk of being accused of abuse.
3.3
Whilst training is important and will help promote the positive outcomes of
effective child protection principles, it is also important to encourage the
voluntary sector to acknowledge the need for child protection and to take
ownership of it in their own way, which will involve putting the most appropriate
procedures in place to protect their vulnerable members.
3.4
It is envisaged that an Accreditation Scheme will help encourage voluntary leisure
groups in the Borough to take child protection more seriously by implementing
the necessary minimum requirements to help reduce the risk of abuse to
vulnerable people, which will include implementing their own Child Protection
Policy.
Page 2 of 4
LEISURE COMMITTEE
27 JUNE 2005
4
5
6
ITEM 04
Proposals
4.1
The Committee is asked to endorse the revised child protection policy and
implementation guidelines, available for inspection in the Members’ Room.
4.2
It is also proposed to introduce a Child Protection Accreditation Scheme in the
Borough that will encourage voluntary leisure groups to develop and apply their
own policies and procedures addressing child protection issues. This will then in
turn help to reduce the risk of potential abuse of vulnerable people, both within
the club and those engaged in activity outside of the group, such as school groups.
Details of the accreditation process are set out in Annexe 1.
4.3
The logo for each accredited organisation will be incorporated into Leisure
Listings, Holiday Scheme leaflets and the Website against the groups’ names.
This will benefit the groups through increased positive publicity.
Financial and Manpower Implications
5.1
There should be minimal financial implications for the Council if the
Accreditation Scheme is approved. A small cost will be incurred in reproducing
the present Child Protection logo (Annexe 2), which will be used to accredit
groups, and in printing the certificates to award the accredited clubs. The printing
can be done in house. The costs will be met by the current Leisure Developments
budget.
5.2
The staff resource involved in running the Accreditation Scheme will be
accommodated in the work of the Leisure and Youth Development Officer. The
majority of the work would be administrative.
Human Rights and Other Legal Implications
6.1
Safeguards are built into the scheme to ensure that the Council is neither to be
held responsible for the content of the various child protection policies written by
each group nor to be held legally liable in respect of any alleged or actual
incidents of abuse. The Council is merely recognising the intention of the
voluntary groups to take child protection seriously and offering general guidance
on good practice.
6.2
Any one accreditation will only be valid for 24 months and the burden of proof
will be on an individual organisation to retain its accreditation. In the unlikely
event that allegations of child abuse or poor practice are brought to the attention
of the Council, then the Council will, where necessary, refer this on to Children’s
Services or the Police, which is a standard procedure of the referral process. If an
allegation of child abuse is proved through the legal process then the group in
which the coach/leader is working, will automatically have their accreditation
removed. It is important to note that the Council will deal with each case
individually and decide upon the best procedure to follow to ensure the public are
protected.
Page 3 of 4
LEISURE COMMITTEE
27 JUNE 2005
7
Social Well-being
7.1
8
It is hoped that the Accreditation Scheme will encourage more parents/guardians
and family members to enrol their children or disabled family members in group
activities by assisting them in recognising which voluntary groups within the
Borough are providing a child-friendly and safe environment for vulnerable
people. This can be seen as reducing a barrier to participation and improving
access to sports, leisure and cultural activities within the Borough. In addition, if
more young people and vulnerable adults are joining leisure groups then this will
contribute to increasing the physical activity levels within the Borough and
therefore improve the standard of health of the Borough’s residents.
Economic and Environmental Well-being
8.1
9
ITEM 04
Not applicable.
Risk Assessment and Conclusions
9.1
This is an important initiative for the Council to adopt. It would demonstrate that
the Council takes child protection seriously and takes a proactive approach to
safeguarding vulnerable people in Borough.
9.2
The Council should be encouraging the voluntary sector to take a stance on child
protection and to implement a range of procedures to protect their vulnerable
members, as well as those young people and disabled adults they work with
outside of the group, from possible harm.
9.3
This is a simple, low risk initiative that will address these key points and will help
publicise the Council’s (and the voluntary sector’s) work in this area.
9.4
There is a risk of the Council being associated with an accredited group at which
there is subsequently an alleged or actual incident of abuse. However, safeguards
are built into the scheme to ensure that organisations retain the primary
responsibility for any problem.
9.5
The benefits of adopting the Scheme are considered to strongly outweigh the risks
as organisations will be encouraged to adopt good practice and the public’s
awareness of child protection issues will be heightened.
WARD(S) AFFECTED: All
Page 4 of 4