Welfare and safeguarding policy

Aequus Archers are committed to ensuring that children, young people and adults at risk, and its membership in general, enjoy archery in a safe environment in which they are protected from any form of poor practice or abuse.

To achieve the above, Aequus Archers have fully adopted all of Archery GB's safeguarding policies and procedures, as well as those from the Derbyshire County Archery Association (DCAA) and the East Midlands Archery Society (EMAS).

The purpose of this policy is to ensure good practice is followed at all times. It is based on the following principles:

All volunteers, coaches, parents, officials, members, contractors, and commissioned service providers recognise a duty of care and responsibility to safeguard everyone involved in our sport from harm.
The welfare of the child and vulnerable adult is paramount.
Children must never be subject to any form of treatment that is harmful, abusive, humiliating or degrading, and must feel safe in a welcoming and inclusive environment.
No form of abuse will be tolerated.
All acts of bullying will be taken seriously and dealt with.
Everyone in Aequus Archers has a responsibility to work together to stop bullying.
Bullying can include online as well as offline behaviour.
All members must respect the feelings and views of others.
All members recognise that everyone is important and equal, and that our differences make each of us special and worthy of being valued.
All social media guidelines are followed.
Junior members of the club are made aware of relevant information and where they can go for support (this is the responsibility of parents and carers).
The Welfare Officer and Chair have completed specialist training and vetting checks. These specialist roles must be known to all club members, Archery GB and the DCAA. They are voted into the post annually.
All practising coaches have an up-to-date licence, which includes vetting checks and specialist training.
All policies and procedures are updated every three years, or when legislation or recommendations change.

Every member in Aequus Archers should be able to enjoy the sport and to feel included, safe and valued.

Definitions

A child or young person is a person under the age of 18. See the Archery GB safeguarding and protecting children and young people policy.

An adult at risk has care and support needs (whether or not those needs are being met), and because of those needs cannot protect themselves against abuse or neglect. See the Archery GB safeguarding adults policy and procedures.

The intention of this policy is to empower everyone to recognise behaviours that do not meet the values of Aequus Archers, Archery GB or Archery GB's code of conduct.

Welfare and safeguarding support

Two people at Aequus Archers can support you if you have a concern: the Welfare Officer and the Committee Chair. Their names are displayed in the container on the field and on the Meet the team page. You can speak to them on the field, or send them a message through the contact form.

If your concern includes one or more of the welfare team or a family member, you can take your concern directly to the DCAA welfare team or to Archery GB at safeguarding@archerygb.org.

Possible types of abuse

Many of the forms of abuse and neglect below apply to both children and adults, but some are specific to adults only, for example organisational abuse.

Self-neglect covers a wide range of behaviour, such as a person not taking care of their personal hygiene (for example, not regularly showering or bathing), health or surroundings. It includes behaviour such as hoarding. In archery, this could be a player whose appearance becomes untidy or scruffy, who does not wear suitable sports kit, and who has poor hygiene.
Modern slavery includes slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and domestic servitude (forcing domestic staff to work against their will). Traffickers and slave masters use whatever means they have to force and deceive people into a life of abuse, slavery and inhumane treatment. In archery, you may notice that someone in a team has been missing from practice sessions and is not responding to reminders from team members or coaches.
Domestic abuse includes psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional abuse. It also includes so-called "honour-based" violence. You may notice a power imbalance between someone taking part in archery and a family member. For example, someone with Down's syndrome may look quiet and withdrawn when their brother comes to collect them from sessions, in contrast to when they greet their personal assistant with a smile.
Discriminatory abuse centres on a difference or a perceived difference, particularly in terms of race, sex or disability, or any of the other protected characteristics of the Equality Act (age, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, and sexual orientation). This could be harassing a club member because they are, or are thought to be, transgender.
Organisational abuse includes neglect and poor care within an institution or care setting, such as a hospital or care home, or in a person's own home. This may range from one-off incidents to continual ill-treatment. It can be through neglect or poor professional practice as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices within an organisation. In archery, this could be a person training without a necessary break.
Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, drugging, restraining or inappropriate punishments. This could be a coach deliberately hitting an athlete.
Sexual abuse includes rape, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, inappropriate looking or touching, sexual teasing or innuendo, sexual photography, being made to watch or look at pornography, sexual assault, or being forced or pressured into doing or watching sexual acts. This could be a fellow athlete who sends unwanted sexually explicit text messages to an adult they are training alongside who has learning disabilities.
Financial or material abuse includes theft, fraud, internet scamming, influencing an adult's decisions about their financial affairs or arrangements (including in connection with wills, property or inheritance), or misusing or taking property, possessions, money or benefits. This could be someone taking equipment from an athlete who has dementia.
Neglect includes ignoring a person's medical or physical care needs, not providing access to appropriate health, social care or educational services, and not providing the necessities of life such as medication, adequate nutrition and heating. This could be a coach not making sure that athletes have access to water.
Emotional or psychological abuse includes threats to harm or abandon someone, depriving someone of contact, humiliating, blaming, controlling, intimidating, harassing or verbally abusing someone, or isolating someone from services or supportive networks. This could be an athlete threatening another athlete with physical harm and persistently blaming them for poor performance.
Cyberbullying happens when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online, or repeatedly picks on another person through emails or text messages, or uses online forums with the aim of harming, damaging, humiliating or isolating them. It can be used to carry out many different types of bullying (such as racist bullying, homophobic bullying, or bullying related to special educational needs and disabilities). Instead of carrying out the bullying face-to-face, the person uses technology to do it.
Mate crime is defined by the Safety Net Project as "when vulnerable people are befriended by members of the community or club who go on to exploit and take advantage of them. It may not be an illegal act but still has a negative effect on the individual." Mate crime is carried out by someone the adult knows and often happens in private. In recent years there have been a number of serious case reviews relating to people with learning disabilities who were murdered or seriously harmed by people who pretended to be their friend.
Radicalisation is when someone with extreme views aims to attract people to their reasoning, inspire new recruits and persuade vulnerable people that their cause is legitimate. This may be direct, through a relationship, or through social media.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a procedure where the female genitals are deliberately cut, injured or changed, but there is no medical reason for this to be done. It is also known as female circumcision or cutting, and by other terms such as Sunna, Guanin, Halalays, Tahur, Megrez and Khitan, among others. FGM is usually carried out on young girls between infancy and the age of 15, most commonly before puberty starts. It is illegal in the UK and is child abuse. It is very painful and can seriously harm the health of women and girls. It can also cause long-term problems with sex, childbirth and mental health. You may notice this if a young female athlete needs to go to the toilet frequently, especially if they have been abroad recently.
County lines is a form of criminal exploitation. Criminals befriend children, either online or offline, and then manipulate them into drug dealing. The "lines" are the mobile phones used to control a young person who is delivering drugs, often to towns outside their home county. Young people aged 14 to 17 are most likely to be targeted by criminal groups, but there are reports of seven-year-olds being groomed into county lines. Primary school children are seen as easy targets because they are less likely to get caught. The grooming might start with them being asked to keep watch, but it soon escalates to them being forced to stash weapons or money, or to become drug couriers.

Signs of abuse and neglect

Abuse can take place anywhere and be carried out by all sorts of people. Abuse may be inflicted by anyone in the club who an athlete comes into contact with. Or club members, workers, volunteers or coaches may suspect that an athlete is being abused or neglected outside the club.

There are many signs that may suggest someone is being abused or neglected. Some of these are:

Unexplained bruises or injuries, or lack of medical attention for an injury.
Someone having belongings or money go missing.
Someone not coming to, or no longer enjoying, their sessions.
Someone losing or gaining weight, or an untidy or unclean appearance.
A change in a person's behaviour or confidence, such as being angry or quiet.
Someone self-harming.
Someone afraid of a particular group or person.
Someone telling you or another person that they are being abused (this is called a disclosure).

Reporting concerns of grooming or abuse, inside and outside archery

Where a child is considered to be at risk of harm, consent to share concerns with appropriate agencies is not required. It is good practice to discuss these actions with the parent, carer or legal guardian, but this should not be done when it may place the child at risk of further harm, or when there are suspicions of fabricated or induced illness.

Do not delay reporting your concerns. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times.

All club members should make themselves aware of the following Archery GB policies and procedures:

Safeguarding Children and Young People Policies and Procedures
Anti-Bullying Policy
Online Safety and Social Media Policy
Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures
Duty of Care (England and Wales)
Reporting and Dealing with Concerns about Poor Practice
Privacy Notice
Abuse of Positions of Trust in Sport

Junior safeguarding: act immediately

If you have any concern of possible grooming or abuse:

Ask: are they hurt or at risk? If yes, make sure they are safe and call 999.
Report the incident to the Club Welfare Officer or Club Chair, and write a statement.
If you feel you cannot do this, contact the DCAA Welfare Officer or Archery GB welfare.
Club safeguarding will report the incident to Archery GB.
Archery GB will acknowledge the concern within 24 hours and advise on next steps.

It is not your responsibility to decide whether or not child abuse has taken place. However, it is your responsibility to act on concerns. You must report your concerns to the police and/or children's social care services, and to your Club Welfare Officer, if you have any concern that a child is in danger.

Adult safeguarding: act immediately

First decide what your concern is about.

An adult who is suffering from harm or abuse:

Ask: do they need immediate help to be safe and well? If yes, seek medical advice or call the emergency services.
Tell a club or county officer and write a report.
The Welfare Officer reports to Archery GB at safeguarding@archerygb.org.
All welfare officers involved follow procedures and refer to the relevant agencies.*
Possible outcomes are a police enquiry, a safeguarding assessment, or criminal proceedings.

Poor practice: start at step 2.

*Agencies involved might include Adult Social Services, the police, the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub or the Local Safeguarding Adults Board.

All allegations of this nature, about both children and adults, are sensitive and should only be discussed on a "need to know" basis. Confidentiality must be maintained until the outcome of the investigation is released.

Low-level concerns

Lower-level concerns must be addressed using the procedure in the Archery GB lower-level concerns policy. In all instances where a lower-level concern has been raised, investigated and an outcome issued, the Archery GB National Lead Safeguarding Officer will be given, and will keep, a copy of the lower-level concern and its outcome.

A lower-level concern should be raised with the Chair, or an athlete team official such as a coach or welfare officer, in a confidential meeting and/or in writing. The official club representative will:

Speak to the person who raised the concern directly, unless it has been raised anonymously.
Speak to the individual involved and any witnesses.
Check whether this is an isolated incident or part of a pattern of behaviour.
If the lower-level concern has occurred on more than one occasion, or is considered serious enough, contact the Archery GB National Lead Safeguarding Officer (NLSO) to consider whether to proceed under this policy, or whether it has met the threshold of harm to refer to the Disciplinary Policy and/or safeguarding policies.
Use the information collected to consider the type of behaviour under the codes of conduct and decide any further action in line with this policy.
Hold a discussion with those involved about expectations and standards of behaviour, clearly setting out details of the concern and what improvement is required.
Give the person against whom the concern has been raised the opportunity to respond. This discussion will consider whether they agree or deny the concern and/or offer any mitigating circumstances.
Where it is agreed that the lower-level concern has occurred, outcomes may include words of advice, or a verbal or written apology. An offer of training, coaching or mentoring may be appropriate to help the person address any behaviour or conduct issues.
Review the outcome within an agreed timeframe to confirm that the agreed actions were carried out and no further concerns have arisen.

Any other formal sanctions, including Archery GB suspension, expulsion, removal of accreditation or exclusion from a particular event or activity, can only be considered under the processes in the Archery GB disciplinary policy and procedures.

Local safeguarding priorities and risks

As part of this policy, we continue to look at the main risks for the local area, to understand some of the difficulties our members might face.

Safeguarding risks in Belper align with wider Derbyshire priorities, focusing on vulnerable groups. Key risks include child exploitation (criminal and sexual), peer-on-peer abuse, online harms, and adult vulnerabilities such as financial abuse, neglect and doorstep crime.

Child exploitation: protecting children and young people from criminal exploitation (including county lines) and child sexual exploitation (CSE). Local multi-agency teams use a specific Child at Risk of Exploitation (CRE) toolkit to assess and intervene early in the Belper area.
Online harms: the Online Safety Act requires local awareness of risks to under-18s, including exposure to inappropriate content, self-harm material and cyberbullying.
Adult social care risks: vulnerable adults in Belper are at risk of financial scams, bogus callers and domestic abuse. People with dementia, learning or physical disabilities, or who depend on caregivers, are heavily targeted for exploitation.
Child-on-child abuse: safeguarding extends to peer bullying, physical violence, or sexual abuse between children, both online and in the community.

Key reporting and support contacts

If you have safeguarding concerns about an individual in Belper, different agencies handle different risk levels:

Derbyshire children: for concerns about significant harm to a child, contact Starting Point (Derbyshire's contact and referral service) on 01629 533190.
Derbyshire adults: to report abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult, contact Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190.