Safeguarding - Children and Vulnerable Adults

Our tennis club aims to create an enjoyable and safe environment for all children and adults who wish to take part in tennis or other sport and social activities at the club.

We believe that everyone has the right to be safe, secure and free from threat.
We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with respect, and to have their concerns listened to and acted upon.
We will ensure that the club provides for the needs of children and vulnerable adults through specific programs, designated facilities, and safe practice.
We have procedures in place to address poor practice, and to help any child or adult who appears to be at risk or appears to be the victim of abuse. We will offer help and support when a child or vulnerable adult tells us that they are affected by these issues.
We will ensure that all those working with children and vulnerable adults are made aware of the associated LTA code of conduct and are required to follow it.

Whistleblowing Policy

Safeguarding children and adults at risk requires everyone to be committed to the highest possible standards of openness, integrity and accountability. As a tennis club, we are committed to encouraging and maintaining a culture where young people feel able to raise a genuine safeguarding concern and are confident that it will be taken seriously.

What is whistle blowing?

In the context of safeguarding, “whistle blowing” is when someone raises a concern about the well-being of a child or an adult at risk.

A whistle blower may be:

a player, a volunteer, a coach, other member of staff, an official, a parent or a member of the public.

How to raise a concern about a child or an adult at risk at the club

If a child or an adult at risk is in immediate danger or risk of harm, the police should be contacted by calling 999.
Where a child or an adult at risk is not in immediate danger, any concerns about their well-being should be made without delay to the Club Welfare Officer. The Club Welfare Officer will pass the details of the concern on to the LTA Safeguarding Team at the earliest opportunity and the relevant local authority and the police will be contacted, where appropriate.
If, however, the whistle blower does not feel comfortable raising a concern with the Club Welfare Officer, the whistle blower should contact the LTA Safeguarding Team directly on 020 8487 7000, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

The club has a Welfare Officer who is specifically responsible for children, young people and child protection.

Francis Mackie - welfare@thetennniscafe.com

When raising a concern please provide as much information as possible regarding the incident or circumstance which has given rise to the concern, including:

their name and contact details (unless they wish to remain anonymous);
names of individuals involved;
date, time and location of incident/circumstance; and
whether any witnesses were present.

What happens next?

All concerns raised by a whistle blower about the well-being of a child or an adult at risk will be taken seriously and every effort will be made to deal with each concern fairly, quickly and proportionately.

If the whistle blower does not believe that the concern has been dealt with appropriately and wishes to speak to someone outside the club or the LTA Safeguarding Team, the NSPCC Whistleblowing advice line should be contacted on 0800 028 0285 or by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk.

Support

The club will not tolerate any harassment, victimisation or unfair treatment of, and will take appropriate action to protect, whistle blowers when they raise a concern in good faith.

The Lawn Tennis Association also has a dedicated safeguarding team LTA Child Protection

T 0208 487 7008/7116

Mob (24 hour) 07971 141 024

E: childprotection@lta.org.uk www.LTA.org.uk/childprotection