Welfare

South West Road Runners takes the welfare of its members very seriously. We are obliged through our affiliation to UK Athletics and England Athletics to implement the policies and procedures that they have established.

Welfare Officers – contact us

The Club Welfare Officers (CWO) will listen confidentially* to any issue that may arise, and endeavour to support your individual needs and wellbeing. If you have any queries or concerns, we encourage you to contact our Club Welfare Officers and discuss your concern(s) directly with them. The current Club Welfare Officers are James O’Brien and Kate Taylor, and they are available to offer help and advice.

Welfare – what it means

The Club aims to create an environment where you feel safe and are able to participate in club events without being subject to any form of harassment, bullying, verbal or physical abuse or excessive pressure.

Welfare covers a wide range of issues such as safeguarding and protecting children, anti-bullying, equality, poor practice in coaching and disciplinary and grievance matters. The Club’s Codes of Conduct and procedures for dealing with child protection concerns and other welfare issues are in line with those outlined in the UKA Welfare and Child Protection policy which we have adopted; this can be viewed here.

https://www.englandathletics.org/welfare/safeguarding/

Welfare – what we expect from our members

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all those who participate in club activities.  If you deem the actions of a member towards another member to be inappropriate, please discuss your concerns with a member of the committee or contact the Club Welfare Officer (CWO) directly so the committee can discuss any action (if any) that needs to be taken.

Children and Vulnerable Adults

Any person with information of a disclosure, allegation or concern about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult must immediately report to the Club Welfare Officer who will refer the matter to UK Athletics’ Child Protection Liaison Officer or Home Country lead welfare officer, as appropriate. These concerns may arise due to:

• an individual disclosing that they are being abused

• the behaviour of an adult towards a child or vulnerable adult

• a number of indicators observed in a child or vulnerable adult over a period of time indicating abuse may have taken place or they are at risk of a form of exploitation.

If you are part of an affiliated club, you should immediately inform the club’s designated Club Welfare Officer (CWO) who will refer the matter to UKA’s Child Protection Liaison Officer (CPLO) or Home Country lead welfare officer.  To contact the CWO, please use the following link: https://www.swrr.co.uk/contact/

In the event that the CWO is unavailable, please contact a senior committee member through the Contact Us section at the bottom of the SWRR homepage.

If the UKA CPLO nominated deputy or Home Country CPO is unavailable, you should take responsibility and seek advice from either the NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000) or Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (see number below)

If you have concerns that a child/young person or vulnerable adult is at risk of immediate harm, you should call the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub with immediate effect.   This ensures that all appropriate agencies (police, social care, education etc) are informed of any risks or concerns relating to that child/young person and that action may be taken swiftly.

The number for the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub is 0345 155 1071

Affiliated Bodies

UK Athletics

England Athletics

* In order to provide the support for your needs and well-being, the information shared with a Welfare Officer may be shared with other Welfare Officers and/or the Committee, but only on a need to know basis. Exceptions are also made, for example if you may present a danger of violence to others; or if there is a reasonable suspicion that you are likely to harm yourself unless protective measures are taken

This policy is intended to inform South West Road Runners members of best practice with regards Safeguarding and Child Protection and make them aware of what the club does to safeguard the welfare of its members and what action members can take themselves in the event of concerns.

The UKA policy(s)( see below) must always be adhered to and the above guidance is intended to be reflective of this but does not replace or act as a substitute for it.

https://www.uka.org.uk/governance/welfare-and-safeguarding/guidance-documents-and-policy/

Updated and approved by Committee members July 2024