Safeguarding policy

Our Unwavering Commitment to Safeguarding and Welfare

GT Sports Academy treats the welfare and safeguarding of every participant with the utmost seriousness. Our primary commitment is to ensure a safe, positive, and inclusive environment for all children and adults engaged in our activities.

Our Core Safeguarding Principles

Our principles are the foundation of everything we do. GT Sports Academy is dedicated to ensuring that at all times:

  • The welfare and interests of all children are paramount in every decision and activity we undertake.

  • All participants have a positive experience with GT Sports Academy, free from discrimination on the basis of age, ability or disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or socio-economic background.

  • All children are protected from abuse of any kind whilst participating in GT Sports Academy activities.

Policy Implementation and Staff Responsibility

To uphold these principles, GT Sports Academy commits to the following procedures for all staff and operations:

  • Recruitment and Vetting: All GT Sports Academy coaches are appropriately recruited, vetted (DBS checked), and provided with necessary safeguarding training.

  • Staff Accountability: Every GT Sports Academy coach has an explicit responsibility for safeguarding and is expected to apply best practice principles in all sessions.

  • Reporting Procedures: Clear, confidential procedures are in place to ensure that any safeguarding concerns can be readily and appropriately reported.

  • Swift Action: All suspicions, concerns, and allegations will be taken seriously, managed swiftly, and dealt with appropriately by the designated staff.

First aid and medical information

1. Requirements for Sessions

  • Designated First Aider: At least one qualified and designated first-aider must be present and identifiable at every GT Sports Academy coaching session.

  • First Aid Kit: A fully equipped and accessible First Aid Kit must be available at the session location at all times.

2. Handling Participant Medical Data

  • Access to Information: All staff must be aware of and adhere to the protocol for accessing and referencing participant medical information (including allergies, conditions, and necessary medications) provided by the parent/guardian on registration.

  • Confidentiality: Medical and health information is strictly confidential and must only be used by authorized staff for the purpose of ensuring the participant's safety during the session.

  • Emergency Contacts: The provided contact details for both the parent/guardian and the secondary emergency contact must be readily available to the designated First Aider.

3. Incident and Emergency Response Procedure

In the event a child suffers an injury or significant health issue when their parent/guardian is not present, the following steps must be followed in order:

  1. Administer First Aid: The trained first-aider will immediately assess the situation and administer necessary first aid as deemed essential for the child’s immediate welfare, acting in loco parentis.

  2. Contact Parent/Guardian: Once first aid has been administered, or if the situation is serious and requires further action, the first-aider will immediately attempt to contact the parent/guardian.

  3. Contact Alternative: If the parent/guardian cannot be contacted, contact must immediately be made with the alternative emergency contact provided on the registration form.

  4. Accident Reporting: The designated staff member must complete a detailed Accident Report Form for the incident. This form must be submitted and retained in accordance with standard safeguarding procedures..

Concussion

GT Sports Academy treats head injuries with the utmost seriousness. Concussion is a complex and potentially significant brain injury, and swift, decisive action is essential to protect the welfare of our participants.

Immediate Action Protocol

Our policy is strict: Any suspected concussion must be immediately checked by a medical professional at a hospital A&E or with a GP.

Staff Responsibilities

While coaches take all reasonable steps to ensure safety guidance is followed at all times, your responsibilities regarding a suspected head injury are as follows:

  1. Stop Play Immediately: If you suspect a player has sustained a head injury or concussion, they must be removed from play immediately. They are not to return to the session, regardless of whether symptoms clear up.

  2. Administer First Aid and Contact Parents: Follow the standard GT Sports Academy First Aid and Contact Protocol (see previous section). Inform the parent/guardian that the injury is suspected concussion and that the child must be immediately checked by a medical professional.

  3. Mandatory Medical Referral: Stress that the child cannot return to any GT Sports Academy activity without written clearance from a doctor.

  4. Documentation: Record the incident using the GT Sports Academy Accident Report Form detailing the nature of the incident, the symptoms observed, and the action taken.

Parental Responsibility

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents/guardians and/or carers to ensure they are fully informed on the current best-practice guidelines for managing concussion and to ensure the child sees a medical professional immediately.


Anti-bullying policy

1. GT SPORTS ACADEMY  is committed to providing a friendly and safe environment for all those participating in its coaching sessions of any kind.  All those involved in such sessions are expected to treat each other with respect and bullying will not be tolerated. If bullying does occur, incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.

2. In accordance with our general policy statement, we will be particularly astute to detect and prevent any bullying based on age, ability or disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation or socio-economic background.

3. We recognise that bullying can take many different forms (including amongst children, between staff and children, face to face, in verbal or physical form and/or by cyberbullying methods), none of which should be tolerated.  However, we also recognised that all children have disagreements with each other, friends sometimes fall out for a time, and children sometimes engage in banter which (provided it stays the right side of the line) should not be treated as bullying.  A degree of common sense is required in distinguishing between these different circumstances and we will always seek to apply this.

4.  If bullying is happening without our knowledge, we want to know about it and it should be reported in the same way as any other safeguarding concern: see below.

Photography and videoing

1.  Photography and/or videoing of participants in  GT SPORTS ACADEMY sessions may take place for certain purposes where parent permission has been given. This does not include any form of photos or video in a school session, afterschool club etc. 

2.  Photography and/or videoing of children is an area of particular sensitivity and potential concern for safeguarding reasons and accordingly those rules must be strictly followed.

3.  Any concerns about inappropriate use of photographs or video recordings, or about intrusive photography or video recording, should be reported in the same way as any other safeguarding concern: see below.

Reporting concerns

1.  Any welfare or safeguarding concern in relation to a particular session should, in general, be reported first to the coach in charge of the relevant session.

2.  If the concern does not arise out of a particular session, or if the concern arises out of the behaviour of the coach in charge of the session, it should be reported in the first instance to  GT SPORTS ACADEMY  on info@gtsportsacademy.co.uk or by calling 01256 436605

3.  If the matter is urgent, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 or the police if the child is in immediate danger.