1. RAITH ROVERS FC
CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
2010

2. The Club’s
Local Authority
Guidelines on
Child Protection
and Vulnerable Adults
Where do you look for guidance?

3. POSSIBLE SIGNS OF ABUSE
INCLUDING THOSE IN SPORT

4. CATEGORIES OF ABUSE
NEGLECT
EMOTIONAL
PHYSICAL
SEXUAL

5. Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse is the persistent
emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to
cause severe and persistent adverse
effects on the child’s emotional
development
It may involve conveying to children that
they are worthless or unloved, inadequate,
or valued insofar as they meet the needs
of another person

6. Emotional Abuse
It may involve causing children to
frequently feel frightened or in danger, or
the exploitation or corruption of children
It may involve bullying
It may involve seeing or hearing the ill-
treatment of another

7. Emotional Abuse - Some
signs
Rejected or constant negative
criticism
Too high expectations that the
child cannot meet
Scapegoat
Inappropriately punished

8. Examples in Sport?
Persistent failure to show
respect, build self-esteem and
confidence and support children
Exposing children to humiliating,
taunting or aggressive
behaviour or tone
Constantly telling a child they’re
not good enough

9. Examples in Sport?
Living own ambitions through child
e.g. forcing child to participate in a
sport
Pushing a child too hard
Not challenging bullying/racism
Not prioritising child’s long term
health over immediate success

10. Neglect
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet
a child’s basic physical and
psychological needs, likely to result in
the serious impairment of the child’s
health or development
It may involve a parent or carer failing to
provide adequate food, shelter and
clothing, failing to protect a child from
physical harm or danger, or the failure
to ensure access to appropriate medical
treatment

11. Neglect - Some Signs
Constant hunger
Poor hygiene and/or clothes
Untreated medical problems
Poor peer group relationships
Persistent fatigue

12. Neglect - Examples in Sport?
Lack or absence of care, guidance
supervision or protection
Exposing children to unnecessary cold, heat
or risk of injury
Exposing children to unhygienic conditions -
lack of food, water or medical care
Non intervention in bullying or taunting

13. Physical Abuse
Physical abuse may involve hitting,
shaking, throwing, poisoning,
burning, scalding, drowning,
suffocating or otherwise harming a
child
Fabricated or Induced Illness
Syndrome (FIIS) whereby a parent
or carer feigns the symptoms of, or
deliberately causes, the ill-health in a
child

14. Parents are no longer able to
give a blow to the head
shake a child
use an implement on their child
Other ‘reasonable chastisement’ is still
allowed. Case Law will determine what is
‘reasonable’ and how other parts of this Act
will be interpreted.
The Criminal Justice (Scotland)
Act 2003

15. Physical abuse – Some Signs
Covering of arms/legs in hot
weather and/or avoidance of
activities such as swimming
Aggression towards others
Fear of returning home
Running away

16. Physical Abuse - Examples in Sport?
Condoning, administering or not
reporting use of performance enhancing
drugs
Using any form of physical punishment in
a coaching situation
Bodily harm caused by lack of care,
attention or knowledge
Failure to risk assess physical limits or
pre-existing injuries or medical conditions

17. Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse involves forcing or
enticing a child or young person to
take part in sexual activities, whether
or not the child is aware of what is
happening
The activities may involve physical
contact, including penetrative or non-
penetrative acts

18. It may also include non-contact
activities, such as involving children in
looking at pornographic material or
watching sexual activities, or
encouraging children to behave in
sexually inappropriate ways.
Sexual Abuse

19. Sexual Abuse - Some signs
Fear of a particular individual
Discomfort on walking or sitting
Ssexual knowledge beyond the child’s
age, inappropriate sexually harmful
behaviours
Excess money or designer goods
Inappropriate photos sent by email or
phone text or on Social Networking Sites
Inappropriate touching or sexual
relationship

20. World Wide Web
Internet
Downloading or creating indecent images
Chartrooms
‘Grooming’ over the net
Operation Ore
7,000 UK subscribers to an Internet
pornography site
Latest research has found that, in the
UK, over 100 attempts EVERY
MINUTE to try to access child
pornography sites

21. Sexual Abuse - Examples in Sport?
Exposing children to inappropriate explicit
sexual language, jokes pornographic or
indecent material including electronic images
Inappropriate touch
Having ANY sexual activity with a child/young
person over whom you are in a position of
trust
Use of sexual language to insult during a
coaching session
Sending inappropriate electronic images

22. Abused children may have some or none of
these signs.
Avoid a ‘tick list’ mentality
IF IN ANY DOUBT - CHECK IT OUT

23. RESPONDING TO A
CONCERN

24. Responding to a Concern or
a Disclosure
Do not give a guarantee of
confidentiality
Only ask enough questions to
gain basic information
Listen carefully &
sympathetically
Take the allegation seriously -
do not show disbelief

25. Establishing Basic Facts
No Leading Questions
No Personal Information
Definition of a Leading Question
Suggests the required answer
or
Is based on an assumption of facts
which have yet to be proven

26. RESPONDING TO A CONCERN –
THE ’W’ QUSTIONS
When? When did it happen? √
Did it happen last night? X
Where? Where did it happen? √
Did she come into your bedroom? X
Who? Who did it? √
Was it mummy/daddy? etc X
What? What happened? √
Did such and such happen? X

27. ANY QUESTIONS?

28. PROCEDURES

29. PROCEDURES
REFER TO SOCIAL
WORK OR POLICE
RECORD & REPORT TO THE CLUB CHILD
PROTECTION CO0RDINATOR or CLUB
OFFICIAL ON THE DAY
IF NECESSSARY, ESTABLISH BASIC
FACTS ASK ‘W’ QUESTIONS
CONCERN/DISCLOSUR
E BY CHILD
OBSERVATION CONCERN/DISCLOSUR
E BY OTHER
CHILD/ADULT/AGENCY
INFORMATION OF
ALLEGED,
SUSPECTED OR
ACTUAL ABUSE

30. MINIMISING RISK &
CODES OF CONDUCT

31. Good Practice
Make the activity fun!
Always work in an open environment
Treat everyone with respect
Involve parents wherever possible
Where possible work in pairs –
try to avoid one-to-one situations

32. Good Practice - Coaching
Give enthusiastic and constructive
feedback
Maintain a safe and appropriate
distance
In unplanned circumstances let
someone else know what has
happened

33. Practice to be avoided!
Taking children to your home
Having favourites
Spending time alone with children
Entering areas of personal privacy
unless necessary

34. Never!
Throw “missiles”
Engage in horseplay
Reduce a child to tears as a form of
control
Make sexually suggestive remarks even
in fun!
Hit/tap push or jab a child

35. Never!
Invite a child to your home
Do things of a personal nature that children
can do themselves
Engage in inappropriate touching or
comforting or show a child indecent materials
Allow allegations made by a child to go
unchallenged

36. Ensure you
read
the Club’s
Code of
Conduct
Code
of
Conduct

37. IF IN DOUBTIF IN DOUBT
CHECK ITCHECK IT
OUT!!!OUT!!!