Euroa Golf Club
Child Safe Policy
Written By: Gail Allen in conjunction with the Euroa Golf Club General Committee
Approved By: Fred Jungwirth (current President – EGC)
Endorsed By: Euroa Golf Club General Committee
Date for Review: August 2020
Purpose
This policy was written to demonstrate the strong commitment of the officials, staff and volunteers of the Euroa Golf Club (EGC)to child safety and to provide an outline of the policies and practices EGC has developed to keep everyone safe from any harm, including abuse.
Commitment to Child Safety
All children who are a part of the Euroa Golf Club have a right to feel and be safe. The welfare of the children in our care will always be our first priority and the EGC has a zero tolerance to child abuse. The Club aims to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and have fun and the Club’s activities are always carried out in the best interests of the children.
Application of this Policy
This policy was developed by the Club and in collaboration with committee, members and the children who use our services and their parents.
This policy applies to all individuals involved in our organisation (paid and volunteer) including, but not limited to:
- Officials
- Coaches
- Members
- Employees
- Volunteers (non members)
- Parents
All of the people to which this policy applies have a role and responsibility in relation to child protection. They must all:
- understand the indicators and risks of child abuse;
- appropriately act on any concerns raised by children; and
- understand and follow all applicable laws in relation to the protection of children and reporting or management of child safety concerns.
Child Abuse
Child abuse can take a broad range of forms including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse and neglect. People to whom this policy applies need to be aware that child abuse can occur whenever there is actual or potential harm to a child, and these are circumstances that the Euroa Golf Club is committed to reducing the risk of occurrence.
Children’s Rights to Safety and Participation
Euroa Golf Club encourages children to express their views about their safety. We listen to their suggestions, especially on matters that directly affect them. We actively encourage all children who use our services to ‘have a say’ about things that are important to them.
We teach children about what they can do if they feel unsafe. We listen to and act on any concerns children, or their parents, raise with us.
Valuing Diversity
We value diversity and do not tolerate any discriminatory practices. To achieve this we:
- promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of Aboriginal children and their families;
- promote the cultural safety, participation and empowerment of children from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds and their families;
- welcome children with a disability and their families and act to promote their participation; and
- seek appropriate staff from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Recruiting staff and volunteers
Euroa Golf Club takes the following steps to ensure best practice standards in the recruitment and screening of staff, officials and volunteers:
- Interview and conduct referee checks on all new part time or full time staff.
- Require police checks and Working with Children Checks for relevant positions.
- Our commitment to Child Safety and our screening requirements are included in all advertisementsfor paid positions and as part of the induction process for new officials, staff and members.
Supporting staff and volunteers
Euroa Golf Club seeks to attract and retain the best staff, officials and members. We provide support and supervision so people feel valued, respected and fairly treated. We have developed a Code of Conduct to provide guidance to our staff, officials and members, all of whom have access to the Code. All new members will receive a copy of both the Child Safe Policy and Code of Conduct when they join Euroa Golf Club.
Reporting a child safety concern or complaint
Euroa Golf Club has appointed the Men’s and Ladies Presidents as Child Safety Persons with the specific responsibility for responding to any complaints made by staff, officials, members/volunteers, parents or children. Those people can be contacted by emailingjungwirth@westnet.com.au or gail.allen@iinet.net.au
Risk Management
We recognise the importance of a risk management approach to minimising the potential for child abuse or harm to occur and use this to inform our policy, procedures and activity planning. In addition to general occupational health and safety risks, we proactively manage risks of abuse to our children. To reduce the risk of child abuse occurring, adults to whom this policy applies should avoid direct, unsupervised contact with children. For example, this should be a consideration when:
- using change room facilities;
- using accommodation or overnight stays;
- travel; or
- physical contact when coaching or managing children.
Euroa Golf Club also has the following procedures to be followed:-
- All persons conducting junior coaching or junior event management must have a current Working With Children check and sign a copy of the Club’s Child Safe Code of Conduct
- If physical contact cannot be avoided in coaching situations, coaches or instructors must first ask permission of the player and explain the nature of the contact
- All children under the age of 18 participating in competitions at EGC shall be sent off with no less than two adults. Playing in pairs is appropriate if both players are under the age of 18.
- A copy of the Child Safe Code of Conduct will be available to any person upon request to the Club Presidents.
Reviewing this policy
This policy will be reviewed every two years and we undertake to seek views, comments and suggestions from children, parents, carers, staff and members involved in the Club.
Next review – August 2020