Safeguarding children and adults at risk requires everyone to be committed to the highest possible standards of openness, integrity and accountability.
As a club, City LTC is committed to encouraging and maintaining a culture where 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, “whistleblowing” is when someone raises a concern about the well-being of a child or an adult at risk.
A whistle-blower may be:
If a child or an adult at risk is in immediate danger or at 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 at 020 8487 7000, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Information to include when raising a concern:
The whistleblower should provide as much information as possible regarding the incident or circumstance which has given rise to the concern, including:
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, and will take appropriate action to protect whistle-blowers when they raise a concern in good faith.
Reviewed and Approved by the Committee, October 2021
City LTC acknowledges that some children, including disabled children and young people or those from ethnic minority communities, can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and we accept the responsibility to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure their welfare.
As part of our safeguarding policy, City LTC will:
The Club Welfare Officer, Ms Jill Zago, is a qualified social worker and can be contacted on 07885 848736.
The Club’s policy and procedures will be widely promoted and are mandatory for everyone involved in City LTC.
Failure to comply with the policy and procedures will be addressed and may result in exclusion from the Club.
Whistleblowing
Anyone who does not feel comfortable raising a concern with the Club Welfare Officer is free to contact the LTA Safeguarding Team directly on 020 8487 7000, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) or the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. Further details about whistleblowing can be found in the Club’s safeguarding policy.
Monitoring
The Club’s safeguarding policy will be reviewed every two years, or sooner in the following circumstances:
changes in legislation and/or government guidance
as required by the Local Safeguarding Children Board or LTA
as a result of any other significant change or event.
Reviewed and Approved by the Committee, October 2021
© 2021 City Lawn Tennis Club, by Ricco Raga