Safeguarding

At scottishathletics we believe that all children and adults at risk who take part in in our sport are entitled to do so in a fun and safe environment.

We work in partnership with UK Athletics, sportscotland, Children 1st, Disclosure Scotland and Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS), to continuously improve knowledge and practice in our approach to safeguarding.

In this section you will find scottishathletics safeguarding policies and procedures, the corresponding safeguarding regulations as well as the Codes of Conduct, safe recruitment guidance and the Safeguarding Toolkit, which contains up-to-date guidelines for clubs and individuals.  Clubs are required to adopt the safeguarding policies and procedures.

For further information on welfare, please contact the Welfare team.

If you have an immediate and serious concern about the safety of a child, contact the police on either 101 or 999.

To view the documents click on each of the headings below, and download links will appear.

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Child Safeguarding

scottishathletics believes that all children who take part in athletics are entitled to participate in a fun and safe environment, and we want to support everyone involved in our sport to play a part in safeguarding and protecting children from harm and abuse.

The Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures will help everyone to understand their responsibilities and recognise and report a concern about a child quickly and consistently.

The link to report a child safeguarding concern can be found by clicking the Report a Concern tab.

Child Safeguarding Policy 2023
Child Safeguarding Procedures 2023
Child Safeguarding Process Map 2023

Adult Safeguarding

Scottish Athletics are committed to safeguarding adults in line with relevant national legislation, and relevant national and local guidelines.

We will develop a culture of zero tolerance of harm to adults, with this policy and procedures being developed to help everyone to recognise adults who may be at risk and the circumstances, which may increase risk.  This extends to recognising and reporting suspected harm both within our activities and in the community.

The link to report an adult safeguarding concern can be found by clicking the Report a Concern tab.

Adult-Safeguarding-Policy
Adult-Safeguarding-Procedures

Codes of conduct

The UK Athletics (UKA) and the Home Country Athletics Federations (HCAF) Codes of Conduct set out national standards of conduct for all clubs, coaches, officials, volunteers, and athletes in the sport.

Every club, club member and anyone undertaking a relevant role must agree to abide by the codes of conduct either when they join a club as part of the club application process, or when they renew their club membership, or UKA licence.

View Codes of Conduct on the UKA website.

Recruitment, licensing and PVG

Safe Recruitment and Management of Volunteers in Athletic Clubs
Policy on Referrals to Disclosure Scotland under the PVG Act

For PVG requests, please contact the scottishathletics Welfare Team

Safeguarding toolkit

Adult to Child Ratios
Club Partnership with Parents Form
Clubhouses and Changing Rooms
Collection by Parents
First Aid and the Treatment of Injuries
GIRFEC and Wellbeing Indicators
Information for children and young people
Managing Challenging Behaviour
Physical Contact
Preventing and Responding to Bullying Behaviour
Procedures for the use of photographs
Sexual Activity
Social-Media-and-Digital-Guidelines-for-Athletes – updated February 2023
Social-Media-and-Digital-Guidelines-for-Clubs-updated February 2023
Social-Media-and-Digital-Guidelines-for-Coaches-updated-February-2023
Additional-advice-when-using-video-calls-for-online-meetings – updated February 2023 
Trips Away From Home
Useful Contacts and Websites
Volunteers aged 17 years or under
Welfare Officer Role Description

Report a Concern

This link must only be used to report a safeguarding concern.  For any other athletics enquiries, whistleblowing processes or complaints, please refer to the relevant scottishathletics procedures.

In an emergency and/or if you are concerned that someone is in immediate risk of harm, please call the Police without delay on 999.

Please follow this link to report a safeguarding concern: SUBMIT A SAFEGUARDING CONCERN | UK Athletics

Safeguarding regulations

Safeguarding concerns can lie on a continuum from seemingly minor issues (e.g., breaking of small rules or minor breaches of codes of conduct), through to more serious, persistent, or unlawful behaviours (e.g., allegations or concerns about abuse, sexual or physical assault, or repeated or serious breaches of codes of conduct).

To ensure an appropriate response to a safeguarding concern that reflects both harm and risk, UKA in conjunction with the four Home Country Athletics Federations have agreed these Safeguarding Regulations.

Safeguarding Regulations

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