WORLD BUJUTSU
FEDERATION
CHILD PROTECTION POLICY
Introduction
Throughout this
document World Bujutsu Federation is referred to as W.B.F
W.B.F is a World recognised Governing Body and has developed a Child
Protection Policy for implementation throughout its member Associations
throughout the United Kingdom.
W.B.F recognises the
need to make provision for children and young persons, and acknowledges
its moral and legal responsibility to ensure that:
• The welfare of the
child is paramount
• All children,
whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin
religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to protection
from abuse;
• All suspicions and
allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly
and appropriately
• All staff (paid
/unpaid) working within our sport have a responsibility to report
A concern to the
appropriate officer The Children’s Act 1987 defines a child as a person
under the age of 18.
This Child
Protection Policy has been accepted by the W.B.F Executive Committee and
is mandatory for all W.B.F member Associations / Clubs. W.B.F is
committed to working in partnership with all agencies to ensure best
practice when working with children and young people, the majority of
our membership
Adopting best
practice will help to safeguard those participants from potential abuse
as well as protecting coaches and other adults in positions of
responsibility from any potential allegation of abuse.
This document is
binding for our entire member Associations and provides procedures and
guidance to everyone in W.B.F, whether working in a voluntary or
professional capacity.
Policy
Statement
Martial Arts as a
sport and pastime has a duty of care to safeguard all children involved
in all forms of Martial Arts from harm. All children have a right to
protection, and the needs of disabled children and others who may be
particularly vulnerable must be taken into account. WBF will strive to
ensure the safety and protection of all children involved in our sport
through adherence to the Child Protection guidelines adopted by the WBF
Executive Committee. WBF is dedicated to achieving Intermediate standard
of Policy.
The policy will be
implemented by our entire member Associations and is applicable to all
Association Officers, club Instructors and officials as well as all
officers and staff of WBF Sport can and does have a very powerful and
positive influence on people especially young people. Not only can it
provide opportunities for enjoyment and achievement; it helps to develop
and enhance valuable qualities such as self-esteem, leadership and
teamwork. We have to ensure that for those positive experiences to take
place that sport in the hands of those who have the welfare of young
people uppermost in their mind and that we have proper procedures and
practices to support and empower them.
Policy aims
The aim of the WBF
Child Protection Policy is to promote good practice:
• Providing children
and young persons with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the
care of Martial Arts clubs and instructors affiliated to WBF.
• Ensure that all
incidents of poor practice and allegations of abuse will be taken
seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately
• Allow all staff
/volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child
protection issues.
• The policy
recognises and builds on the legal and statutory definition of a child.
• The distinction
between ages of consent, civil and criminal liability are recognised but
in the pursuit of good in the delivery and management of WBF, a young
person is recognised as being under the age of 18 years [Children’s Act
1989].
• WBF recognises
that persons above the age of 18 are vulnerable to undue influence by
adults in positions of responsibility, for example Junior International
athletes aged Under 21years and provision is made for this instance
within the WBF World Class programmes Athlete Charter, included as an
appendix
• Through WBF
implementation plan (attached as an appendix) each of our member
Associations will provide a suitably experienced and qualified
individual to act as their Child Protection Officer and commit to a
series of awareness raising and training seminars and workshops to
assist them in fulfilling their role and will use WBF template forms and
reporting sheets.
• Confidentiality
will be upheld in line with the Data Protection Act 1984, the Human
Rights Act 2000 and the WBF Whistle Blower’s Policy (attached as an
appendix).
• The Policy will be
overseen by the WBF Lead Child Protection Officer, the Chief Executive
Officer, and in turn by the WBF Executive Committee through quarterly
reporting procedures. Periodic reviews are built into WBF Implementation
policy included within the appendices.
Promoting Good Practice with
Young People
Introduction
Child abuse,
particularly sexual abuse, can arouse strong emotions in those facing
such a situation. Abuse can occur within many situations including the
home, school and the sporting environment. It is a fact of life that
some individuals will actively seek employment or voluntary work with
young people in order to harm them.
A coach, instructor,
teacher, official or volunteer may have regular contact with young
people and be an important link in identifying cases where a young
person needs protection.
All cases of poor
practice should be reported to WBF and or relevant authorities following
the guidelines in this document.
When a child enters
the club having experienced abuse outside the sporting environment,
sport can play a crucial role in improving the child’s self-esteem. In
such instances the club must work with the appropriate agencies to
ensure the child receives the required support.
Good Practice Guidelines
All those involved
in Martial Arts should be encouraged to demonstrate exemplary behaviour
in order to safeguard children and young people and protect themselves
from false allegations. The following are common sense examples of how
to create a positive culture and climate within Martial Arts:
Good
practice means:
• Always working in
an open environment (e.g. avoiding private or unobserved situations and
encouraging an open environment i.e. no secrets).
• Treating all young
people/disabled adults equally, and with respect and dignity.
• Placing the
welfare and safety of the child or young person first above the
development of performance or competition.
• Maintaining a safe
and appropriate distance with players (e.g. it is not appropriate to
have an intimate relationship with a child or to share a room with
them).
• Building balanced
relationships based on mutual trust, which empowers children to share in
the decision-making process.
• Making sport fun,
enjoyable and promoting fair play.
• Where any form of
manual or physical support is required, it should be provided openly and
in accordance with WBF Club Guidelines
• Keeping up to date
with the technical skills, qualifications and insurance within Martial
Arts.
• Involving
parents/carers wherever possible (e.g. for the responsibility of their
children in the changing rooms). If groups have to be supervised in the
changing rooms, always ensure parents/teachers/coaches/officials work in
pairs.
• Ensuring when
mixed teams are taken away, they should always be accompanied by male
and female member of staff (NB however, same gender abuse can also
occur).
• Ensuring that at
tournaments or residential events, adults should not enter children’s
rooms or invite children into their rooms.
• Being an excellent
role model – this includes not smoking or drinking alcohol in the
company of young people.
• Giving
enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism.
• Recognising the
developmental needs and capacity of young people and disabled adults –
avoiding excessive training or competition and not pushing them against
their will.
• Securing parental
consent in writing to act in loco parentis, if the need arises to give
permission for the administration of emergency first aid.
• Keeping a written
record of any injury that occurs, along with the details of any
treatment given.
• Requesting written
parental consent if club officials are required to transport young
people in their cars.
Within our coaching
portfolios, we make particular reference to children and young people
practising together and this guidance in now included here. Martial
Arts Instructors need to understand the added responsibilities of
teaching children and also basic principles of growth and development
through childhood to adolescence. Exercises should be appropriate to age
and build. Instructors should not simply treat children as small adults,
with small adult bodies. There is no minimum age for a child beginning
Martial Arts, as the build and maturity of individuals varies so much.
However the nature of the class must be tailored to consider these
factors. In general, the younger the child, the shorter the attentions
span. One hour is generally considered sufficient training time for the
average 12 year old or below. Pre-adolescent children have a metabolism
that is not naturally suited to generating anaerobic power, and
therefore they exercise better aerobically, that is, at a steadily
maintained rate. However, they can soon become conditioned to tolerate
exercise in the short explosive bursts that more suit Karate training.
Children should not do assisted stretching – they generally don’t need
to, and there is a real risk of damage with an inconsiderate or
over-enthusiastic partner. Children should be carefully matched for
size and weight for sparring practice. Great care must be taken,
especially where children train in the proximity of adults, to avoid
collision injury.
Children should not
do certain conditioning exercises; especially those, which are heavy,
load bearing, for example weight training or knuckle push-ups. Children
should not do any heavy or impact work but should concentrate on the
development of speed, mobility, skill and general fitness.
Responding to suspicions or allegations
It is not the
responsibility of anyone working in Martial Arts, in a paid or unpaid
capacity to take responsibility or to decide whether or not child abuse
has taken place. This is the role of the child protection agencies.
However there is a responsibility for all involved in Martial Arts to
act on any concerns through contact with the appropriate authorities.
Advice and
information is available from the local Social Services Department, The
Police or the NSPCC 24 hour Help line 0800800 5000
Practice never to be
sanctioned
The following should
be avoided except in emergencies. If cases arise where these situations
are unavoidable they should only occur with the full knowledge and
consent of someone in charge in the club or the child’s parents. For
example, a child sustains an injury and needs to go to hospital, or a
parent fails to arrive to pick a child up at the end of a session.
Avoid spending
excessive amounts of time alone with children away from others.
Avoid taking
children to your home where they will be alone with you.
Practice never to be
sanctioned
Engage in rough,
physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay
Share a room with a child
Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching
Allow children to use inappropriate language unchallenged
Make sexually suggestive comments to a child, even in fun
Reduce a child to tears as a form of control
Allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not
acted upon
Do things of a personal nature for children or disabled adults that they
can do for themselves
Invite or allow children to stay with you at your home unsupervised
NB. It may sometimes
be necessary for staff or volunteers to do things of a personal nature
for children, e.g. if they are young or are disabled. These tasks should
only be carried out with the full understanding and consent of parents
and the players. If a person is fully dependent on you, talk with
him/her about what you are doing and give choices where possible. This
is particularly so if you are involved in any dressing or undressing of
outer clothing or where there is physical contact, lifting/assisting to
carry out particular activities. Avoid taking on the responsibility for
tasks for which you are not appropriately trained.
Defining
Child Abuse
Child abuse is when
an adult harms a child or young person. There are four main type of
abuse:
Physical
abuse:
This includes being
hit, kicked, shaken or punched, or given harmful drugs or alcohol.
Emotional
abuse:
This includes being
called names all the time, being threatened or being shouted at or made
to feel small.
Sexual
abuse:
This includes being
touched in a way you don’t like by an adult or young person, being
forced to have sex, or being made to look at sexual pictures or videos.
For some disabled children, it includes if a person helping them to use
the toilet touched them more than was needed.
Neglect:
Is when a child is
not looked after properly, including having no place to stay, or not
enough food to eat, or clothes to keep them warm. It also includes if
the child is not given medical care when they need it, including
medication. For some disabled children, it could include if their carer
took away the things they needed for everyday life – like their
wheelchair or communication board. Or not helping a disabled child who
needed help using the toilet.
Bullying
Is also a form of
abuse Bullying includes hitting or threatening a child with violence,
taking their things, calling them names or insulting them, making them
do things they won’t want to do, and deliberately humiliating or
ignoring them.
WBF CHILD PROTECTION
OFFICER
Mrs Joanne Lee
 
other useful links
- ChildLine
is the UK's free and confidential, 24-hour helpline for children in
distress or danger.
- Advice
for children, parents and schools about dealing with bullying.
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