Safer Recruitment at your club

Some of the many benefits of a voluntary, or indeed paid, role within a club include making a positive contribution, meeting new people and friends, as well as the mental and sometimes physical health aspects of being involved in sport.

But how do I ensure that the individual is the right person for my club?

A really easy way to remember the key points of safer recruitment is ‘P.I.C.K’ – Plan, Identify, Check, Keep

Plan

Recruiting the right people into your club is one of the most task that you undertake – however this is often seen as time consuming! Investing time in recruiting the right person can save you 6 months later down the line trying to manage an unsuitable person out of the club.

Planning is important to ensure that prospective new recruits are given as much information in advance about the role and your club which will enable them to self-select out of the process if they have unsuitable motives for seeking to join your club.

Set clear expectations – send prospective recruits a copy of the Safeguarding Policy so that they are clear about your club’s commitment to safeguarding and the safeguarding culture of British Taekwondo.

Identify

In cases where you urgently need to recruit, tempting though it may be, never compromise standards around suitability to work with children!

It’s important to meet the person face to face to understand their attitudes and values. For more information about value based interviewing please visit Safer recruitment for children’s sports | CPSU (thecpsu.org.uk) or consider completing the NSPCC Safer Recruitment training course

Check

References provide an essential safeguard for clubs as they can identify patterns of behaviour which may cast doubt over an individual’s suitability to work with children.

Some key considerations:

  • Pre-written references are not acceptable. They may not be specific or more seriously, could be fraudulent
  • Ensure that the referee is suitable to comment on the individual’s suitability to work with children
  • If you are concerned about a reference, follow it up with a phone call.

Criminal record checks – all coaches whether paid or volunteer, and Club Welfare Officers must have a British Taekwondo accepted Enhanced DBS check. If any criminal record information does come back on a certificate, this is fully risk assessed by myself and, where necessary, a panel. For further information on criminal record checks, please visit Criminal Records Checks – British Taekwondo

Keep

Keep a focus on a your safeguarding culture, clarify expectations of behaviour and supervise individuals. A safeguarding culture involves:

  • An induction for new recruits to ensure that they are clear about boundaries and behaviour and what action you will take as a club should any issues arise
  • Ongoing training and appraisal – remember anyone working with Under 18s must undertake British Taekwondo approved safeguarding training
  • Use of the Code of Conduct and policies and procedures as visible signs of your ongoing commitment to safeguarding

As Safeguarding, HR and Compliance manager, I appreciate that while these basics are necessary they are sadly (yet thankfully rarely), not always sufficient. As a National Governing Body, our responsibility is to do everything possible to prevent the abuse of children in our care. We will be tireless in creating cultures which make clear the unacceptability of abuse of children and demonstrate the seriousness with which issues will be dealt with.

As a British Taekwondo member, you have access to safeguarding support 24/7 whether that is directly from myself or via the dedicated safeguarding area of our website. Should you need to report an incident, you can do so at any time, day or night, by using the British Taekwondo: Online Safeguarding Report Form.