This safeguarding policy sets out how the Club will protect children and young people who participate in angling activities at our lakes. The aim is to ensure all junior members feel safe, supported and able to enjoy fishing. The policy applies to all club members, Bailiffs, committee members and any adult supervising junior anglers.

Definitions

· Child: Refers to anybody under the age of 18 years old.

· Junior member: A child under the age of 16 years old who holds a club membership.

· Parent: A person with parental responsibility of the child/junior member.

· Guardian/responsible adult: A person 18 years old or over who has agreed to supervise the child/junior member.

· Club Bailiff/Committee member: Volunteer or representative of the club.

Supervision rules

i. A person under the age of 14 years old must be always accompanied by a parent or responsible adult aged 18 and over, whilst on club lakes.

ii. The supervising adult must remain on the same lake and be no more than 1 swim to the left or right away of the child. A child under 12 must be accompanied by an adult member over the age of 18 on the same swim.

iii. The supervising adult does not need to be a club member if not fishing unless the child is under 12 years old. They must comply with all club rules.

iv. A supervising adult must not be a club Bailiff, Committee member or any other volunteer of the club.

Junior members aged 14-15

i. Junior members 14 years old and over may fish club lakes unaccompanied, however, their parent/legal guardian remains responsible for their welfare.

ii. To fish unaccompanied, a junior member must always have a working mobile phone on their persons that they can be contacted on by their parent/legal guardian.

iii. The club reserves the right to require supervision of any person under the age of 18, should concerns arise about their behaviour or welfare.

iv. Must ensure they follow all club rules and maintain acceptable behaviour whilst on club lakes.

Club responsibility

i. The club will maintain a clear safeguarding policy.

ii. Bailiff’s and club representatives are all volunteers, therefore, can only respond to concerns and/or incidents as and when available. In an emergency, 999 must be first point of call.

iii. The club will keep records of safeguarding incidents securely and confidentially.

 

Parent/guardian responsibility

i. Ensure anyone under 14 years old is supervised at all times on the club lakes.

ii. Must provide a junior member 14 and over with a mobile phone whilst on club lakes and must be available to attend the lake immediately if needed.

iii. Must be aware that they remain responsible for their child when leaving them unsupervised at club lakes.

iv. If their child has any medical conditions that could require immediate parental intervention, they must not leave them unsupervised. First aid/medication

is not administered by the club.

v. Responsible for all travel arrangements to and from the lake. This must be within club fishing times. The club does not provide transport.

vi. By allowing your child to attend club waters, you are deemed to have accepted the club’s safeguarding policy and angling rules.

 

This policy will be subject to review annually and may be reviewed sooner should the club need to. All safeguarding concerns should be reported to the Fisheries Officer immediately. Examples of concerns could be and not limited to:

· Unsafe behaviour

· Signs of neglect or distress

· Inappropriate conduct by an adult

· Bullying or harassment

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.