Welfare

Guildford Hockey Club follow England Hockey guidelines and policies regarding Duty of Care in Hockey:

SafeGuard

All young people have the right to be safe and enjoy their hockey. We all have a duty to safeguard and protect young people from harm. All hockey clubs/organisations must have policies and procedures in place to create a safe environment.

SafeGuard has been created by England Hockey to provide role-specific safeguarding information for all involved in hockey activity.

For more information, see these links:

Welfare Reporting

Our Club Welfare Officers are: Suzanne Wood & Steve Gilliver

If you think you have witnessed or experienced a Welfare issue, please get in touch with one of our Club Welfare Officers via the form below.

Get in Touch

Some guidance is here below:

There are a number of reasons a person might need to report a concern:

In response to something a young person has said
In response to signs or suspicions of abuse
In response to allegations made against a member of staff or a volunteer
In response to allegations made about a parent, carer or someone not working within the sport
In response to bullying
In response to a breach of the code of ethics and behaviour
Observation of inappropriate behaviour
In response to anything which makes a young person uncomfortable based on inappropriate behaviour of an adult or changes in behaviour of a young person
In response to behaviour being contrary to England Hockey’s Respect Code of Ethics and Behaviour

If an incident occurs outside the hockey environment, it should still be reported if the adult or young person concerned is involved in hockey. This is in accordance with standard practice in sport.

Always

Stay calm
Reassure the person reporting their concerns that they have done the right thing in telling you
Keep an open mind
Listen carefully to what is said and take them seriously
Find an appropriate early opportunity to explain that it is likely that the information will need to be shared with the Club Welfare Officer (do not promise to keep secrets)
Ask questions for clarification only, and at all times avoid asking questions that suggest a particular answer. To help you to do this, try to ask questions starting with what, how, where, when, who
Tell them what you will do next and with whom the information will be shared
Report the incident to the your Club Welfare Officer or England Hockey Lead Child Welfare Officer
Record in writing what was said using the young person's own words as soon as possible, using the England Hockey Safeguarding referral form

Never

Panic
Make promises you cannot keep
Make a young person repeat the information unnecessarily
Delay in reporting to your Welfare Officer
Make assumptions
Approach the alleged abuser
Take sole responsibility

Taking appropriate action is never easy. The discovery that a member of a club or colleague may be acting inappropriately, bullying or abusing someone will raise concerns and emotional feelings both for the person receiving the concern, and amongst other colleagues.

Guildford Hockey Club - Great Hockey For Everyone