Child Protection
Wavepower 2012/15 is the ASA Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures manual and replaces all previous ASA Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures documents. All ASA affiliated clubs should adopt and implement Wavepower 2012/15.
The theme of Wavepower 2012/15 is to safeguard children and young people in line with current legislation and guidance. The responsibility to safeguard children in our clubs and related activities lies will all those involved in the sport and is not the sole responsibility of any one person at club, county or national level. Safeguarding children should become an integral part of all club activities and create a culture that provides a safe, happy and fun environment in which children can learn to swim and develop to a level appropriate for their ability.
The aim of Wavepower 2012/15 is to enable everyone in our sport to play their part in safeguarding children offering practical guidance for those who are directly involved in working with children and providing awareness of both mandatory requirements and good practice guidance.
The manual is fully indexed and divided into sub-sections tailored to different groups.
The document will be fully updated in 2016 but in the meantime if there are any changes in Policy of new guidance becomes available new pages will be added to this section of the website.
- Section 1 Introduction to Wavepower 2012/15
- Section 2 Toolbox for clubs
- Section 3 Responsibility for child safeguarding in the ASA
- Section 4 Information and guidance for coaches, teachers and poolside helpers
- Section 5 Information and guidance for young people
- Section 6 Information and guidance for parents
WAVEPOWER 2012/15 ADDITIONAL USEFUL DOCUMENTS
- Social media guidance: The Parents’ Guide to Twitter (PDF)
- Social media guidance: The Parents’ Guide to Twitter (Web Book version)
- The Department for Culture Media and Sport’s Child Safeguarding Leaflet for Parents
- ASA Child Welfare Complaints Procedure (ASA Handbook page 5)
- ASA Child Protection Regulations (ASA Handbook page 44)
- Additional information regarding child safeguarding courses
- Disclosure and Barring Service (previously CRB). Important information for clubs.
- Templates for your club to download and use - these include welcome letters, code of conduct, application forms, referral forms, plus more.
- CPSU Safe Sport Events, Activities and Competitions (Supersedes Safe Sport Away)
The ASA with the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) operates Swimline.
Swimline was launched over 10 year ago and is a confidential free-phone number provided for anyone involved in aquatics, adults or children, who believe that the welfare of someone under the age of 18 is at risk. This concern could be neglect, abuse, bullying or fear of someone or anything that is worrying you and you don’t know who to discuss it with.
When calling Swimline you will get through to an answer phone where you will be asked to leave your name and contact details and if you wish some brief details of your concern. The ASA Safeguarding Team or a Swimline volunteer will call you back, listen to your concerns and agree a way forward with you.
If there is an issue which causes concern the ASA will act to protect the child or children involved.
If you leave a message we aim to contact you back during the next working day. If you leave a message after 3pm on a Friday, or over a weekend we will contact you back on the following Monday. If you need to speak to someone immediately you can follow the instructions on the answer phone message and be transferred immediately to the NSPCC. The NSPCC counsellors will advise you directly if you choose this option.
Swimline calls are free and do not appear on an itemised phone bill unless your call is made from a mobile phone.
You can use the form found in the section “your chance to talk” if you want to tell the ASA in confidence if you are worried, concerned or upset about anything and feel like you may need help or advice.
You can also use the Report Abuse button below. This button will take you directly to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPS) website where you can report any concerns or worries you may have which involve the internet. You can also log onto www.thinkuknow.co.uk to find the latest information on the sites you like to visit, mobiles and new technology. Find out what’s good, what’s not and what you can do about it.
All the information on this site is brought to you by CEOPS.
