Safeguarding policy

Our commitment

Horsham Mixed Martial Arts Academy Limited, which runs SWBJJ, The Farm, Horsham Muay Thai, K-Cal Café and Yin Yoga with Lydia, is committed to keeping every child and adult at risk who trains or visits The Farm safe from harm. The welfare of the child is paramount. Everyone who works or volunteers with us shares that responsibility.

We follow the government guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children and the procedures of the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership. This policy applies to all staff, coaches, volunteers and contractors, and covers everything we run, including the app and our group chats.

Our Welfare Officer and Deputy

Our Welfare Officer is Sonny Weston, the academy’s director. He is the first person to go to with any concern about a child or an adult at risk. You can speak to him in confidence at the academy, on 01403 864444, or through the contact page on our website.

Our Deputy Welfare Officer is Jayden Thompson. He takes concerns when Sonny Weston is not available, and is the person to go to if a concern involves Sonny Weston himself.

The Welfare Officer makes sure this policy is followed, that coaches are checked and trained, that concerns are recorded and passed on to the right agencies, and that the policy is reviewed every year.

If you have a concern

• If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
• Otherwise, tell Sonny Weston, Jayden Thompson or any coach as soon as you can, the same day.
• If a child tells you something: listen, stay calm, do not promise to keep it secret, do not ask leading questions, and write down what was said, in their words, with the date and time.
• Do not investigate yourself or confront anyone. Pass it on.
• The West Sussex Integrated Front Door takes concerns about children: 01403 229900 (office hours) or 0330 222 6664 (evenings, weekends and bank holidays).
• The NSPCC helpline (0808 800 5000) gives advice to any adult worried about a child. Childline (0800 1111) is for children.
• Concerns about an adult at risk go to West Sussex Adults’ CarePoint on 01243 642121.

Concerns about a coach, staff member or volunteer

Tell the Welfare Officer. If the concern is about the Welfare Officer himself, tell the Deputy Welfare Officer, Jayden Thompson. If you would rather not raise it with us at all, contact the West Sussex Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) on 0330 222 6450 or [email protected], or the NSPCC whistleblowing line on 0800 028 0285. Anyone who raises a concern in good faith is supported, never penalised.

Safe recruitment and training

• Coaches and volunteers who work with children have an enhanced DBS check with a check of the children’s barred list, renewed every three years or kept current through the DBS Update Service.
• We take up references and check identity before anyone works with children.
• Coaches complete safeguarding training and refresh it regularly.

Safe practice

• Coaches avoid being alone with a child out of sight of others. Private lessons for under 18s happen in view of other people or with a parent present.
• Physical contact is only what teaching a technique needs, is explained first, and stops if a child is uncomfortable.
• Staff and coaches contact children through their parents or in group chats parents can see, never by private message.
• Children do not have their own app login. Parents manage their profiles, consents and photos.
• Children are photographed or filmed only with their parent’s consent, and never in changing rooms or toilets.
• Staff do not give children lifts unless a parent has agreed it in advance.
• Children are collected only by the adults listed on their profile. Late collection is handled as set out in the parent or guardian consent.

Records

Safeguarding concerns and incidents are recorded the same day, kept securely, and can be seen only by the Welfare Officer, Sonny Weston, and the Deputy Welfare Officer, Jayden Thompson. They are shared only with the people and agencies who need them to keep someone safe, as the privacy notice explains.

If we remove someone from working with children or adults at risk because they caused harm or posed a risk of harm, we refer them to the Disclosure and Barring Service, as the law requires.

Review

We review this policy every year, and after any serious incident or change in the law or guidance.