All the Club managers and committee members where invited to attend a ‘Child Protection’ Workshop recently (12th January 2006). This was kindly organised by Dawn Coppock of the Oxfordshire St Johns Ambulance service. It was an eye opener of an evening, that taught us not to be complacent about child protection issues.

Some of the more memorable points are:

• Children need to be protected from physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
  
• Abuse can come from words, actions or neglect.
  
• Abuse can come from parents, friends and other children, as well as strangers.
  
• Abusers can be, and often are, respected and trusted members of a community.
  
  

All club officials are put in a position of care and responsibility for the club members and we now have been made more aware of our responsibilities. The specific areas that we must all put into action are:

No swearing.
We know that swearing is often an outlet for frustration, but it’s also a short step to directing that frustration at someone else, when it then becomes abusive. No swearing applies to both players and officials!

No bullying.
Every one is different. Some people can take verbal/physical bullying as the joke that it is often meant to be. Some others may laugh the taunt off but are actually deeply hurt. Bullying is abuse. Treat others as you would want them to treat you, and don’t try to get one up on them by bullying.

No inappropriate handling.
Officials must always be aware that actions that are meant as sympathy, friendliness or as a joke may be construed as physical abuse. We should be careful not to put ourselves in a position where we could be accused of inappropriate handling of a child.

Be prepared to talk and to listen.
If anyone feels they have been abused or knows of abuse going on, they must talk to someone about it. Abusers always try to hide behind their victims embarrasement or make their victim feel guilty about telling on them. Any one who knows about abuse should let someone else know.

As club officials, we have a duty to report any abuse. If you want to talk to someone about something you know, then you must do it. But you must also be aware that whoever you talk to must investigate and report that information. They cannot keep it secret.

Be Vigilent
Make sure that abuse doesn’t happen in our club.

Club officials who have attended the workshop are:
Richard Gregory, Aldie Chalmers, Sue Edwards, Dave Edwards, Karen Willis, Jim Wagerfield, Micheal Coombes, Elsie Coombes, Brian Coombes, Jo Florey, Paul Florey, Joe Hodgkins, Mervyn Broughton, Karen Baley, Bruce Hedges, Mandy Tree, Andy Tree.