The role of the Welfare Team is to support and ensure the long term wellbeing and protection of all our members.
Leamington Swimming Club is committed to safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people at the Club and adopt Swim England’s safeguarding policies which can be found here https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/wavepower-child-safeguarding-for-clubs/. This is designed to keep us all safe and address any concerns we have.
In the first instance, any concerns regarding potential physical, sexual or emotional abuse (including bullying) should be raised with the Club’s Welfare Officer, who is available to discuss issues in confidence. The Welfare Officer’s chief concern is the wellbeing of children and young people in the Club. The Club's Welfare Officer, Kath Cleary can be contacted by email at welfare@swimleamington.org. Any incidents or concerns will be taken seriously and responded to appropriately.
Alternatively, if you are unable to contact Kath, you can raise your concern on the Club Portal by following this link - https://lsasc.club/concerns
Swimmers can also speak to someone who can help by calling Swimline on 0808 100 4001.
Behaviour in the changing rooms
It is imperative that all members ensure they are behaving appropriately, and in line with our Codes of Conduct in the changing rooms at all the facilities we use.
Examples of unacceptable changing room behaviours include:
- Using mobile phones
- Filling swim hat or other container with water and throwing it over or at others
- Climbing on any furniture, for example seats, toilets, cisterns or cupboards
- Throwing toilet tissue or removing it from its holder, emptying bins or throwing water on the floor
- Leaving taps on, filling and blocking sinks, and flooding changing areas
- Hiding clothes or other personal items
- Leaving mess, including hair in showers, excess shampoo/conditioner/shower gel etc
Please note - this is not an exhaustive list but an illustration of the kinds of unacceptable behaviour.
It is important that parents and guardians understand that we use open changing rooms which are not supervised by club staff, and they may be used by adults who are not part of the club.
Behaviour in the changing room is the responsibility of the swimmer and parents/guardians, and any unacceptable behaviour whilst dealt with on a case by case basis, it will be treated seriously. Please refer to the Behaviour Policy for further information on how poor behaviour will be managed by the Club.
Mobile phones
Swimmers and parents/guardians are very much encouraged to watch the safeguarding video produced by our previous Welfare Officer, Kevin Gillard, addressing potential issues surrounding the use of mobile phones on poolside and vicinity of training venues.
In addition, the Swim England explicitly prohibits the use of mobile phones and devices in changing rooms. Their initiative “Keep it in your Locker” is aimed at safeguarding our teenage members and preventing misuse of mobile devices in changing rooms. This measure aims to protect members from potential instances of inappropriate photos or videos being taken. The Swim England video can be found here - https://youtu.be/kkFoXGAw-TY
It is a criminal offence to take, make, distribute (send), upload and/or possess any indecent image of a child (including those taken/possessed by other under 18-year-olds). It is also an offence to request a child to take, make, distribute or upload such an image, or encourage another to commit an offence.
A child (someone under 18) can also be prosecuted for taking indecent images of others, which may lead them to be recorded as a ‘sex offender’ if convicted.
If a swimmer is found to have used their device within a changing room this will be a breach of the Club and Swim England’s safeguarding policy and will be dealt with seriously. If the swimmer is suspected of having taken indecent images, we are required to report the incident to Swim England and the Police immediately. Either act may result in a Swim England suspension and a criminal investigation.
Going forward, the use of mobile phones will remain prohibited at poolside at all team galas, always in changing rooms, and during land training. In respect of Open Meets, swimmers will be permitted to use their phones poolside to listen to music, play games and for the occasional text or call. The use of mobile phones to take photos or videos whilst poolside will remain prohibited.
Any breach of the above rules will be treated extremely seriously by the Club.
Everyone's co-operation is very much appreciated in ensuring all swimmers remain safe.