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Safeguarding and welfare

Safeguarding and Welfare

Everyone has a shared responsibility for safeguarding and creating safe, enjoyable environments in Orienteering whether as an Orienteer, parent, coach, club official or spectator.

At our club we want you to feel safe and welcome and we encourage you to raise any concerns you have or incidents you witness at the earliest opportunity to our Club Welfare Officer or British Orienteering's Lead Safeguarding Officer.

Our club is committed to the principles of Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults and our Club Welfare Officer is always there if you need any support or would like any advice.

Further information is available on British Orienteering's Safeguarding pages.

Reporting a concern or incident

All reports are taken seriously and dealt with in a sensitive manner. Should you wish to report a concern or incident please contact either:

This includes any concerns about safeguarding either within orienteering or outside of orienteering and any concern over adult behaviour related to the welfare of children or adults at risk, including those away from the sport that involves members or participants.

All reports will be logged in confidence with the Lead Safeguarding Officer who will also explain the processes which will be followed depending on each case.

Your Club Welfare Officer

Ann is now retired but worked for many years as a qualified social worker and probation officer, dealing with child protection concerns on a regular basis.

Reporting Forms

In addition to contacting the Club Welfare Officer or Lead Safeguarding Officer, there are a couple of forms you can also use to report a concern or incident.

British Orienteering Quick Report Form

British Orienteering has introduced a quick report form which can be used to make immediate reports to the Lead Safeguarding Officer. This form is user friendly on mobile devices.

On completion of this form the Lead Safeguarding Officer will follow up with you directly.

Other Reporting Forms

If you complete one of these forms, it will then need to be emailed to either your Club Welfare Officer (Ann) or the Lead Safeguarding Officer (Peter) as soon as possible.

If you need any advice on how to complete a form or what should you do if someone reports something to you, this short video will help you.

Safeguarding Policies

As a club, we support and follow British Orienteering's two safeguarding policies, these can be found via the links below:

For further information including resources and training opportunities visit the British Orienteering website or contact the Lead Safeguarding Officer.

How SMOC will keep your children safe

When you bring your children orienteering we will help you to ensure their welfare and safety by ensuring that:

The people who run the sport are safe to be with:

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that your children will be safe from other participants and from strangers:

The challenges set will be manageable so that your children are able to find their way back, the ground they cross is not too rough for their experience/strength:

They are not likely to be injured but if they are there are people and procedures in place to look after them: