Concerns

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding refers to the actions an organisation takes to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm, abuse, and neglect, while promoting their welfare.

Scottish Hockey is fully committed to safeguarding the wellbeing and protection of all children and young people in its care. It recognises the responsibility to promote wellbeing and safe practice and to protect children from harm, abuse and exploitation. Everyone within Scottish Hockey will be made aware of the policies and procedures in place to protect children and young people in our care and to promote their wellbeing.

Concerns may arise when:

• A child or young person makes a direct disclosure
• Someone may observe bad practice, neglect, or abuse
• There may be concerns about a child’s behaviour, appearance, or relationships
• A third party (sometimes another young person) may disclose information about another child
• An adult discloses abuse that happened during their childhood
• There may be concerns about a volunteer within your club

In an emergency

In an emergency, or if you are concerned about the immediate safety of a child or young person, a concern should be reported to the police (999) (if it is a criminal matter) and to any member of staff who is trusted by the person raising the concern.

Our concerns handling procedure demonstrates Scottish Hockey’s dedication to valuing feedback. We aim to address dissatisfaction promptly and at the source, ensuring thorough, impartial, and fair investigations. This allows us to make evidence-based decisions based on the facts.

Concerns Procedure

Concerns will not face negative consequences for being brought to our attention, and it is a disciplinary offence for staff to unduly influence the prevention of Concerns.

The guidance below outlines Scottish Hockey’s approach to handling concerns:

• Concerns and Appeals Flowchart
• Concerns and Appeals Policy