Reporting Guidelines that are communicated to all involved in the club

It is important to have policies and procedures in place to facilitate staff/volunteers in reporting child protection concerns or disclosures should the need arise. It is not your organisation’s responsibility to identify and investigate possible instances of abuse of children. This is the role of the statutory agencies – Health and Social Care Trust’s and PSNI. See Useful Contacts for further details. It is a statutory responsibility to report any child protection concerns.

It is important that your organisation/club has procedures in place for dealing with child protection concerns/ disclosures/allegations in order to support staff/volunteers, children and parents through the process of reporting a disclosure or allegation.

As well as reporting allegations to appropriate authorities you should follow your own organisation’s internal disciplinary procedures and refer to the Independent Safeguarding Authority (should link to www.isa-gov.co.uk) disqualification list (if appropriate) whether or not a criminal investigation proceeds. Procedures should include;

• What might constitute a concern about a child/young person?

• What should I do if I have a concern about a child

• What to Record - sample Incident Form

• Role of Designated Officer