ECC Safeguarding Policy

The purpose and scope of this policy statement:

The object of the Club is to ride and enjoy roller coasters and other rides. Members of the Club are entitled to receive the Club magazine (First Drop), and to participate in Club trips and activities.

The purpose of this policy statement is:

to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults who are members of or otherwise involved with the ECC from harm; this includes the children of adults who use our services
to provide our Executive Team and volunteer team, as well as children, young people, vulnerable adults and their families, with the overarching principles that guide our approach to safeguarding

This policy applies to anyone working on behalf of the European Coaster Club, and our members. We are committed to reviewing our policy and good practice regularly.

Legal framework:

This policy has been drawn up on the basis of legislation, policy and guidance that seeks to protect children in England, UK. A summary of the key legislation and guidance is available from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-protection-system/england. It does not aim to supersede safeguarding legislation that may exist in other countries in which members reside or where trips may take place. The Club will cooperate with all requests from local authorities in relation to safeguarding issues.

We believe that:

children, young people and vulnerable adults should never experience abuse of any kind
we have a responsibility to promote the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults, to keep them safe and protect them from harm

We recognise that:

the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults is paramount in the work we do and in the decisions we take
working in partnership with children, young people, vulnerable adults, their parents and carers is essential in promoting young people’s welfare
all children, young people and vulnerable adults, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse
some children, young people and vulnerable adults are additionally vulnerable because of the impact of previous experiences, their level of dependency, communication needs or other issues; extra safeguards may be needed to keep children who are additionally vulnerable safe from abuse

We will seek to keep children, young people and vulnerable adults safe by:

valuing, listening to and respecting them
appointing a nominated child protection lead and deputy, ensuring that children, young people, vulnerable adults and their families know where to go for help if they have a concern
ensuring that we have effective complaints and whistleblowing measures in place
adopting child protection and safeguarding best practice through our policies and procedures
using our safeguarding and child protection procedures to manage any allegations against our Executive Team, volunteers, and our members appropriately
using our procedures to share concerns and relevant information with agencies who need to know, and involving children, young people, vulnerable adults, parents and carers appropriately
creating and maintaining an anti-bullying environment and ensuring that we have a policy and procedure to help us deal effectively with any bullying that does arise
ensuring that we provide a safe physical environment for our children, young people, vulnerable adults and volunteers, by applying health and safety measures in accordance with the law and regulatory guidance
building a safeguarding culture where the Executive Team, volunteers, children, young people, vulnerable adults and their families treat each other with respect and are comfortable about sharing concerns

Our Policies and Procedures

Code of Conduct:

The Executive Team and wider ECC volunteers are responsible for:

prioritising the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults
providing a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults
having good awareness of issues to do with safeguarding and child protection and taking action when appropriate
following our principles, policies and procedures, and staying within the law at all times
modelling good behaviour for children, young people and vulnerable adults to follow
challenging all inappropriate behaviour, concerns about abusive behaviour, and reporting any breaches of the behaviour code to the nominated Child Protection Lead

All ECC members must model appropriate behaviour. When engaging with children and young people, we will not:

allow concerns or allegations to go unreported
take unnecessary risks
smoke, consume excess alcohol or use illegal substances
develop inappropriate relationships with children, young people and vulnerable adults
engage in behaviour that is in any way abusive, including having any form of sexual contact with a child, young person or vulnerable adult
act in a way that can be perceived as threatening or intrusive
patronise or belittle children, young people and vulnerable adults
make sarcastic, insensitive, derogatory or sexually suggestive comments or gestures to or in front of children, young people and vulnerable adults

Trips:

Club Trips are open to all members. Anyone under the age of 18 must travel with an adult (18+) member acting as a guardian, who is fully responsible for the minor’s conduct throughout the trip.

During Exclusive Ride Sessions, minors should be seated next to family members, or other minors. No-one should be seated next to anyone they don’t feel comfortable with.

Members must comply with all park-mandated rules when on site.

Photography:

When attending a Club Trip, it is assumed all members consent to featuring in photography and video taken by Club representatives whilst on the trip, for the purposes of Club marketing and publishing in First Drop. In the case of children, young people and vulnerable adults, it is assumed that their parent, guardian or carer provides this consent.

Images and video taken by Club representatives that include children, young people, or vulnerable adults will not be published with any identifying information (including, but not limited to, any names) without the explicit permission of their parent, guardian or carer.

Social Media:

No adult member of the ECC should establish direct social media connections / friendships with any minor that they are not related to. This includes via channels such as Facebook, where the Club has an official members’ community.

Raising concerns about a Safeguarding issue, or a child’s welfare:

Concerns about a safeguarding issue, or the welfare of a child, young person, or vulnerable adult within the ECC, should be raised in the first instance to the nominated Child Protection Lead, or Deputy. If concerns arise on a trip, these can also be raised directly with the Trip Leader.

Should the reporting member feel an initial response to be unsatisfactory, the Executive Team Lead is available as required for escalation.

Concerns will be treated with confidence, and we will seek to obtain consent to share confidential information further. If consent is refused or if we’re unable to seek consent, we may still share information with relevant professionals if this is in the public interest – for example, to protect children from significant harm.

Responding to disclosures and allegations:

In the event of a disclosure or allegation from a child or adult, the nominated Child Protection Lead will investigate the situation and determine how best to proceed.

If it is found you have behaved inappropriately, you will be subject to our disciplinary procedures. These begin with verbal or written warnings. If you are on an ECC trip, you might be asked to leave the trip. In serious situations, you might be asked to relinquish your membership and leave the ECC. We may also make a report to statutory agencies such as the police and/or the local authority child protection services.

Contact Details

Lead Safeguarding Officer

Name: Alison Samuels

Email: safeguarding@coaster.club or alison@coaster.club

Deputy Safeguarding Officer

Name: Alan Prior

Email: safeguarding@coaster.club or alan@coaster.club

You can either email the safeguarding address or the individual officers directly

Executive Team Lead

Name: Richard Bannister

Email: richard@coaster.club

External Support

Child helplines are free and confidential services for children and young people, where they can talk about anything they want, via phone, chat and other methods of communication. 116 111 is the number specially reserved for all child helpline services across Europe.