The Children and Young People Safe Practices exist to identify and prevent behaviour that may be harmful to children and young people participating in sport. The Practices are defined in our Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy, so compliance with them is compulsory (as well as being a vital step in protecting children in sailing).

In this series of articles, we'll look at some of the Practices and give some practical tips on implementing the Practices around your club. All of these tips come from the Children and Young People Safe Practices Do's & Don'ts booklet published by Sport Integrity Australia.

This article focuses on electronic and online communications, an area of increasing risk due to the rise of social media and instant messaging. While these platforms can be very useful for organising and promoting club activities, it's critical that appropriate safeguards are in place to minimise the threat of grooming and other dangerous behaviours.

The message is simple: for any electronic or online communication with children, you must copy in the organisation and a parent or guardian. We call this the "two-deep" model.

Do

• When communicating with children, include a parent or guardrian.
• Use appropriately professional, and not overly familiar, language.
• Keep messages brief and related to your official role.
• If a child contacts you directly, let a parent or guardian know and gently advise the child that the behaviour is inappropriate.

Don't

• Befriend or follow children on social media.
• Communicate privately with a children through any medium.
• Ask a child to keep a secret.
• Use a camera, or voice or video recording, except as permitted under the Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy.

The Child and Young Person Safe Practices are a helpful set of practical guidelines to help keep everyone safe.

For more information about online safety, visit the eSafety Commissioner's eSafety Sport Hub.
To read the Children and Young People Safe Practices Do's & Don'ts booklet, click here.
If you need to report a breach of the Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy, click here.
If you have any questions about Safeguarding, contact your local Club Support team.

By Michael Arnold, National Officiating and Integrity Lead.