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 taking photos and videos of children and young people. Photos and videos are fantastic marketing tools, and can be invaluable coaching aids, but care must be taken to ensure children are adequately protected.

Do

• Before taking any photos or videos, get written permission from a parent or guardian. Where possible and appropriate, get consent from the child as well.
• Only take photos directly related to participation in your sport, and only use them for official purposes.
• Ensure the child or young person is appropriately dressed and posed.
• Store images (digital or hard copy) in a way that prevents unauthorised access by others, and destroy or delete any images as soon as they are no longer required.
• As with any volunteer or staff, ensure your photographers have a valid Working with Children Check (or state equivalent).
• Speak up if you see someone acting suspiciously.

Don’t

• Take or store images of children on your personal device.
• Take photos or videos of children or young people for personal use.
• Distribute images or videos to anyone outside the organisation without parent/carer knowledge and approval.
• Publish images or footage of a child or identify the child pictured without written consent from a parent or carer.
• Send photos or videos of a child, directly to a child or young person, or to another person.

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

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.