Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts Newsletter April 2023

Posted on 5 April 2023

The Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts is still going from strength to strength, as more clubs are recognising the importance of having good safeguarding practices in place.  At the end of last year we celebrated our 1000th club attaining the Safeguarding Code which is brilliant and shows the continued support and recognition of the importance of safeguarding within the martial arts sector.   If you have you registered and need help with the application just email us and someone will be in touch to help you complete the application and attain The Safeguarding Code for your club.    Remember there is no cost involved in any element of the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts Included in this months newsletter Website Maintenance Updates to application process – first aid , qualifications & disclosure responsibility Survey DBS Regional Support Need to contact us? Our Partners  Website Maintenance   Please note the website www.safeguardingcode.com will be under maintenance for most of the day Tuesday 18th April – you will not be able to access your application during this time. We are completing a business critical software upgrade which should take no longer than 1 working day. Please email  if you require any support during this downtime. Please also take time on Wednesday 19th April to check your club and all your venues are appearing correctly on our interactive map.   If anything needs updating please email us   Updates to application process – first aid and disclosure responsibility First Aid As we mentioned last year, with the relaunch of the website, we are adding a new standard relating to first aid. This contains some recommendations for your club to consider in this area alongside a review of your safeguarding protocols relating to the safety and wellbeing of staff and members. Although not currently mandatory requirements, we consider these minimum standards to be an important part of running a good club and we ask you to work towards being compliant with these suggestions. Qualifications We are also amending our “recognised qualifications” section to collect more data from clubs as part of the relaunch of the website in April. We want to understand the independent sector in more detail and part of this relates to analysing how and where you obtain qualifications and how much importance you place on teaching/ coaching qualifications as well as having a thorough understanding of your art. Please provide as much detail as possible to inform our work in this area. Disclosure Responsibility An additional requirement to disclose ongoing investigations in your club, has also been added to our standards.  It is your responsibility to notify the Safeguarding Code project team at any time if any safeguarding concerns have been raised about you, your clubs and your workforce. Please notify us of any resulting investigation by Local Authority safeguarding teams and/or the Police. Not doing so could result in an immediate suspension of your certification. Please email [email protected] with the relevant information. Survey Once again we need your help. Today we are launching our mid-year survey to help us report back to our funder, Sport England, about the overall impact of our project. We would really appreciate it if you could take 15 minutes to answer a few questions about how you heard about the project and how much it has positively influenced the operation of your club Please take a few extra minutes to complete our survey to ensure that we can demonstrate the project’s impact to our funders, Sport England, and protect the continuing life of the project.  Your feedback will also enable us to amend our project delivery where necessary to best support you, the clubs. Even if you have completed the survey in the past you can still complete this survey as it will allow us to compare data against previous years. You can find the survey here.  If you are new to the Safeguarding Code and just completing your application, please remember to complete our survey about how easy you found the application and how working through the process has impacted your club. This information continues to inform our work.   Just click the Feedback button before submitting your application for review. DBS Regional Support Need help or advice on anything to do with DBS? DBS have recently launched a new Regional Safeguarding Outreach service, which focuses on working collaboratively with safeguarding organisations, and organisations that are recruiting. The aim is to work more closely with organisations to build and develop relationships, and to act as a single point of contact for all DBS-related enquiries within their region. There are now DBS Regional Safeguarding Outreach Officers in all regions of England – so please make use of this service for any queries or questions you may have relating to DBS  Please see below to find out more. here How to contact us [email protected]  – Safeguarding Code, registration, application or Annual Health check [email protected] – Project Manager –  Jo Aldridge [email protected] – Club Support and Communications Officer – Sue Harrison [email protected] –  Safeguarding Code Officer – Paul Aldridge  [email protected]   – Safeguarding Code Administrator – Lucy Gill Our Partners Please remember our partners continue to offer great advice through their websites and have their own newsletters, so be sure to check them out. Ann Craft Trust   A leading UK Authority on Safeguarding Adults and  Young People at Risk Child Protection in Sport Unit   NWG Network  Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation  Sport England The Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts Thank you for your continued interest in, and support of, the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts and as always the team are here to help and support you successfully attain the Safeguarding Code for your club or organisation. Jo, Paul, Sue and Lucy The Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts Team