Club Safe

NEW Sport, Leisure and Arts Accreditation Scheme coming soon!

East Lothian "Good to Go" programme will soon be updated and rebranded as "Club Safe" .... watch this space!

All Clubs in East Lothian running activities for children aged 0-18 years must be approved by Good to Go. Sport and the arts have a positive influence on children but these positive effects can only be achieved if the activity is led by an organisation that places the welfare of children first.

The aim of East Lothain's ‘Good to Go’  Scheme is to ensure that clubs and organisations in East Lothian, offering sport, leisure and arts activities that include young people (0-18yrs), are run in a safe and well organised manner.

The National Agency for sport, sportscotland, in partnership with CHILDREN 1ST, has established a set of minimum standards, known as Minimum Operating Requirements (MOR), to protect the welfare of children while they participate in sport.

East Lothian Council, Enjoyleisure and FES Fm ltd would now like to work with your organisation to ensure the same high standards exist in all organisations that utilise our facilities.  Our new Scheme uses these MOR as its basis and Clubs will therefore  be required to provide the following :

1. Adopt a Child Protection Policy at management/committee/board level within your organisation.
2. Get all adults working with children in your organisation to sign up to a Code of Conduct for working with children.
3. Adopt and use an effective ‘recruitment and selection’ procedure to make sure new staff/volunteers have been carefully considered and vetted to do regulated work with children.
4. Adopt ‘responding to concerns’ procedures to ensure that staff/volunteers get the appropriate help with a child or challenge inappropriate conduct of any adults within your organisation.
5. Adopt a ‘disciplinary’ procedure to review any child protection concerns which have arisen to ensure procedures are followed and appropriate action taken in the best interests of the child.
6. Adopt a procedure for reviewing the management of concerns about poor practice, misconduct and child abuse and includes provision for referrals to the Childrens List.
7. Adopt a named contact to co-ordinate child protection within your organisation who has attended ‘Safeguarding  & Protecting Children’ or other basic child protection awareness training and ‘In Safe Hands – Club Child Protection Officer’ workshop
8. Support all adults working with children in your organisation to attend ‘Safeguarding & Protecting Children’ or other basic child protection awareness workshops.
9. Adopt a full Policy Procedures document which include ‘Safe in Care’ guidelines which are appropriate to your organisation’s activities e.g. trips away from home, physical contact, adult to child ratios, ICT and social media.

Please do not worry if you don’t have the necessary documents/procedures in place. The manager of the facility where your activity takes place or appropriate contact will be able to provide you with support in areas where your club does not have existing procedures and practices.

Your organisation will need to have these procedures and practices in place in order to renew any extended let at any facility in East Lothian.

For more information please contact your facility manager or download the application form below and email to healthyliving@eastlothian.gov.uk