Accreditation and Safety

Mylor Sailing and Powerboat School are accredited by The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) who are the UK governing body for all sailing and powerboating activities, including training. The RYA have the highest standards of excellence and their recognised centres are inspected thoroughly on a regular basis.

(This page was last updated Jan 2024)

Child Protection and Vulnerable Adult Policy

Extract modified from RYA policy –

As defined in the Children Act 1989, for the purposes of this policy anyone under the age of 18 should be considered as a child. The policy also applies to vulnerable adults (over 18s).

It is the policy of the Mylor Sailing School to safeguard children and young people taking part in boating from physical, sexual or emotional harm. Mylor Sailing School will take all reasonable steps to ensure that, through appropriate procedures and training, children and vulnerable adults participating in Mylor Sailing School activities do so in a safe environment. We recognise that the safety and welfare of the child and vulnerable adult is paramount and that all children and vulnerable adults, whatever their age, gender, disability, culture, ethnic origin, colour, religion or belief, social status or sexual identity, have a right to protection from abuse.

Mylor Sailing School actively seeks to:

Create a safe and welcoming environment, both on and off the water, where children and vulnerable adults can have fun and develop their skills and confidence.

Recognise that safeguarding children and vulnerable adults is the responsibility of everyone, not just those who work with them.

Ensure that Mylor Sailing School – organised training and events are run to the highest possible safety standards.

Be prepared to review its ways of working to incorporate best practice.

We will:

Treat all children and vulnerable adults with respect and celebrate their achievements.

Carefully recruit and select volunteers.

Respond swiftly and appropriately to all complaints and concerns about poor practice or suspected or actual child or vulnerable adult abuse.

Volunteers should not be on their own with a child or vulnerable adult. If they are instructing in a 2 person boat they should keep within an area that is supervised by a safety or rescue boat.
Inform the child protection officer, Coordinator or Principal if you have any suspicions or accusations of abuse.

AIM

The Child & Vulnerable Adult Protection Policy relates to the actions of all staff, visitors and individuals in a position of trust in the establishment.

The purpose of the policy is to make a statement of intent and commitment to action on the part of Mylor Sailing School in relation to the child & vulnerable adult protection aspects of its duty to safeguard and promoting the welfare of people. To this end, it is intended to:
Ensure action that will contribute to the safeguarding of all children and vulnerable adults people.
Raise awareness of Child & Vulnerable Adult Protection issues
Indicate action to be taken in particular circumstances

Child or Vulnerable Adult abuse can involve any one or more of the following:

Neglect
Physical Injury
Sexual Abuse
Emotional Abuse

LEGISLATIVE DUTY

Mylor Sailing School takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard and protect the welfare of all people in its care and other people who may be on the site legitimately. It has a moral duty and statutory obligation under Section 175 of the Education Act 2002 to all children and young people under 18 years of age or vulnerable adults who are taught by or are on the site (legitimately) for other reasons. Mylor Sailing School is also required to work with other agencies to protect children under the Children Act 1989 and Working Together to Safeguard Children 1998. This duty is to:

Safeguard and promote the welfare of children
Work to provide an environment in which young people feel safe, secure, valued and respected, and feel confident that any complaint, allegation or suspicion of child abuse will be taken seriously
Ensure that there are adequate procedures and arrangements at Mylor Sailing School to identify, assess, make referrals and support children who are suffering from harm.
Work in partnership with parents and other agencies (e.g. Schools, Police, Social Services in the child’s local authority) to meet these obligations.
Maintain a safe environment.

Mylor Sailing School recognises that it is an agent of referral and not of investigation. It is not the Sailing School’s responsibility to investigate abuse. Staff should not extend an offer of confidentiality but should clearly inform any child or vulnerable adult that if information about abuse is disclosed there is a duty on staff to follow reporting procedures.

For the purpose of Child Protection this policy covers all young people under 18 including

Children under 18 years of age School-link students
Employees, work experience students or volunteers who are under 18 years of age

Children and adults who are potentially vulnerable because of their learning difficulty and/or disabilities, regardless of age, are also covered by this policy.

POLICY STATEMENT

Mylor Sailing School will:

Make all staff aware of Child & Vulnerable Adult Protection issues through the Sailing School Induction Process.

Recruit and train employees to adopt best practice to safeguard people from abuse, and themselves from false allegations.

Mylor Sailing School will not tolerate inappropriate behaviour and will protect staff who disclose information regarding abuse by a colleague or other adult towards anyone.

All individuals, including those in a position of trust, are expected to act professionally at all times, and to be familiar with Mylor Sailing School’s guidance on safe practice. This includes the need to:

Behave, dress, and talk to everyone in an appropriate way…. (non-sexual, non-aggressive, not abusing a position of trust..)
Avoid situations where they may be at risk of false allegations, or take action to reduce that risk.
Report and seek the advice of the principal/senior instructor if they are concerned about a situation, such as a young person having a crush on them, or believe an incident may have been misconstrued.
Know Mylor Sailing School procedures, including how to respond to a person who discloses abuse.
Know and comply with requirements for recording all concerns and comments and passing them onto the Dedicated Child & Vulnerable Adult Protection Person.
Treat all information received with sensitivity and with due regard to confidentiality and its limits in child & vulnerable adult protection matters.
Respect and promote the rights, wishes and feelings of people, and be sensitive to their developmental needs and capabilities.
Regard all children and vulnerable adults as having an equal right to protection, irrespective of age, ethnicity, culture, disability, gender, language, religious belief or sexual identity.
Regard the interests and safety of the person to be the prime concern. (Where there is a conflict of interest between the person and parent or other adult, the welfare of the person will be considered paramount).
Work in partnership with people and their parents.
Contribute to the provision of a safe environment by raising concerns where Mylor Sailing School and health and safety procedures appear to fall short of acceptable standards

PROCEDURE

All staff, including temporary staff, and volunteers, have a full and active part to play in protecting our children and vulnerable adults from harm and their welfare will be our paramount concern.

All cases of suspected child, vulnerable adult abuse need to be channelled via the nominated person with minimal delay.

NAMED CONTACT –

PRINCIPAL – TRACEY BOYNE

The Principal is responsible for:

Acting as a focal point for staff to discuss child & vulnerable adult protection concerns
Making contact with Social Services for Joint Consultancy Team.
Keeping written records of concerns about a child or young person even if there is no need to make an immediate referral.
Ensuring that all such records are kept confidentially and securely on a student file separate from student records.
Establishing and maintaining a system for all staff to record and pass on concerns about a person and ensuring that staff are aware of the system
Ensuring that records are received and passed onto other establishments as required
Ensuring that staff receive child & vulnerable adult protection concerns when they come to Mylor Sailing School to learn to sail on a need to know basis
Ensuring that Mylor Sailing School is linked into networks which will enable procedures and processes to keep abreast of developments
Ensuring that either they or another member of staff attends case conferences, core groups, or other multi-agency planning meetings, contributes to assessments.
Developing and maintaining guidance and policies on safe environments and child & vulnerable adult protection.
Monitoring overall compliance with child & vulnerable adult protection requirements and procedures, challenge and require improvements in poor practice at Mylor Sailing School and bring any concerns to the attention of the Principal
Attending update training provided by Mylor Sailing School or elsewhere as appropriate.

Mylor Sailing School recognises that it is an agent of referral and not of investigation. It is not their responsibility to investigate abuse.

The Principal is responsible for:

Ensuring that all staff are trained to an acceptable standard – including adequate induction training – by establishing and maintaining a training plan/schedule and monitoring compliance with this. Ensuring that action is taken in cases of non-compliance.
Developing, monitoring and advising on the implementation of procedures for dealing with allegations against staff which are consistent with Area Child & Vulnerable Adult Protection procedures and national guidance.
Managing the progress of allegations against staff, liaising with and reporting to the Principal required
Arranging support for staff facing allegations according to procedures.
Developing guidance for safe practice for all adults, ensuring that all staff have been (and continue to be) briefed on a regular basis) and understand the implications of this.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Some people with special educational needs may need a different approach from other people. Staff must be aware of any special considerations with regard to communication difficulties and equal opportunities.

MONITORING

It will be the responsibility of the nominated participants of staff to review and monitor the procedures and to seek the advice of the ACPC and local authority Social Services department and to alert the ACPC should a change in the procedures be considered.

CHILD & VULNERABLE ADULT PROTECTION INCIDENT REPORT

Available on request