CHILD AND VULNERABLE ADULT PROTECTION POLICY

DEFINITIONS

A junior member is defined as being less than 18 years of age.

A vulnerable adult is defined as a person of 18 years of age or over but through mental or physical attributes requires a higher level of supervision than would be normally necessary for an adult member.

A responsible adult is defined as a senior member or parent/guardian who has the clearance, experience, knowledge and training commensurate with the type and degree of supervision required.
 

The club recognises the need for sensible measures to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults whilst taking part in the sport. To that end, the club has adopted the BMFA policy for the protection of children and vulnerable adults, and that policy is available on the BMFA website at www.bmfa.org.

In accordance with the policy, the club has appointed its Training Officer, Stan Hanus as club Welfare Officer within the meaning of the BMFA policy.

Stan Hanus can be contacted on 07876 422243

CLUB POLICY

Huddersfield and District Model Aircraft Club fully accepts:-

• Its legal and moral obligations to provide a duty of care to protect all children and vulnerable adults and safeguard their welfare irrespective of age, disability, gender and sexual identity, race or religious belief (Children’s Act 1989 and 2004 and the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Act 2003).

• That the welfare of junior and vulnerable adult members is paramount and that they have the right to protection from all forms of abuse.

• That all juniors who take part in model flying activities should be able to participate in a fun and safe environment in an atmosphere of fair play.
  
  

Huddersfield and District Model Aircraft Club is committed to ensuring that:-

• It takes all reasonable practical steps to protect children from harm, discrimination and degrading treatment and respects their rights, wishes and feelings.

• All suspicions and allegations of poor practice or abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately, as whilst it is the responsibility of child protection authorities/experts to determine whether or not abuse has taken place, it is everyone’s responsibility to report concerns.
  
  

• High standards of behaviour and practice in compliance with the  BMFA Code of Practice on Club Welfare and Child Protection are established within the club environment at all times.
  
  

• Any club member participating in “regulated activity” will be carefully selected, informed about their responsibilities and provided with guidance and/or training for good practice and child protection procedures.

• Huddersfield and District Model Aircraft Club will strive to ensure that all members understand and accept their responsibilities and work together, including parents, juniors, instructors, volunteers and club officers.

CLUB RULES

The following rules set out the means of implementing the BMFA policy for the Huddersfield and District Model Aircraft Club.

• All members, parents, guardians and carers are to comply with BMFA and club policies and guidelines for the promotion of the welfare and care of children and vulnerable adults.

• Junior members must be supervised at all times by a responsible adult. The level of supervision is to be commensurate with the junior member’s age, maturity, capabilities and levels of experience.

• Junior members under the age of 14 years shall not start an engine or carry a model with the engine running unless they are supervised by a responsible adult.

• No child or vulnerable adult shall undertake any activity which might place him or her at risk. In any event prior consultation with their parent, guardian or carer must take place if there is any doubt on the member’s abilities to undertake a specific activity.
  
  

• No senior member of the club is to be expected to assume responsibility for a child or a vulnerable adult.
  
  

• It is the parent or guardian’s responsibility to supervise any child or vulnerable adult at all times or to appoint a responsible adult to do so on their behalf.
  
  

• The club will not accept responsibility for appointing a responsible adult, nor will it make any recommendations about an individual’s suitability for that appointment. 

• It is the parent or guardian’s sole responsibility to satisfy themselves with the suitability of the person they appoint and to notify the club of the appointment. 

• Full details of how the parent or guardian may be contacted in an emergency must be provided if they are not present as the responsible adult.

• Notwithstanding the requirements of the previous paragraph, should a member discover a child or vulnerable adult that is unsupervised then he/she must assume responsibility for that person’s safety in the first instance. They should never assume this role as an individual and should immediately involve at least one other senior member of the club while the matter is being resolved. The situation should then be rectified as soon as possible by seeking out the parent, guardian, carer or nominated supervisor. Any instance of such an occurrence is to be reported to the club committee as soon as possible and a record made of the occurrence. The club will then contact the parent or guardian and inform them that should a similar situation arise again, the committee will consider terminating club membership for the child or vulnerable adult.

• Whilst associating with children or vulnerable adults at the flying field, members should avoid placing themselves in a position that could be open to misinterpretation or question in accordance with BMFA policy. Remember, the policy is there to protect you as well as children and vulnerable adults.

• The club has appointed instructors for teaching persons to fly radio controlled model aircraft. These persons are registered with the BMFA as instructors and Examiners and the clubs Training co-ordinator has been DBS cleared as suitable to work with children and vulnerable adults.

• The club rules state that the child or vulnerable adult must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or someone who has written authority to bring the junior to the site and supervise them. They must accompany the junior members at all times. A copy of the written authority must be lodged with the HDMAC Secretary/Welfare officer and will be retained for future records.

• Whilst visiting children are encouraged it must be remembered at all times that the flying site is an active flying field and potentially hazardous. Children must remain in the pits area at all times and remain clear of the flight line and all areas of the flying site

• (Note: if the parent or guardian is a sufficiently competent pilot and wishes to instruct their own child or vulnerable adult, then they may do so without further clearance.)

• Should any member, parent, guardian, carer or the person themselves have concerns about the welfare of children or vulnerable adults then he or she is to contact the club Welfare Officer or one of the help lines listed in the BMFA policy.

• All members are required to respect the rights and dignity of children and vulnerable adults and to promote their welfare. Caring is largely a matter of common sense provided everyone is clear on what is expected of them and a few simple principles are adhered to. It is not a responsibility to be feared but is, nevertheless, essential if we are to ensure that we are to be a club that offers opportunities for all.

HDMAC Committee Jan 2023.