Health, Safety & Wellbeing

Statement of intent

We are committed to providing a caring, friendly and safe environment for all of our children so they can train, and play, in a relaxed and secure atmosphere.

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable at our Club and if bullying does occur, all children should be able to tell, and know, incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.

We are a TELLING club. This means anyone who knows bullying is happening is expected to tell someone who can do something about it.

What is bullying?

Bullying is the repeated, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.  Bullying results in pain and distress to the victim.

Bullying can take many forms:

• Emotional: being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting (for example: hiding kit, or making threatening gestures)
• Physical: pushing, kicking, hitting, punching or any use of violence
• Racist: racial taunts, graffiti and/or gestures
• Sexual: unwanted physical contact or sexually abusive comments
• Homophobic: because of, or focusing on, the issue of sexuality
• Verbal: name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours and teasing
• Cyber: bullying behaviour online or via electronic communication (email and text, social media etc.) Misuse of associated technology, such as camera and video facilities

Why is it important to respond to bullying?

Bullying hurts. No one deserves to be a victim of bullying. Everybody has the right to be treated with respect. In situations where children are bullying other children, this should be addressed immediately, and their behaviour discussed with their parents.  Children who are bullying also need to learn different ways of behaving.

All members of our club and the cricket clubs associated to the ECB, have a responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to issues of bullying towards children.

Objectives of this policy

• All adults and children at the club should have an understanding of what bullying is
• All officials, coaching and non-coaching staff should know what the club policy is on bullying, and follow it when bullying is reported
• All children and parents should know what the club policy is on bullying, and what they should do if bullying arises
• As a club, we take bullying seriously.
• Children and parents should be assured they will be supported when bullying is reported
• Bullying will not be tolerated

Signs and symptoms

A child may indicate, by signs or behaviour, that he or she is being bullied.

Adults should be aware of signs and investigate if a child:

• Says they are being bullied
• Changes their usual routine
• Is unwilling to go to the club
• Becomes withdrawn anxious, or lacking in confidence
• Comes home with clothes torn or belongings damaged
• Has possessions which are damaged or go missing
• Asks for money or starts stealing money (to pay the bully)
• Has unexplained cuts or bruises
• Is frightened to say what’s wrong
• Gives improbable excuses for any of the above

In more extreme cases, the child:

• Display anxious behaviours
• Cry themselves to sleep or have nightmares
• Become uncharacteristically aggressive, disruptive, or unreasonable
• Bully other people or siblings
• Stop eating
• Self-harm
• Attempt or threaten suicide
• Run away.

These signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but bullying is a possibility and should be investigated.

Procedures

• Report any concerns about bullying / bullying incidents to our Club Safeguarding Officer straight away

• The bullying behaviour or threats of bullying will be investigated thoroughly and the bullying stopped quickly

• A plan will be implemented to support the victim whilst this investigation is ongoing. If the alleged bully is a child, consideration will be given to what support they might need
• In cases of serious bullying, the incidents will be reported to the ECB Safeguarding Team for advice via the County Welfare Officer
• If the bullying relates to a child, then parents should be informed and will be asked to come to a meeting to discuss
• If necessary and appropriate, the police will be consulted
• An attempt will be made to help the bully (bullies) understand and address their bullying behaviour and how it impacts others.
• In cases of adults reported to be bullying cricketers under 18, the ECB must always be informed and will advise on action to be taken.

Prevention

We will use ‘Kidscape’ recommended methods to help children prevent bullying.

These may include:

• Developing a children’s code of conduct (see guidance in ‘Safe hands’)
• Agreeing behaviour contracts
• Having discussions about bullying and why it matters *with thanks to Kidscape for their expert advice and templates

Reviewed April 2026.

Littleborough Cricket & Sports Club (“the Club”) is committed to ensuring all Children (i.e. all persons under the age of 18) participating in cricket have a safe and positive experience.

The Club will do this by:

• Ensuring that junior cricket teams, under the age of 18, do not use the changing room facilities, other than for the purpose of using the toilet facilities (individually) or with adult supervision to shield from adverse weather conditions.
• Ensuring that adults do not change, or shower, at the same time using the same facility as children. Where appropriate, separate changing rooms and showering facilities are available.
• Ensuring adults change at separate times or in separate changing rooms to children during matches.
• In the rare event that adults and children need to share a changing facility, the Club will obtain prior written consent from parents that their child(ren) can share a changing room with adults in the Club.
• If children play for an open age team, they, and their parents, will be informed of the Club’s policy on changing arrangements.
• Mixed gender teams will have access to separate male and female changing rooms.
• Members are normally expected to use the facilities that align with their gender identity
• Where adults and children are in the same team, the use of mobile phones will not be acceptable in the changing room environment.

If any concerns or issues arise regarding use of facilities:

• The club will handle matters sensitively and confidentially
• Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis
• The aim will be to balance inclusion, privacy and safety for all

If any child is uncomfortable changing or showering at the Club, no pressure will be placed on them to do so and they may change and shower at home if they wish to without being made to feel uncomfortable for doing so.

Reviewed April 2026.

A child going missing is an extremely traumatic experience; for adults and children. However, if everyone is aware of some simple pre-defined guidelines, panic levels can be minimised, and more critically, the missing child can, hopefully, be found in an organised and efficient way. Hopefully no child will ever go missing from any of the Club’s teams but if they do it is important to remember that most children are found within a few minutes of their disappearance.

 Littleborough Cricket and Sports Club (“the Club”) will follow the ECB guidelines as set out below:

If a child, for whom the Club has responsibility, goes missing, the following actions will be taken:

Lost Child

STEPS OF ACTION TO TAKE

1 If the child has a mobile phone, try calling them.

2 Search the area in which the child has gone missing including changing rooms, toilets, public and private areas and the club’s grounds. Ensure other children in your care are supervised appropriately while a search for the child is conducted.

3 A nominated person should remain at the site of the activity or last known point of the missing child in case the child returns. They should make a note of events, including a detailed physical description of the child. This should include approximate height, build, hair, and eye colour as well as the clothing the child was wearing and where and when they were last seen.

4 If the child cannot be found after a thorough search of the immediate surroundings, contact the child’s parents/carers to advise them of the concern and reassure them that everything is being done to locate their child.

5 Organise all available responsible adults and allocate them by further areas to be searched. Send searchers immediately to any venue exits to ensure the child has not left, and to any obvious potential danger spots such as nearby lakes or rivers. Request all those searching to report back within a brief time with regular updates.

6 If the child cannot be found after the extended search, contact the parents/carers again to inform them you will now report this to the police.

7 After contacting the parents/carers report the missing child to the police. Ensure this is no more than 20 minutes after the child’s disappearance is noted, even if the search is not complete. This should include the information recorded in point 3.

8 If the police recommend further action before they get involved, follow their guidance.

When Child is Found

STEPS OF ACTION TO TAKE

1 Ensure that you inform all involved in any search including the parents/carers, searchers, and police when the child is located.

2 Make sure the child and anyone else affected are OK and provide additional support if needed.

3 Log the incident and review with the Club Safeguarding Officer to mitigate any risk of recurrence

Reviewed April 2026.