EQUALITY POLICY STATEMENT

Ronin Karate School

 

·  This club is committed to ensuring that equity is incorporated across all aspects of its development. In doing so it acknowledges and adopts the following definition of sports equity:

·  Sports equity is about fairness in sport, equality of access, recognising inequalities and taking steps to address them. It is about changing the culture and structure of sport to ensure it becomes equally accessible to everyone in society.

·  The club respects the rights, dignity and worth of every person and will treat everyone equally within the context of their sport, regardless of age, ability, gender, race, ethnicity, religious belief, sexuality or social/economic status.

·  The club is committed to everyone having the right to enjoy their sport in an environment free from threat of intimidation, harassment and abuse.

·  All club members have a responsibility to oppose discriminatory behaviour and promote equality of opportunity.

The club will deal with any incidence of discriminatory behaviour seriously, according to club disciplinary procedures.

SUMMARY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF Ronin Karate School  

1.     Name

The club will be called Ronin Karate School and will be affiliated to the PMA.

2.     Aims and objectives

The aims and objectives of the school will be:

·  To offer coaching opportunities in Karate.

·  To promote the club within the local community.

·  To ensure a duty of care to all members of the club.

·  To provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone.

3.     To ensure that all present and future members receive fair and equal treatment Membership

 

Membership should consist of officers and members of the club.

All members will be subject to the regulations of the constitution and by joining the club will be deemed to accept these regulations and codes of conduct that the club has adopted.

Members will be enrolled in one of the following categories:

·  full member

·  junior member

4.     Membership fees

 

Membership fees will be set annually and agreed by the Executive/ Management Committee or determined at the Annual General Meeting.

Fees will be paid: annually

5.     Officers of the club

 

The officers of the club will be:

·  Chair

·  Vice Chair

·  Honorary Secretary

·  Treasurer

·  Health & Safety Officer

·  Child Protection Officer

School Code of Conduct

 

Club Members are expected to:

 

Attend and leave punctually to and from lessons.

Ensure that they are properly and adequately attired in a clean Gi, or tracksuit, sweat-tops, etc…

Ensure that proper personal safety equipment is worn when sparring in accordance with Health and Safety Regulations.  Any person not in possession of these 2 fundamental requirements - mitts and shin and instep protectors will not be permitted to participate

          Keep within the confines of the dojo during training.

 

Behave and listen to all instructions from the club instructors.

 

Take care of equipment owned by the club.

 

Refrain from the use of bad language or racial/religious/sexiest references.

 

Refrain from bullying or persistent use of rough and dangerous play.

 

Show respect to other members and instructors

 

Report inappropriate behaviour.

 

Respect club officials and accept decisions

 

Show appropriate respect and loyalty and be gracious in defeat

 

Respect opponents

 

Not to cheat

 

Not use violence outside the Dojo

 

Any misdemeanours and general misbehaviour will be addressed by the immediate coach and reported verbally to the designated person.  Persistent misbehaviour will result in dismissal from the club.  

 

The club member can appeal dismissals with final decisions taken by the club committee

 

  

RKS Anti-Bullying Policy

 

Definition: 

Bullying may take the form of physical attacks, such as hitting, kicking, taking or damaging belongings, verbal assault, including name-calling, insults, repeat teasing, racist assaults, or it may take more indirect forms, such as spreading malicious gossip, rumours or excluding someone from a social group.  Bullying is a more serious problem than is sometimes realised.  It is widespread and there is increasing evidence of immense distress caused by bullying, with a small number of children being driven to suicide every year.

Bullying is not an accepted behaviour towards anyone in RKS be they child, coach, volunteer or parent.

Anyone found to be bullying others will be dealt with seriously both in regards to the behaviour exhibited and the reasons for the behaviour and may be expelled from the club and all grades revoked regardless of rank or experience.

The possibility of people being bullied should be discussed openly within the Club and all young people and staff informed of both the Clubs’ views on bullying and ways in which bullying can be prevented /stopped.  It should be emphasised that anyone can be the victim of bullying and that being or feeling bullied is not a sign of weakness and does not make the victim a less valuable person.

Action to be taken if a child states they are being bullied: -

 

·                     Child to be given time to say how they are being bullied and reassured they are right to tell.

·                     The coach/instructor will keep the young person informed of their proposed action and to take into account child’s feelings and perspective.

 

Chief Instructor/Instructor of the club to be informed of any incident of bullying so that policies and practices can be reviews on a regular basis. 

 

·                     The child’s parents and practices should be informed of any incident of bullying and an action plan will be implemented.

 

Anti-Bullying Policy & Procedure

The Individual 

·         Respect every child’s need for, and rights to, a train environment where safety, security, praise, recognition and opportunity for taking responsibility are available

·         Respect for every individual’s feelings and views

·         Recognise that everyone is important and that our differences make each of us special         

·         Show appreciation of others by acknowledging individual qualities, contributions and progress

·          Ensure safety by having rules and practices carefully explained and displayed for all to see

 

Bullying

• Bullying will not be accepted or condoned.  All forms of bullying will be addressed.  Bullying can include:

o        Physical pushing, kicking, hitting, pinching etc

o        Name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, persistent teasing and emotional torment through ridicule, humiliation and the continual ignoring of individuals

o         Racial taunts, graffiti, gestures R

o        Sexual comments and /or suggestions

o        Unwanted physical contact

o        Any person who is found guilty of bullying will be subject to a lifetime ban from RKS and their name and rank will be erased from the official register.

• Children from ethnic minorities, disabled children, young people who are gay or lesbian, or those with learning difficulties are more vulnerable to this form of abuse and may well be targeted.
• Everybody has the responsibility to work together to stop bullying – the child, the parent, the coach, the youth worker, the sport’s official                                                                          ·         Appropriate forums should be established within the community, including children, parents, teachers, youth workers and other agencies, to address, monitor and stop bullying 

·         Commitment to the early identification of bullying and prompt, collective action to deal with it 

·         Children should be encouraged to take a role in stopping bullying in their community 

·          Policy and practice should be reviewed regularly in the light of changing needs and changes adopted by other agencies (e.g. schools)

·         Staff will have access to training on bullying

·         Coaches will have access to appropriately trained staff for support when dealing with bullying

 

Support to the Child 

• Children should know who will listen to and support them
• Any advice and assistance should be given by an appropriately trained and experienced worker
•  Children should have access to Help-line numbers
• Children should be told what is being recorded, in what context and why
• An open door policy will be adopted by the RKS to children wishing to talk about bullying or any other issue that affects them.  There should be no barriers to talking, to enable children to approach adults
• Anyone who reports an incident of bullying will be listened to carefully and be supported, whether the child being bullied or the child who is bullying
• Any reported incident of bullying will be investigated objectively and will involve listening carefully to all those involved 
• Children being bullied will be supported and assistance given to uphold their right to train and live in a safe environment which allows their healthy development
• Sanctions involving long periods of isolation, or which diminish and make individuals look or feel foolish in front of others, should be avoided

Support to the Parents

• Parents should be advised on local policy and practice about bullying
• Any incident of bullying will be discussed with the child’s parent(s)
•  Parental advice on action will be sought and agreements made as to what action should be taken
• Information and advice on coping with bullying will be given
• Support should be offered to the parent(s) including information on other agencies.

 

 

RKS Code of Conduct for People working with Children

To ensure that all forms of abuse are prevented and to help protect people who work with young martial arts students the following guidelines should be followed:

• Always be publicly open when working with children. Avoid situations where you and an individual child are completely unobserved.
• If a student needs to be touched, it should be provided openly and the student should be asked first. Care is needed, as it is difficult to maintain hand positions when providing manual support if the child is constantly moving. Some parents are becoming increasingly sensitive about touching children and their views should always be carefully considered.
• Where possible parents should take responsibility for their children in changing rooms. If groups are to be supervised in changing rooms, always ensure that adults work in pairs.
• Where mixed teams compete away from home at least one male adult and one female adult should always accompany them.
• Volunteers and professionals must respect the rights and dignity and worth of all and treat everyone with equality’

• Volunteers and professionals must place the well being and safety of the student above the development of performance. 
• Coaches should hold a recognised coaching qualification.
• Adults must ensure that the activities, which they direct or advocate, are appropriate to the age, maturity and ability of the performer.
• Adults should always promote the positive aspects of their art (e.g. fair play) and never condone rule violations or use of prohibited substances.
• Adults must consistently display high standards of personal behaviour and appearance.
• Adults should never overtly criticise athletes or use sarcasm where it may cause the child to lose self-esteem or confidence.

Everyone should also be aware that as a general rule it does not make sense to:

• Spend amounts of time alone with children away from others
• Take children alone on car journeys, however short
• Take children to your home if they will be alone with you
• If it should arise that such situations are unavoidable they should only take place with the full knowledge and consent of someone in charge in the club/governing body and/or the child's parents/carer. In addition you most discourage over enthusiastic kisses and embraces

If you accidentally hurt a child, or cause distress in any manner, or the child appears to be sexually aroused by your actions, or misunderstands, or misinterprets something you have done, report the incident as soon as possible. Parents/carers should also be informed of the occurrence.

You should never:

• Engage in rough physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay
• Share a room with a child Permit or engage in any form of inappropriate touching