Safeguarding/Welfare

Swim England South West take’s the welfare of all its members seriously. The welfare of children and young people is very important and we follow the recommendations included in Swim England‘s Wavepower manual.

The aim of Wavepower is to safeguard all children in line with current legislation, regulations and guidance and is for use within any Swim England affiliated organisation where children are present. Wavepower helps everyone in aquatics to understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard all of our children and young people.

If you need any support or advice on how to manage a child protection, safeguarding or welfare issue in the first instance please contact your County Welfare Officer. If you need further guidance for any Safeguarding or welfare concerns, governance issues or help managing internal disputes then please contact our SESW Welfare and Governance Officer, Libby Bell, at libby.bell@swimming.org. Further advice on internal disputes can be found here.

In an emergency:

If you believe a child has been harmed or may be at immediate risk of harm, please make immediate contact with an appropriate agency, such as:

The Police
Children's Services
Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)
Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)
NSPCC Child Protection Helpline

Take the name and contact details of the person you have spoken to, plus the incident/referral reference number (if applicable) so you have a record of the advice they give. Then report this to the club welfare officer and the Swim England Safeguarding Team the next working day. The Safeguarding Team are contactable using the following methods - via email at safeguarding@swimming.org or call 01509 640700 (option 1 then option 3) or complete the online referral form by clicking here.

Swim England have a number of contacts who are able to help. For information on the process to follow and who to contact please click here to be directed to the Swim England website.

We also follow the guidance set out by the Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU). This can be found by clicking here.

For details on available Safeguarding Training and Welfare Officer's Forums, please visit the Workshops and Forums page.

Here are some other options for where to get advice from:

NSPCC Childline - 0800 1111 www.childline.org.uk (Childline offers free, confidential advice and support whatever your worry, whenever you need help)

NSPCC Child Protection Helpline - 0808 800 5000 (24 hours)

NSPCC Child protection in Sport Unit - 0116 366 5626, email: cpsu@nspcc.org.uk

MIND - Mind.org.uk - 0300 123 3393

Young Minds - Youngminds.org.uk 0808 802 5544

Selfharm UK - selfharm.co.uk

Harmless - harmless.org.uk

Kooth - Onine Mental Wellbeing Kooth.com

Samaritans - 116-123, samaritans.org.uk

SW Safeguarding Plan:

The South West Region have developed a Safeguarding plan for 2024 onwards, click here to view this document.

Coaching Consultation Form:

Swim England have developed a Coaching Consultation Form to assist clubs and those participating in aquatics who have additional needs. This form has been created to help ensure you or the person you care for receives the best possible aquatics experience. It has been written primarily with consideration for autistic club members, however, we recognise it may be useful for many other individuals. Please click here to download the Coaching Consultation Form.

Certificate of Exemption:

This has been created for members who have a disability or long term health condition that means they would normally be disqualified under FINA rules. Examples of this would include taping for an insulin pump, being unable to perform breaststroke legs symmetrically due to hip displacement, or needing a lap counter over a certain distance. Please click here for club and swimmer guidance and to download the Certificate of Exemption.