Safeguarding.
Everyone’s responsibility.

Notts Hotshots Cheer & Dance Academy will place welfare ahead of medals, selection, finances, loyalty and reputation. Everyone has the right to participate without abuse, discrimination, humiliation or avoidable harm. Concerns about events outside Hotshots are included where a person’s safety may be affected.

This framework applies to directors, employees, freelance coaches, choreographers, volunteers, young helpers, athletes, parents, carers, visitors and contractors in their involvement with Hotshots. It covers cheer, hip-hop, lyrical, pom, tumble, recreational sessions, trials, camps, performances, parties, online activity and club-organised travel.

A child is anyone under 18, including an athlete in an Open team or a young coach. Adult safeguarding has a different legal framework and is addressed in section 19. Parents, carers and athletes must receive accessible information about expected behaviour and how to get help.

No one may use this policy, a confidentiality request, a team commitment or a complaints process to discourage reporting. Safeguarding decisions must be child-centred, proportionate, recorded and informed by external agencies where appropriate.

The proposed Safeguarding Leadership Team comprises Jacob Jarman, Rebecca Jarman and Holly Blackbourn. The directors remain responsible for resources, safe recruitment, training, implementation and oversight.

Before adoption, the team must allocate one named, appropriately trained accountable safeguarding lead and deputy cover within this shared structure. Their contact arrangements must be published here and displayed at sessions. For each concern, an uninvolved case lead must be recorded immediately; urgent action cannot depend on all directors agreeing or being available.

• The duty lead ensures immediate safety, appropriate referral, secure records, follow-up and support.
• Each session and trip must have a named responsible adult and a clear route to safeguarding cover.
• Coaches report concerns promptly; they do not investigate abuse or decide alone that a disclosure is untrue.
• Anyone with a personal, family or professional conflict must declare it and be excluded from inappropriate access and decisions. A director’s involvement does not make an internal process independent.
• If leadership is implicated, unavailable or cannot act impartially, use the external routes above and obtain independent case-management advice.

Concerns can involve physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse or neglect. Examples include unexplained injuries, fear of a particular person, sexualised comments or contact, persistent humiliation, unmet basic needs, coercion and harmful secrecy. A change in behaviour is a reason to listen and consider support, not proof of abuse.

Staff must also remain alert to grooming, online exploitation, criminal or sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, trafficking, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, radicalisation and harm between children. Concerns may arise at home, in relationships, in the community or online.

In sport, harm may include forced stretching, unsafe skill progression, ignoring injuries, punishment exercise, food or water restriction, weight-based humiliation, sexualised choreography and threatening selection to obtain compliance. Talent, popularity, qualifications or a clear DBS result do not rule out risk.

Record patterns as well as individual incidents. Seek safeguarding advice when unsure; do not wait for a child to make a formal disclosure.

1. Make the situation safe. Call emergency services where necessary and arrange appropriate medical help.
2. Listen calmly. Let the person use their own words and communication method. Take them seriously, thank them and explain that telling was the right thing to do.
3. Do not investigate. Avoid leading questions, repeated interviews, confrontation or requests to demonstrate what happened. Ask only what is necessary to understand immediate safety needs.
4. Explain confidentiality. Never promise secrecy. Explain that information will be shared with people who need it to help protect them.
5. Record promptly. Note their exact words, the time, context, observations and actions, distinguishing facts from opinions.
6. Report without delay. Contact the uninvolved safeguarding lead and/or the appropriate external service. A written record must not delay an urgent telephone referral.

Do not ask someone to undress, photograph intimate injuries or obtain sexual images as evidence. Do not contact the alleged person responsible. Ask statutory agencies before informing a parent or carer where doing so could increase risk or compromise enquiries.

Staff must report safeguarding concerns immediately, or as soon as safely possible during the same day. Where there is a risk of significant harm, contact children’s social care or police without delay. There is no requirement to seek internal permission first.

The receiving lead records the concern, immediate protection, referrals, advice, decisions and a named follow-up owner. Obtain a referral reference where available, check receipt and record the agency’s next steps. Escalate if a response is absent or does not address continuing risk, using the local safeguarding partnership’s professional disagreement process where appropriate.

For emerging needs below child-protection thresholds, discuss suitable early help with the family where safe and follow local procedures. Do not downgrade a concern simply because an athlete continues to attend, performs well or a family declines support.

Agree who will update the athlete and family, what can safely be shared and when the safety plan will be reviewed. If the safeguarding lead cannot be reached, contact an external agency yourself. Normal office hours, competitions and club holidays do not suspend these responsibilities.

Concerns about any adult working or volunteering with children, including a director, contractor or visiting coach, must be reported to an uninvolved lead. Relevant concerns include possible harm, a possible offence against a child, behaviour suggesting a risk to children, or behaviour indicating that the adult may be unsuitable to work with children, including outside the club.

Seek LADO advice promptly and, for allegations meeting the threshold, within one working day; urgent police or social-care action must happen sooner. Do not run an internal investigation or alert the person concerned before agreeing the appropriate approach with the relevant agencies.

Consider proportionate interim measures: additional supervision, changed duties, removal of access or suspension where needed. These are protective decisions, not automatic findings of guilt. Record the reasons, keep measures under review, support those involved and preserve fairness without compromising safety.

Lower-level concerns about boundary breaches or poor practice must also be recorded and reviewed for patterns. “Low-level” does not mean unimportant. Consult LADO if uncertain about the threshold.

Check the legal duty to refer to DBS where permission to undertake regulated activity is withdrawn, or would have been withdrawn had the person not left, and the relevant harm/conduct or offence conditions are met. Resignation does not remove the duty. Temporary suspension alone is not automatically a mandatory DBS referral. Consider other required regulator, employer or governing-body notifications.

Appointment procedures must include a role description, safeguarding expectations, identity verification, relevant work history and explanation of gaps, interview or suitability discussion, references checked directly, and verification of relevant qualifications. Friendship, family relationships, previous membership and competitive success do not replace checks.

Assess each role for the lawful level of DBS check and whether a children’s barred-list check is permitted and required. Do not request ineligible checks or treat a basic check as equivalent to an enhanced check. A barred person must not undertake regulated activity from which they are barred. Consider appropriate overseas checks where relevant.

No new worker may have unsupervised responsibility for children until required suitability checks are complete. Keep a restricted recruitment and training register, induction record and documented supervision arrangements.

Staff and volunteers must receive safeguarding induction before duties begin, role-appropriate training and regular updates. Leads need additional training in referral, allegations management and information sharing. Review learning annually and renew training in line with the provider’s and applicable governing-body requirements.

• Treat athletes consistently and respectfully. No threats, sexual comments, discriminatory language, humiliation, bullying or retaliation.
• Do not create secret relationships, private gifts, favouritism, unnecessary private transport or personal dependency.
• No sexual or romantic relationships or sexualised communication between staff and under-18 athletes. Sport coaches can fall within legal position-of-trust provisions involving 16- and 17-year-olds.
• Declare existing family relationships, close friendships and adult personal relationships that could affect coaching, welfare or selection. Agree management arrangements for conflicts and power imbalances.
• Do not arrange private meetings with children outside approved activities. Keep any necessary one-to-one conversation observable while respecting reasonable privacy.
• No alcohol impairment, illegal substances, smoking or vaping while supervising children. Never supply these to children.
• Do not share personal disputes with athletes or use them to carry messages between adults.

Disciplinary action may follow breaches, but safeguarding referrals and immediate protection take priority.

Physical support can be necessary in cheer, tumble and dance. Coaches must explain the purpose and intended contact, check the athlete understands and seek their agreement. Contact must be necessary, appropriate, proportionate and observable; it must never be sexual, punitive or for the adult’s gratification.

An athlete may say stop or decline a skill. Offer an alternative rather than coercion or humiliation. Parental consent does not remove the need to listen to the athlete. Immediate protective contact to prevent a fall or injury may be necessary; explain and record any unusual incident afterwards.

Use appropriately qualified staff, safe equipment, suitable surfaces, planned progressions and sufficient competent spotting. Consider age, ability, fatigue, confidence and health. Do not ask athletes to perform beyond safe readiness to satisfy competition demands.

No forced stretching, pain-based correction, punishment exercise, denial of breaks or pressure to train through injury. Weight and body shape must not be used to shame athletes. Coaches must stop unsafe activity and review the plan after injuries or near misses.

Each activity must have a written supervision assessment covering age, needs, group size, skills, premises, transitions and emergency cover. Meet applicable governing-body, insurer and venue requirements. If safe staffing cannot be provided, adapt, postpone or stop the activity.

As a proposed Hotshots minimum, activities with children should have at least two suitably recruited adults available, with enough competent adults directly supervising the activity. This is not a substitute for an activity-specific ratio assessment. A receptionist cannot simultaneously be counted as active technical supervision.

Under-18 coaches and helpers remain children under this policy. They must have a named adult supervisor, appropriate duties and breaks; they must not be left in sole charge or counted as adult supervision. They must not handle safeguarding cases, intimate care or adult conflict independently.

Adult athletes in mixed-age teams are not automatically approved supervisors. Set clear boundaries for contact, communication, changing and travel. Record attendance and check headcounts when groups move.

Bullying, intimidation, exclusion, discriminatory abuse, sexual harassment, hazing, assault, coercion and online harassment are unacceptable. Serious harm may arise from one incident; it does not have to be repeated to require safeguarding action.

Stop immediate harm, listen separately, record accounts and assess protection and external referral needs. Do not dismiss concerns as banter, rivalry or ordinary team drama. Do not require a harmed child to mediate with, apologise to or confront another person.

Provide a written safety plan where needed: safe supervision, group or contact arrangements, trusted adults, family communication and review dates. Support the child harmed and address the needs and behaviour of the child alleged to have caused harm without prejudging an investigation.

Consequences must be proportionate and consistent, with safeguarding needs considered before disciplinary decisions. Do not punish a reporter through team selection or opportunities. Review team culture and bystander behaviour as well as individual conduct.

Make reasonable adjustments and avoid assumptions based on disability, neurodivergence, communication needs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or family circumstances. Every concern deserves careful consideration.

Agree accessible ways to communicate and report worries. Offer a trusted supporter, visual guidance, quieter conversations or interpreting support where appropriate. Do not automatically attribute pain, distress, injuries or behaviour changes to a disability.

Balance training with rest, education, health and family life. Attendance expectations, choreography commitments and selection decisions must never override welfare or medical advice. Coaches must not diagnose mental-health conditions, prescribe diets or pressure athletes to disclose private health information publicly.

Concerns about self-harm, eating difficulties or mental health require sensitive support and appropriate professional advice. Where immediate serious harm is feared, seek emergency help and do not leave the person unsupported. Involve parents when safe and appropriate; follow external advice where disclosure could increase risk.

Seek athlete feedback regularly and provide reporting options outside the athlete’s own coach.

Use club-approved channels for coaching communications. For under-18s, include parents/carers or another authorised adult as appropriate, maintain professional content and avoid private one-to-one social messaging, disappearing messages and personal social-media relationships.

Online sessions must be authorised, risk assessed and supervised. Set joining controls, appropriate backgrounds and recording rules. Do not share passwords, meeting access or children’s personal details publicly.

If a child sends a private safeguarding disclosure, do not reject them because the channel is unapproved. Respond sufficiently to protect them, preserve the message appropriately and refer it immediately; do not turn it into an ongoing secret conversation.

Report grooming, threatening messages or harmful content. Never request, download, forward or create copies of suspected sexual images of children. Record non-image facts and seek police or CEOP guidance. No safeguarding case information belongs in parent groups, team chats or public posts.

Explain the purpose, intended audience, lawful basis and retention of images. Where consent is relied on, obtain specific informed permission from the appropriate parent/carer and respect the child’s wishes; adults decide for themselves. Distinguish coaching analysis from publicity and livestreaming.

Keep a current restricted permissions record and practical arrangements for athletes who must not be photographed. Do not exclude them from participation because they decline publicity. Consider court orders, care arrangements and individual safety risks without publicly identifying why restrictions apply.

Use approved devices, accounts and access controls. Avoid full names alongside identifying details, live locations, school information or accommodation details. Require spectators and photographers to follow event rules. Explain that third-party event filming may need separate arrangements and that public sharing cannot always be recalled.

No photography, filming or CCTV in toilets, changing or intimate-care areas. Any CCTV must have a documented purpose, lawful basis, signage, restricted access and retention schedule. Footage access and disclosure must be logged; footage is not to be shared in team chats or used for casual staff monitoring. CCTV never replaces supervision.

Assess facilities before use, including shared public venues. Plan private and appropriate changing arrangements considering age, sex, disability, privacy and individual needs, applying current law and safeguarding guidance. Offer a private alternative where needed without humiliation.

Adults must not change or shower alongside children. Staff must not enter a changing area alone unnecessarily; announce entry and use suitable safeguarding cover. Never permit phones, photography or filming in changing or toilet areas.

Encourage athletes to arrive ready where suitable facilities are unavailable. Toilet access must not be withheld. Younger children or those requiring support must have an agreed assistance arrangement that maintains privacy and appropriate supervision.

Personal or intimate care requires an individual plan agreed with the athlete and parent/carer where appropriate, trained authorised adults, clear consent arrangements and records. Do not improvise routine care arrangements or assign them to young helpers. In an unexpected emergency, protect dignity, seek appropriate help and record the action taken.

Parents must know when club supervision starts and ends. Staff must maintain attendance, emergency contacts and authorised collection arrangements. Any permission for an older child to leave independently must be recorded; do not assume permission from team membership.

Do not release a child to an unverified person or someone whose condition raises immediate safety concerns. Check any relevant court orders and agreed restrictions; seek police or social-care advice rather than attempting to resolve a custody dispute.

Late collection

Keep the child supervised in a safe place, ideally with two authorised adults. Contact the parent and then emergency contacts. Do not leave them alone, send them home with another family without verified permission, or take them to a staff member’s home. If contacts cannot be reached or safety is uncertain, seek social-care or police advice. Record the incident and review repeated difficulties.

Missing child

Alert the session or event lead immediately, secure supervision of the remaining group and establish the child’s last known location. Organise a prompt, coordinated check of safe nearby areas. Contact police immediately where danger is suspected and promptly if the child cannot be located; there is no fixed waiting period. Inform parents unless agency advice indicates otherwise, provide relevant details, record the timeline and review after the child is found.

Every club-organised trip must have an approved risk assessment, named trip and safeguarding leads, emergency contacts, appropriate insurance, consent, medical information, supervision plans and clear handover arrangements. Parents must know which periods are club-supervised and which are family responsibility.

For travel abroad, assess local emergency and child-protection arrangements, destination risks, documents, medical access, accommodation and communications. Give families the itinerary, emergency contact route and conduct expectations. Do not assume UK services alone can manage an emergency overseas.

• Use suitable, insured transport and authorised drivers with appropriate licences and seat restraints. Avoid an adult travelling alone with an unrelated child; record and review any unavoidable emergency exception.
• Plan rooms with privacy, age, sex and individual needs in mind. Unrelated adults must not share bedrooms with children; exceptional family or specialist-care arrangements require explicit advance assessment.
• Set rules for room checks, curfews, free time, changing, adult conduct and contacting home. Staff must not enter children’s bedrooms alone except in an immediate emergency.
• Maintain headcounts, supervision and clear collection points. No child should be left alone as punishment.
• Explain safeguarding expectations for private family travel without presenting it as club-supervised. Concerns still require action.

Maintain activity and premises risk assessments covering flooring, apparatus, stunts, manual handling, fire, access, crowding and evacuation. Check equipment before use and remove defective equipment. Have appropriate first-aid provision and accessible emergency procedures during every activity.

Collect necessary health information securely, agree individual plans for relevant conditions and ensure authorised staff can access essential emergency details. Medication arrangements must include consent, instructions, safe storage, appropriate training and administration records. Keep prescribed rescue medication accessible as agreed in the plan.

Stop activity following an injury or suspected concussion and obtain appropriate assessment. Do not permit a return based solely on competitive need or an athlete saying they can continue. Follow appropriate professional advice and applicable return-to-sport guidance.

Record accidents and near misses, notify parents appropriately and consider whether an incident also raises safeguarding concerns. Never deny water, food required for health, rest or toilet access. Display evacuation arrangements, keep exits clear and account for everyone at the assembly point.

All adult athletes deserve safety and dignity. Under the Care Act framework, adult safeguarding duties concern an adult with care and support needs who is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect and, because of those needs, cannot protect themselves. A diagnosis, disability or membership of an Open team does not automatically establish this threshold.

Concerns may include physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse, coercive control, discrimination, neglect, self-neglect, organisational abuse or exploitation. Listen to what the adult wants to happen and support informed choices.

Presume capacity unless there is reason to consider otherwise. Capacity is decision-specific; an unwise decision alone does not prove incapacity. Seek competent professional advice where assessment or best-interests decisions are needed. Parents do not automatically have authority over an adult athlete’s information or decisions.

Seek consent to referrals where safe and appropriate. Sharing without consent may be justified, for example where others are at risk, serious crime or coercion is involved, or an appropriate best-interests basis applies. Record the reason and seek specialist advice. Immediate danger requires emergency action. Refer through the relevant adult social-care service and police where appropriate; a LADO child-workforce referral may also be needed if children could be at risk.

Keep safeguarding case records separately from attendance, fees and routine coaching notes. Use restricted, individually authorised access, secure devices, appropriate backups and an access log. Paper records must be locked away. Do not place case files in shared parent or coach folders, general spreadsheets or public web forms.

Share information that is necessary, relevant, accurate, proportionate and timely with those who need it to protect someone. Identify an appropriate lawful basis and any required special-category condition. Data protection is not a reason to delay necessary safeguarding action; consent is not always the appropriate basis. Record what was shared, with whom, why and how.

Explain information sharing where safe, but do not alert someone if this could increase risk or undermine an investigation. Check recipients and use secure transfer arrangements. A request for secrecy or deletion does not automatically override safeguarding obligations.

Before adoption, approve a record-retention schedule distinguishing child concerns, staff allegations, recruitment records, images and adult cases. Record the applicable retention and review date for each category using current legal, insurer and safeguarding advice; do not apply one arbitrary deletion period to everything. Preserve records subject to investigations or legal holds. Review and securely destroy records when no longer lawfully needed, keeping a disposal record.

Report loss, unauthorised access or disclosure immediately to the responsible director, contain the breach and assess statutory notification duties. Do not promise absolute anonymity where disclosure may be necessary to protect someone or meet legal obligations.

Routine complaints about services or selection may be raised with leadership, but any safeguarding element must be assessed immediately under this framework. Safeguarding action must not wait for a complaints meeting, mediation, a written complaint or an appeal.

Concerns about unsafe practice, concealment, retaliation or leadership failures may be raised with an uninvolved director or directly with social care, police, LADO or another relevant authority. Where leadership is conflicted, arrange an appropriately independent review.

Hotshots must not disadvantage an athlete, parent, worker or volunteer for honestly reporting a concern or helping an enquiry. This includes pressure to withdraw, threats, loss of opportunities and using team fees or selection as leverage. An unsubstantiated concern is not automatically malicious.

Record complaints, decisions, reasons and the available review route. Acknowledge non-urgent complaints within five working days as a proposed club service standard, explain the expected response time and provide updates. This timescale never applies to urgent safeguarding referrals. Those involved must be told what can be shared without breaching another person’s privacy.

Set safeguarding responsibilities in writing for external hirers and partners. Identify who supervises children, the safeguarding contact, suitable staffing, relevant checks, insurance, access, emergency arrangements, photography rules and reporting routes. Hiring space does not automatically make Hotshots the activity supervisor.

For space-only parties, the hirer must understand their supervision responsibilities, permitted equipment and restrictions. No unauthorised stunt or tumble coaching or use of specialist equipment. For coached parties, apply Hotshots’ recruitment, supervision, registration, health and collection procedures.

School sessions require agreed handovers, registers and a reporting route involving the school’s safeguarding lead and external agencies where needed. Clarify responsibilities rather than assuming the school or Hotshots is dealing with a concern.

Visitors and contractors must be identified, signed in where appropriate, informed of relevant rules and supervised according to risk. Do not allow access to children solely because someone is a sponsor, parent or known acquaintance. Hotshots must act on concerns arising on its premises even where another organisation delivers the activity.

This checklist is for a secure safeguarding record, not a public submission form. Record what you know; missing details must not delay reporting.

• Name and safe contact details of the reporter; date and time recorded.
• Name, age and relevant identifying details of the person at risk.
• Date, time, location and context of the incident or disclosure.
• The person’s exact words, observations and any witnesses; separate fact, reported information and opinion.
• Immediate safety or medical needs and actions already taken.
• Relevant names and roles, including conflicts of interest.
• Who has been informed; referral times, references, advice and reasons for sharing or withholding information.
• Views and wishes of the child or adult, safe contact arrangements, case lead and next review date.

Sign and date the record or use a secure attributable electronic record. Preserve original notes and add dated corrections rather than overwriting them. Do not collect unnecessary evidence or circulate allegations to establish whether other people agree.

Document: Notts Hotshots safeguarding and welfare framework
Version: 1.0 draft
Prepared: 16 September 2026
Owner: Hotshots directors / Safeguarding Leadership Team
Approval and effective dates: Approved 01/09/2026
Review: Before adoption, then at least annually and sooner after significant incidents, legal changes or changes in club activity.

Required before adoption

• Have a suitably qualified safeguarding adviser review this framework against current local procedures, relevant governing-body requirements and insurance conditions.
• Record the accountable lead, deputies, training and session/out-of-hours coverage; publish usable contact arrangements.
• Confirm restricted reporting and case-record systems, inbox access, privacy information and a documented retention schedule.
• Approve activity-specific staffing, personal-care, collection, emergency and travel arrangements; check the proposed standards can actually be delivered.
• Check current referral contacts, local thresholds and LADO procedures.
• Record directors’ approval, effective date and review date; update the status notice and metadata to match the approved record.
• Brief staff, record acknowledgement and training, and explain the policy to athletes and families in accessible formats.

Maintain a version history and archived approved copies. Review implementation through feedback, incident learning, training checks and anonymised oversight. A website page alone does not establish compliance. Keep public reporting contacts accessible without a ParentHub password; never publish case records or sensitive operational details.

Guidance and reference points

• Working Together to Safeguard Children — current England guidance
• Department for Education: safeguarding in out-of-school settings
• Nottinghamshire safeguarding reporting and local procedures
• NSPCC Sport: safeguarding advice
• DBS referral duties and guidance
• Care Act 2014: adult safeguarding enquiries

Relevant frameworks also include the Children Acts, Sexual Offences Act and position-of-trust provisions, Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, Equality Act, Mental Capacity Act, UK GDPR and Data Protection Act. Requirements must be checked for the specific activity and role. School-specific guidance is not automatically a substitute for a sports club’s own arrangements.