Behaviour Incident
Guidance for recording significant athlete, parent, visitor or staff behaviour that requires leadership awareness or follow-up.
Deal with unsafe behaviour first.
If behaviour creates an immediate risk of harm, stop the activity, make the situation safe and obtain appropriate senior support. If the incident involves a safeguarding concern, use the safeguarding route rather than relying only on a behaviour record.
What Should I Do?
Stay calm, protect safety and avoid escalating the situation unnecessarily.
Make Safe
Stop unsafe behaviour and separate people where necessary without putting yourself or others at risk.
Stay Calm
Use clear, professional language and avoid arguing, humiliating or responding emotionally.
Escalate
Involve a senior staff member where the behaviour is serious, repeated or difficult to manage safely.
Record
Complete the secure shared record promptly while the details remain clear and accurate.
Information You Will Need
Focus on what happened, who was involved and what action was taken.
Date, Time & Location
Record when and where the incident occurred.
People Involved
Identify the athlete, parent, visitor or staff member involved where appropriate.
What Happened
Describe the behaviour or incident in factual, neutral language.
Relevant Context
Include relevant context immediately before the incident without guessing at motives.
Exact Words
Record significant language or threats as accurately as possible where relevant.
Witnesses
Record staff or other people who directly witnessed the incident.
Action Taken
Record what staff did, including warnings, removal from activity, separation or senior support.
Parent / Leadership Contact
Record who was informed and what immediate response was taken.
Ongoing Risk
State whether there is any immediate or ongoing concern requiring further action.
Follow-Up
Record any further leadership, parent or welfare action that may be required.
Keep Records Objective
✓ Do
- Describe observable behaviour.
- Record important words or statements accurately.
- Explain what staff did in response.
- Record witnesses.
- Include relevant factual context.
- Complete records promptly.
✕ Do Not
- Label somebody as “bad”, “nasty” or “attention seeking”.
- Guess why somebody behaved in a certain way.
- Exaggerate language.
- Use the record to vent frustration.
- Discuss the incident in unrelated staff or parent groups.
- Ignore safeguarding indicators.
✓ Factual
“At approximately 6:20pm the parent raised their voice toward the coach and said, ‘You never listen to us.’ The conversation was moved away from the athletes and a senior member of staff was asked to attend.”
✕ Opinion
“The parent was being ridiculous and aggressive for no reason.”
Is This Actually a Safeguarding Concern?
Behaviour can sometimes reveal a welfare or safeguarding issue. Examples may include a disclosure, threatening conduct toward a child, inappropriate adult behaviour, serious bullying or anything suggesting an athlete may be at risk.
Both behaviour and safeguarding concerns now use the same secure academy record. If you are unsure how to classify the concern, speak to the appropriate safeguarding lead.
View Safeguarding GuidanceReady to Record the Incident?
Open the secure Safeguarding & Behaviour Record and select Behaviour Incident as the record type. The full record is stored in the restricted academy system rather than on this Squarespace page.