Policies

It is the Club's responsibility to deal with any act of indiscipline on the field of play by players, and/or any of their supporters and spectators on the touch line, or any club member who at any time uses threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour towards any appointed official, other member or visitor to the club or in any way brings the club or the game into disrepute; such behaviour is deemed to include that which is displayed or communicated through the use of technology including hardware, software, e-mail, telephone, voicemail, internet and other communication platforms such as social media. It is an RFU requirement for every club to appoint a Disciplinary Panel to deal with such incidents. Any member, whether player, supporter or spectator, will have a right to the Club appeals procedure following any penalty imposed.

It must be recognised that bad behaviour, particularly violent, abusive, threatening or discriminatory, is not in any way less serious because it occurs at a Rugby Club. Matters considered to be criminal will be referred to the Police.

Aldwinians Rugby Union Football Club acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and vulnerable adults involved in Aldwinians Rugby Union Football Club from harm.

Aldwinians RUFC is a club committed to ensuring that equity is incorporated in all aspects of its development. In doing so, we acknowledge and adopt the following Sport England definition of sport 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.

Our data protection policy sets out our commitment to protecting personal data and how we implement that commitment with regard to the collection and use of personal data.

Principles

• Bullying of any kind is not acceptable within any Club or Constituent Body (CB) giving playing opportunities to children and young people.
• The RFU/RFUW are a 'telling' culture and anyone who knows that bullying is happening is expected to tell their Club Safeguarding Officer or CB Safeguarding Manager, or a person they feel they can open up to.
• All forms of bullying will be taken seriously, responded to promptly, and procedures followed to deal with the situation.
• It is up to every adult working in rugby union, whether professional or volunteer, to ensure that all young people can enjoy the sport of rugby in a safe, enjoyable environment.

In the RFU's opinion, social networking such as Twitter, Facebook, internet blogs and other online sites offers tremendous opportunities for rugby to communicate and engage with a growing audience as well as its existing members, supporters and players. The RFU is keen to promote the safe and responsible use of social networking technology, but also to make its members aware of the potential risks and to share best practice. Participants should be aware that comments which bring the game into disrepute, or are threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting, may lead to disciplinary action.

Comments that include a reference to a person's ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, faith, gender, sexual orientation or disability may attract a high disciplinary sanction. Comments can also attract civil and criminal action. Nearly 5,000 offences involving Facebook and Twitter were reported to police in 2012, and 653 people charged.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the sport. All children are entitled to feel safe and protected from any form of abuse and neglect, and have the right to take part in sport in a safe, positive and enjoyable environment.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined within the statutory guidance "Working Together to Safeguard Children" as protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children's health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

This Toolkit is designed to assist Club Safeguarding Officers in their role. It should be read in conjunction with the RFU Safeguarding Policy and Guidance and RFU Regulations 15 and 21, all of which can be found on the RFU website. The aim is to ensure that children experience and enjoy the game within a safe environment. Clubs following this best-practice guidance will create a rugby environment in which boys and girls will have fun, achieve success and continue to participate in the sport.