Dunedin Rugby Football Club (Inc) (Dunedin RFC) acknowledges its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of every child and young person who has been entrusted to its care and is committed to working to provide a safe environment for all members. A child or young person is anyone under the age of 18 engaged in any club sports activity. We strive to ensure a child’s protection with respect to best practice, policy and procedures. The key principles of Dunedin RFC's child protection policy are that:

• The child’s welfare is, and must always be, the paramount consideration.

• All children and young people have a right to be protected from abuse regardless of their age, gender, disability, culture, language, racial origin, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

• All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

• Working in partnership with other organisations, children and young people and their parents or carers is essential.

Safe Environment

Dunedin RFC acknowledge that every child or young person who plays or participates in organised sports should be able to take part in an enjoyable and safe environment and be protected from poor practice and abuse. Dunedin RFC recognises that this is the responsibility of every adult involved in our club. Dunedin RFC has a role to play in safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people by protecting them from physical, sexual or emotional harm and from neglect or bullying. It is noted and accepted that child protection applies to everyone involved in sports, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity. This includes those who are a volunteer, match officials, coaches, club officials or medical staff.

Best practice for child protection

Dunedin RFC endorse and adopt best practice for child protection and for recruiting volunteers and may:

• Develop a role profile

• Request identification documents

• Develop compulsory training for all coaches and Managers

 • As a minimum meet and chat with the applicant(s) and where possible conduct interviews before appointing

 • Require a recognised Police Check where appropriate

All current Dunedin RFC members with direct access to children and young people may be required to complete a recognised Police Check. If there are concerns regarding the appropriateness of an individual who is already involved or who has approached us to become part of Dunedin RFC guidance will be sought from appropriate sources. It is noted and accepted all decisions will be made in the best interests of children and young people. It is accepted that Dunedin RFC aims to prevent people with a history of relevant and significant offending from having contact with children or young people and the opportunity to influence policies or practice with children or young people. This is to prevent direct sexual or physical harm to children and to minimise the risk of ‘grooming’ within sports. Any adult or young person with concerns about a colleague can ‘whistle blow’ by contacting a member of the Junior Club Committee.

The Junior Club President is the first point of contact for all club members and parents or guardians regarding concerns for the welfare of any child or young person. They will liaise directly with the committee and appropriate authorities. They will also play a proactive role in increasing an awareness of poor practice and abuse amongst club members. Dunedin RFC acknowledge bullying as a category of abuse. Bullying of any kind is not acceptable at our club. If bullying does occur, all players, parents or guardians should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly. Incidents need to be reported to the Junior Club President, and/or a member of the junior committee. Codes of conduct for players, parents or spectators, officials and coaches have been implemented by Dunedin RFC. In order to validate these codes of conduct the club has clear sanctions to deal with any misconduct at club level and acknowledges the possibility of potential sanctions which may be implemented in more serious circumstances.

All prospective members have access to these codes and they are supplied at registration and are available on our website; https://www.sporty.co.nz/dunedinrfc