NB: A link to the 2024 Self Assessment form for Sports Ireland is located here

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY for The National Aero Club of Ireland

This governing body understands the actions required of it under the Children First Act (2015), Schedule 1, Section 2, where the definition of “relevant services” includes activities undertaken by the National Aero Club of Ireland, as follows (in bold):

“Any work or activity which consists of the provision of—

(a) educational, research, training, cultural, recreational, leisure, social or

physical activities to children,

(b) care or supervision of children, or

(c) formal consultation with, or formal participation by, a child in respect of matters that affect his or her life, whether or not for commercial or any other consideration.”

The National Aero Club of Ireland (NACI) is fully committed to safeguarding the well-being of its members. Every individual in the club should, at all times, show respect and understanding for their rights, safety and welfare, and conduct themselves in a way that reflects the principles of the club and the guidelines contained in the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children’s Sport in Ireland (http://www.irishsportscouncil.ie/Participation/Code_of_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics_Manual/)

Participation for children shall be conducted in a safe, positive, and encouraging atmosphere where the child’s welfare is paramount. The organisation recognises that all children have the right to protection from abuse, as described in Schedule 3, Section 2 of the Children First Act (2015), and will ensure that all instances of inappropriate behaviour will be dealt with. Standards of behaviour for leaders and children are considered to be as important as the standards set for performance in the sport. The club’s aim of achieving a high standard of excellence also extends to personal conduct.

As the governing body for air sports in Ireland, The National Aero Club of Ireland shall work closely with all regulatory bodies to ensure that best practice is followed. To promote best practice in children’s sport, we will comply with the guidelines of the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children’s Sport in Ireland as set out in Section 2.7 of that publication, which require that the organisation shall:

Adopt and implement the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children’s Sport in Ireland as an integral part of its policy on children in the club
Have its constitution approved and adopted by club’s members at an AGM/EGM
Promote the voice of the child, in particular through meetings and the AGM. One parent / guardian should have one vote for all their children under 18 years of age, where relevant
Ensure that the Club Management Committee is elected or endorsed by registered club members at each AGM
Adopt and consistently apply a safe and clearly defined method of recruiting and selecting Sports Leaders
Clearly define the role of committee members, all Sports Leaders and parents/guardians
Appoint at least one Children’s Officer as outlined at 2.8.1 in this Code. In the event that a club caters for both boys and girls, one Children’s Officer of each gender would ideally be appointed
Have a Designated Person to act as liaison with the Statutory Authorities in relation to the reporting of allegations or suspicions of child abuse. (See 5.12) Any such reports should be made according to the procedures outlined in this Code;
Ensure best practice throughout the club by disseminating its code of conduct, including the disciplinary, complaints and appeals procedures in operation within the club to all its members. The club’s code of conduct should also be posted in all facilities used by the club
Have in place procedures for dealing with a concern or complaint made to the Statutory Authorities against a committee member or Sports Leader or other members of the club. Regulations should stipulate that a Sports Leader who is the subject of an allegation, which has been reported to the Statutory Authorities, should stand aside, while the matter is being examined. S/he should be invited to resume full duties when and if appropriate internal disciplinary procedures are completed
Ensure that relevant Sports Leaders report to the Club Management Committee on a regular basis
Encourage regular turnover of committee membership while ensuring continuity and experience
Develop effective procedures for responding to and recording accidents
Ensure that any unusual activity (high rate of dropout, transfers, etc.) is checked out and reported by the Club Chairperson to the Governing Body of Sport
Ensure that all club members are given adequate notice of AGMs and other meetings
Ensure that minutes of all meetings (AGMs, EGMs and Committee) are recorded and safely filed

Risk Assessment

The overall aim of the child protection policy is to keep children safe from harm while they are engaged in any club related activity. In this regard, the National Aero Club of Ireland has:

Carried out a risk assessment to identify whether a child or young person could be harmed while receiving the organisations services
Developed a Child Safeguarding Statement that outlines the policies and procedures that are in place to manage the risks identified
Appointed a national child protection officer to be the first point of contact in respect of the organisation’s Child Safeguarding Statement (Neill Austin, 087 809 2396).

In the National Aero Club of Ireland and by default all the organisations contained within, the potential exists for the following risks to children.

Adult members or older children may:

Risk	Example	Ranking	Risk owner	Current controls	Future actions	Date of next review
Physically hurt, injure, or bully children	Push, slap, pinch or verbally abuse	Low	All members	Always other club members nearby – Air sports by their nature requires many support personnel	Remind all members at the AGM of remaining vigilant in caring for children	11^th June 2024
Give children noxious substances	Alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, ‘pep’ drinks	Low	All members	All alcohol and drugs are forbidden for all members, and we have no history of any abuse in the past	Remind all members of appropriate behaviour	11^th June 2024
Fail to ensure children are safe on the ground	Fail to teach them the ground rules of any active launch area where air sports are being undertaken	Medium	Instructors, support personnel	This is part of the routine initial safety briefing for all members, but children may forget what they have been told	Remind all instructors and support personnel to be conscientious about teaching and reminding children how to act on the airfield	11^th June 2024
Fail to ensure children are safe in the air	Fail to appreciate that children may learn the physical handling of flight controls more quickly than they will learn concepts, judgement and decision-making	Medium	Instructors	All instructors are briefed on this during their training courses	Remind instructors annually, at meetings	11^th June 2024
Expose children to unnecessary cold, heat, intense sunlight or risk of injury	Fail to give a morning briefing on expected effects of weather on all members, fail to check that all children have adequate sun-cream, sunhats, drinking water, warm clothes, etc	Low	Instructors, support staff	It is standard practice to advise all members at the morning briefing to wear sunhats, sun-cream, drink water, etc	Remind instructors to check with children that they have the correct clothing and requirements each day, after briefing	11^th June 2024
Engage in sexual abuse	Unlawful intercourse, inappropriate touching, taking pornographic photographs, swearing, deliberately telling them inappropriate stories or jokes	Low	All members	Always other club members nearby (see above), and no history of this in the past, or concerns about any member at present	Remind instructors and duty pilots not to leave the field at the end of the day if a child member is still there, potentially on their own with one or a small number of other members	11^th June 2024
Cause mental suffering through cruelty on the ground	Taunting or unnecessarily shouting at children	High	All members	Shouting is occasionally heard on active air sports locations. Children may not understand the need for this and be upset. The practice of shouting is discouraged, and if it occurs the person involved is expected afterwards to approach the member who was shouted at, to explain the need for quick action on that occasion	Remind all members of our policy and emphasise that it is especially important not to shout at children	11^th June 2024
Cause mental suffering through cruelty in the air	Subjecting them to undue criticism, or putting them under unreasonable pressure to perform complicated exercises for which they are not ready	Medium	Instructors	All instructors are briefed on this during their training course	Remind instructors annually of the need to take care in this regard	11^th June 2024

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES DEVELOPED TO MINIMISE RISK

In addition to the controls described above in relation to specific risks, the following information is provided for all members, parents and young people under 18.

Recognising abuse

This section briefly explains for club members what child abuse is, how to recognise it and what to do. Child abuse is a term used to describe ways in which children are harmed, usually by adults. This takes many forms including:

Physical abuse – Physical abuse occurs where adults or other children:

Physically hurt or injure children
Give children noxious substances (e.g. alcohol/drugs)

Neglect – Neglect includes situations in which adults:

Fail to meet a child’s physical needs
Consistently leave children alone or unsupervised
Fail to give children affection or attention
Fail to ensure children are safe or expose them to unnecessary cold or risk of injury

Sexual abuse – Children are sexually abused when adults or children use them to meet their own sexual needs; examples include:

Unlawful intercourse
Inappropriate touching
Taking pornographic photographs
Deliberately telling them inappropriate stories or jokes

Mental Cruelty – This can take place if children are:

Taunted or unnecessarily shouted at
Subjected to undue criticism
Put under unreasonable pressure to perform.

Bullying – Bullying may be carried out by adults or by other children:

Bullying is deliberately hurtful behaviour usually repeated over a period of time
Any child can be a victim of bullying
More usual victims are shy, sensitive, anxious and insecure

Knowing when children have been abused

It is not always easy to spot when children have been abused. However, typical symptoms would include:

Unexplained or suspicious injuries
Sexually explicit language or actions
A sudden change in behaviour
The child describes an abusive act
The child loses weight or becomes increasingly dirty or unkempt
The child has a general distrust and avoidance of adults
An unreasonable reaction to normal physical contact

Although a child may be displaying some or all of these signs, it does not necessarily mean the child is being abused.

Protecting children from abuse

The organisation recognises that abusers have difficulty operating in a well-run club with good quality management and training. To minimise the risks to children the club:

Plans the organisation’s operations to minimise the situations where abuse can occur
Has appointed and trained two members of the club (one of each gender) as Children’s Officers
Has trained all relevant persons (e.g., instructors, duty pilots) in the prevention of child abuse
Has issued guidelines on how to deal with abuse and follow established procedures
Ensures that children’s complaints are heard

Members can help in minimising opportunities for abuse and can help protect themselves against allegations by the use of good practice which includes:

Minimising time spent alone with children, except for essential training purposes
Not taking children alone in a car
Not taking children to your home
Not taking photographs of any young person without the parents’ permission
Not engaging with junior club members via social media

Not allowing children to use inappropriate language;
Not making suggestive comments to a child;
Not doing things of a personal nature for children;
Not engaging in physical or sexually provocative games;
Not engaging in inappropriate touching;
Always acting upon allegations made by a child.

Action if a child complains he/she is being abused

If a member receives a complaint of abuse from a child it is essential that appropriate action is taken, as follows:

Stay calm and ensure that the child is safe and feels secure
Consider the environment carefully if recording information
Tell the child that you are taking the complaint seriously
Be honest; explain that you will have to tell somebody else, emphasising that this will be on a ‘need to know’ basis
Document what the child has said as soon as possible
Record basic information – (do not start an investigation)
Be aware that unnecessary interviews with a child may prejudice a police inquiry
Ensure that another adult is present
Avoid touching the child
Avoid rushing into any actions
Avoid making promises you cannot keep
Avoid inappropriate questions
Avoid taking sole responsibility
Report the complaint to the club’s Children’s Officer(s).

Dealing with allegations of abuse

The person informed of the allegation should voice their concerns immediately to the Club’s Children’s officer(s). If a concern about or a complaint against a committee member or Sports Leader or other member of the club is reported to the Statutory Authorities, that individual:

Should stand aside, while the matter is being examined
Should co-operate with the Statutory Authorities making the investigations
Be invited to resume full duties immediately if s/he is vindicated

Guidelines for parents/guardians

Parents/guardians have the primary responsibility for the care and welfare of their children. They should:

Appraise themselves of the club’s policies and rules
Insist that their children abide by the rules and requirements of the club
Liaise with instructors in relation to all requirements for their child’s safety
Advise instructors of any medical conditions that their children may have
Consider joining the club under the family membership scheme

Guidelines for young people under 18

The National Aero Club of Ireland expects that:

Participants take part for fun and to improve their skills, not just to please their parents or instructor
Where rules apply, participants try to understand them and stick to them
Participants recognise that there are hazards on an active airfield and that they must comply with rules made in the interests of safety
Participants accept the decisions of instructors and officials
Participants will control their tempers at all times
Participants will be “good sports” in that they will acknowledge and commend good performance by others
Participants agree that the aim of air sports is to have fun, feel good, and improve skills
Participants will work equally hard for themselves and the club to which they belong
Participants will treat all others as they themselves would like to be treated
Participants will not bully or take unfair advantage of any other participant
Participants will co-operate with the instructor and other participants – without them there would be no club or sport to enjoy

Junior membership (under 18 year-olds)

Considerations – The Most air sports are suitable for girls and boys of any age; however, due to the nature of the sport the following considerations must apply:

In order to benefit from any type of training, the young person must be of sufficient physical size to be able to reach all of the controls in the aircraft.
IAA laws must be adhered to in regard to minimum ages for participation in each air sport
For those under 18 years of age a parent or guardian must countersign registration forms and any forms needed by the organisation before training can commence
Special clothing is not required; however, airfields tend to be exposed places without much shelter. Participants should bring a warm coat, hat, gloves and waterproof footwear – the grass is frequently long and wet. Trousers are recommended to be worn during flying training. A sun-hat (without peaked brim), and sun-cream are necessary on warm days and sun-glasses may be worn, if desired. Sufficient food and water for a day’s strenuous activity is important.

Guidelines for implementation

We recognise that implementation is an on-going process. The National Aero Club of Ireland is committed to the implementation of this Child Safeguarding Statement and the procedures that support our intention to keep children safe from harm while taking part in air sports.

This Child Safeguarding Statement will be reviewed by 24th April 2025, or or as soon as practicable after there has been a material change in any matter to which the statement refers. The last review was 24th April 2024.

Signed