Dundee City Sports Council

Child & Vulnerable Adult Protection

The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 has made it a requirement for all voluntary organisations to carry out police checks for all positions which will be dealing with children and vulnerable adults.

All clubs have a legal responsibility to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that unsuitable people are prevented from working with children and vulnerable adults. In order to do this effectively the selection, recruitment, training and support of all staff (volunteers or paid staff) requires a professional and formal approach.

Clubs should screen all volunteers who may have regular unsupervised or one to one contact with children or vulnerable adults i.e. coach or team manager. However, clubs should be aware that volunteers within clubs tend to change their roles regularly. The screening process should be used consistently for all staff recruited or employed by clubs. Current volunteers can be asked to provide the same information as new volunteers. Clubs in Dundee have 3 different options for accessing Disclosure Scotland checks for their volunteers:

=> direct registration with the Central Registered Body Scotland (CRBS)
=> through their National Governing Bod
=> through Dundee City Sports Council

Disclosure Scotland checks for volunteers processed through CRBS or DCSC are free of charge. If clubs register directly with Disclosure Scotland (for checks for paid members of staff or to process volunteer checks quicker than CRBS) there is a £120 registration fee and £18 fee per check.

In order to register with Dundee City Sports Council, clubs / associations must have the following policies and procedures in place:

=> Coaches / members Code of Conduct
=> Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults
=> Policy on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders
=> Disciplinary Procedures

To assist clubs and associations in the production of these policies and procedures, the Sports Development Section of Dundee City Council has created a Safe Club Pack which contains templates policies and procedures that clubs and associations can use and alter for their own circumstances. If a club / association requires assistance please contact Alex Knight on 01382 432328 or email at alex.knight@dundeecity.co.uk to arrange a meeting.