Who is the report about?
It may relate to a child or adult whose welfare you are worried about or a child/adult whose behaviour concerns you.
If the concern is as regards the welfare of an adult, please advise whether the adult is aware that the concern is being forwarded to the Club Safeguarding Officer, which subsequently will be shared with the RFU Safeguarding Team.
Please provide as much personal information as you can (name, address, DOB, RFU id, school etc). Please also specify their role at the club (e.g. player/coach/first aider/parent etc).
Please indicate whether you are aware if they have any specific needs such as any disabilities, special educational needs or additional vulnerabilities.
If your concern relates to more than one person, please be specific about who they are.
Child's family
If your concern involves children, please supply the name and contact details for the child's parent / carer or guardian and who the child lives with. Please include any RFU id.
Are the child's family aware of these concerns?
Have you spoken to the child's family about your concerns and whether they expressed a view about what should be done.
Please advise whether the child's family are aware that the concern is being forwarded to the Club Safeguarding Officer and therefore potentially the RFU Safeguarding Team.
It is ok to report without having spoken to the family - please state the reasons you have not spoken to the family i.e. personal relationship, welfare of child etc.
How do you know about the concerns you are reporting?
You might have directly witnessed something which has concerned you, or someone else may have told you about it. If so, please state who and describe in detail in your own words how you have come into this information.
Details of your concern
When a concern is raised you should not immediately embark upon an internal investigation. This means that in the initial stages, there is no need for you to gather statements or interview anyone.
The Club Safeguarding Officer will however need to establish and gather sufficient information to enable the club to understand the nature of your concern.
Include all the details of your concern and all relevant information, such as a detailed description of your concerns and reasons for this (link to Reg15, Reg21, RFU code of conduct, Safeguarding Policy, if appropriate). Please describe any injuries or actions causing concern and whether you are recording these as fact, opinion or hearsay.
As a rule of thumb, you should be able to give the following information:
What has happened
Where did it happen
When did it happen
Who is involved, and who did what
