Elite Soccer Academy has developed the following Child Protection Code of Conduct to guide our employees/volunteers in their interactions with children. The safety, rights, and well-being of the children we serve are at the core of Elite Soccer Academy’s daily programs. Elite Soccer Academy nurtures supportive relationships with children while balancing and encouraging appropriate boundaries.
Elite Soccer Academy is committed to ensuring all children are protected and safe. A Code of Conduct is an important part of creating safe environments for children. The safety, rights and well-being of children participating in our programs is a priority in the daily operations of Elite Soccer Academy. The Code of Conduct intends to guide the Club’s staff and volunteers in developing healthy relationships with the children involved in sports programs delivered by Elite Soccer Academy, and to model appropriate boundaries for children.
All staff/volunteers must:
Treat all children with respect and dignity.
Establish, respect, and maintain appropriate boundaries with all children, families and friends involved in activities or programs delivered by the organization. It is important to monitor your behaviour towards children and pay close attention to the behaviour of your peers to ensure that behaviour is appropriate and respectful and will be perceived as such by others. All of your interactions and activities with children should be:
Known to Elite Soccer Academy and the parents of the child.
Tied to your duties and designed to develop the child’s skills within Elite Soccer Academy programming.
Always consider the child’s reaction to any activities, conversations, behaviour, or other interactions. If at any time you are in doubt about the appropriateness of your behaviour or the behaviour of others, you should discuss it with senior member of Elite Soccer Academy via email format or schedule a 1on1 meeting with those individuals.
Examples of unacceptable behaviour toward a child:
Embarrassing them, Shaming them, Blaming them, Humiliating them, Putting them down.
Staff/volunteers of Elite Soccer Academy must not:
Engage in any sort of physical contact with a child that may make the child or a reasonable observer feel uncomfortable, or that may be seen by a reasonable observer to be violating reasonable boundaries.
Engage in any communication with a child within or outside of duties with the child, that may make the child uncomfortable or that may be seen by a reasonable observer to be violating reasonable boundaries.
Engage in any behaviour that goes against (or appears to go against) the organization’s mandate, policies, or Code of Conduct to Protect Children, regardless of whether they are serving the organization at that moment.
Conduct their investigation into allegations or suspicions of potentially illegal or inappropriate behaviour – a staff/volunteer must report the matter to the designated person, Child Welfare Agency, or law enforcement, not to investigate.
Inappropriate behaviour includes:
Inappropriate Communication. Communication with a child or his/her family outside of the context of duties for the organization, regardless of who initiated the exchange. For example:
Personal phone calls, not tied to duties with the child. Electronic communications, (email, text message, instant message, online chats, social networking including “friending”, etc.) are not tied to duties with the child.
Team group chats are permitted, however, there must be a minimum of 2 Adults involved with the chat group. For example, Head Coach and Team Manager or a Parent.
Personal letters, not tied to duties with the child. Excessive communications (online or offline) This code is intended as an example only.
Organizations must adjust for use, considering any existing policies, local legal and licensing requirements, and risks facing the organization.
Inappropriate Contact:
Spending unauthorized time with a child outside of designated Elite Soccer Academy duties.
Favouritism
Singling out a child or certain children and providing special privileges and attention. For example, paying a lot of attention to, giving, or sending personalized gifts, or allowing privileges that are excessive, unwarranted or inappropriate.
Taking Personal Photos/Videos
Using a personal cell phone, camera or video to take pictures of a child, or allowing any other person to do so, as well as uploading or copying any pictures you may have taken of a child to the
Internet or any personal storage device.
Pictures taken as part of your job duties are acceptable (i.e., game action, team photos etc.), however, the pictures are to remain with the organization and not be used by you in a personal capacity.
Inappropriate behaviour also includes:
Telling sexual jokes to a child or making comments to a child that are or is in any way suggestive, explicit or personal.
Showing a child material that is sexual, including, signs, cartoons, graphic novels, calendars, literature, photographs, screen savers, or displaying such material in plain view of a child or making such material available to a child.
Intimidating or threatening a child.
Making fun of a child.
Inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated, especially as it relates to the well-being of the children involved in activities or programs delivered by the Brampton Elite Soccer Academy. Whether or not a particular behaviour or action constitutes inappropriate behaviour will be a matter determined by Elite Soccer Academy having regard to all the circumstances, including past behaviour, and allegations or suspicions related to such behaviour.
All staff and volunteers must report suspected child sexual abuse, inappropriate behaviour or incidents that they become aware of, whether the behaviour or incidents were personally witnessed or not. All allegations or suspicions of potentially illegal behaviour (for example, child sexual abuse) that a staff/volunteer witnesses first-hand must be promptly reported to the police and/or child welfare.
To ensure the protection of all children in our care, all allegations or suspicions of potentially illegal behaviour that a staff/volunteer learns of must also be promptly reported to the police and/or child welfare. Police and/or child welfare will determine whether the allegation or suspicion requires further investigation.
All allegations or suspicions of inappropriate behaviour (see above examples), that a staff/volunteer learns of, or witnesses first-hand must be reported to a senior member of Elite Soccer Academy by email.
Keep in mind that you may learn of potentially illegal or inappropriate behaviour through the child or some other 3rd party, or you may witness it first-hand. Examples of the type of behaviour you may learn of or witness and that you must report as set out above includes:
Potentially Illegal behaviour by a Staff/Volunteer of the organization.
Potential Illegal behaviour by a 3rd party, such as a Parent, Teacher, Babysitter, Coach, etc.
If you are not sure whether the issue you have witnessed or heard about involves potentially illegal behaviour or inappropriate behaviour, discuss the issue with a senior member of Elite Soccer Academy who will support you through the process.
Remember: You have an independent duty to report all suspicions of potentially illegal behaviour directly to police and/or child welfare.
When an allegation or suspicion of potentially illegal behaviour is reported, police and/or a child welfare agency will be notified. Elite Soccer Academy will follow up internally as appropriate. When an allegation or suspicion of inappropriate behaviour is made, the sports organization will follow up on the matter to gather information about what happened and determine what, if any, formal or other disciplinary action is required.
In the case of inappropriate behaviour, if multiple behaviours were reported.
Inappropriate behaviour is recurring, or the reported behaviour is of serious concern Elite Soccer Academy may refer the matter to a child welfare agency or the police.
In the case of inappropriate behaviour, if multiple behaviours were reported.
Inappropriate behaviour is recurring, or the reported behaviour is of serious concern Elite Soccer Academy may refer the matter to a child welfare agency or the police.
THE CANADIAN CENTRE FOR CHILD PROTECTION
Guidelines for Adults Interacting with Children in Sport:
Reporting Sexual Abuse and Misconduct:Steps for Reporting Child Abuse:
Steps for Reporting Inappropriate Conduct:
