Working in partnership with our customers is extremely important to us. As training providers and consultants in the business world, we know the value of training and we realise the difficulties that small businesses have in upskilling workforces and meeting legal compliance.
THA football Centres are an independent family owned coaching business that supplies football training to children aged between 2 to 16 years across 3 geographical centres. Many family members work in the business but they also employ young people. Some of these are still or have recently completed courses in coaching at University. Some of them may be volunteers, but all of them want and need to gain experience in coaching children to follow their dreams to be a sports coach.
As the centres only run for a few hours per week, this gives the management team logistical problems in gathering staff for training. Over recent years, new legislation with regard to safeguarding along with current health and safety legislation can prove a minefield for small businesses to keep up with requirements.
For example, following the implementation of The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 which provided for a new Vetting and Barring Scheme under which individuals who wish to engage in certain types of employment or activity involving contact with children or vulnerable adults must be vetted.
It is also now a statutory requirement for anyone working with children and their families to have training around safeguarding and child protection issues.
Specific areas of national policy such as Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013, Keeping Children Safe in Education, and legislation such as the Children Act 2004, the Education Act 2002, and the Childcare Act 2006 have all set out the roles and responsibilities of individual and specific services in developing safeguarding children knowledge and practice.
It sounds like a mine field but when your working with children and vulnerable groups it is vitally important to get the right training for your staff. With 40 years experience in business, commerce and the legal frameworks that govern health, safety and welfare, KIS Safety Services had the experience to help THA Football Centre cover the training requirements needed for both senior managers and staff.
For all employees and volunteers, we advised the company to utilise our online training portal. This allows staff to go online and complete the courses required to fulfil the companies legal obligations, at a time convenient to staff and without the need to gather staff and the logistical headache that may cause. This also provides the staff member or volunteer with an approved qualification that they can take with them on their coaching journey.
There are also other health and safety considerations to take into account. Insurance companies now play a big role in working with businesses, even small ones. The safety of staff and patrons is paramount and the need to conduct risk assessments and implement training for staff is a top priority.
With regard to safeguarding, our advice for THA Football Centres was to utilise our online video training for Safeguarding Children. This training focuses on the work and processes undertaken to minimise and manage the risks involved to vulnerable children. During the training video staff hear many facts, figures and details surrounding the risk to children, the types of abuse suffered, how to recognise the signs of abuse and key safeguarding legislations put in place to minimise the abuse of children.
There are indeed many safeguarding courses available, many run in connection with the governing bodies of sport. However the feedback from staff was that the course was remarkably in depth and taught them much more than previous courses they had taken online.
For health and safety aspects, as consultants to the company, we were able to recognise specific training requirements for staff. This included manual handling of sports equipment, training in risk assessment, as new venues would be utilised for occasional training delivery, such as half term and summer camps.
As everchanging venues would be utilised for the company in their business operations, it was also important for camp managers to be able to deal with emergencies such as fire safety and injuries. So our courses on Fire Marshall and First Aid in terms of Emergency First Aid and Paediatric First Aid would be helpful in giving staff a level of awareness which was backed up by an element of practical training to reinforce skill sets.
On reflection how can THA Football Centres example help you in your business.
If you run a business that involves children as patrons and you want to be assured of their safety at all times, then following the elements of “good practice” shown by THA Football Centres as a benchmark is a good start.
Identifying hazards facing staff, children and parents at venue sites and implementing a plan of control measures is key. Having staff understand how and when they play a role in both their own and customer safety is paramount.
An excellent start is to speak to KIS Safety Services to discuss your requirements, both from a health and safety perspective but also from a management perspective. You can view the range of courses available online by KIS Training that are both approved and accredited
Safeguarding Children
Safeguarding is a term that describes the work and processes undertaken to minimise and manage the risks involved to vulnerable children. During this training video you will hear many facts, figures and details surrounding the risk to children, the types of abuse suffered, how to recognise the signs of abuse and key safeguarding legislations put in place to minimise the abuse of children.
Approved by CPD – Duration 75 mins* – £35.00 including VAT