Young people come first.

Version: 2026-10-23. Effective from 23 October 2026.

1. Purpose and scope

Every young person deserves to be treated with dignity and to have concerns taken seriously. This policy covers registration, enquiries and the standards that must be met before a child participates in a JP Club Forum. Registration itself does not give access to a session, another child or a facilitator.

Our age groups are Discover (9-11), Explore (12-14) and Choose (15-17). No claim of accreditation, completed facilitator screening or completed training is made merely by publishing this policy. Those controls must be documented for the people and activities involved.

2. How to raise a concern

A child, parent, guardian or other person can contact highfive@jpclub.org, marked “Safeguarding concern”. Share only the information needed for an initial response; ask for an appropriate route for sensitive material. Include a safe way to contact you. A concern should not be dismissed because someone cannot provide every detail.

This mailbox is not an emergency service and cannot promise continuous monitoring. If someone is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services or child-protection authority where the child is located. Do not wait for an email reply.

If the concern involves the person normally handling it, request escalation to another director or designated alternate. You may also approach a competent child-protection authority or police directly. Before Forum participation starts, parents must be given the names and working contact routes of the designated safeguarding lead and an independent alternate.

3. Responding to concerns

The club must prioritise immediate safety, record the concern factually and restrict information to people who need it to respond. It must not promise absolute secrecy. Information may need to be disclosed to protect a child, comply with reporting duties or support an investigation.

The designated lead must assess urgency, take protective action, preserve relevant evidence and consult or notify competent authorities where required. The club must not substitute its own enquiry for a statutory investigation or ask a child to repeatedly recount an allegation. Parent involvement must be assessed with the child’s safety and legal duties in mind, including where a parent is the subject of the concern.

Concerns about staff, volunteers or facilitators must be referred to the alternate or appropriate authority. Protective restrictions on contact may be necessary while concerns are assessed. Good-faith reporting must not result in retaliation.

4. Adult conduct and suitability

Before any adult is permitted to work with or have relevant access to children, the club must verify identity, role suitability and the checks legally required in the relevant jurisdictions. This includes applicable Child Protection Register and National Register for Sex Offenders checks, plus appropriate overseas checks where relevant. A general police clearance alone must not be assumed to satisfy every requirement.

Facilitators must complete documented safeguarding induction and agree to conduct and reporting rules before leading children. Training, clearance and review records must be maintained with restricted access. Only accurate, evidenced statements about screening and training may be made to families.

5. Contact, sessions and peer behaviour

Adults must use approved club communication routes. Private or unsupervised one-to-one adult-child contact, personal social-media contact, secrecy, inappropriate gifts or grooming behaviour are not permitted. Registration communications are directed to the parent or guardian.

Before sessions begin, the club must approve platform settings, access control, attendance and supervision arrangements, parent contact routes and age-appropriate behaviour rules. Children must have a clear way to report bullying, discrimination, inappropriate content or unwanted contact. Parents must be told how younger members’ access should be supervised.

Do not record, photograph, screenshot, publish or distribute information about another child without an approved lawful basis and any required separate permission. Recording or promotional-image consent is not a condition of free registration. Any proposed session recording needs a separate notice, purpose, access rules and retention period before it occurs.

6. Privacy and record handling

Safeguarding information must be stored separately from routine matching notes where appropriate, with access limited to authorised people. Retention, sharing and deletion must reflect child-protection duties and applicable law. The Privacy Policy explains the registration-stage information arrangements.

7. Before participation and future experiences

A Forum must not begin until its accountable safeguarding lead and alternate, screening, training, session controls and reporting procedures are verified. The parent must receive the applicable participation arrangements before accepting a place. In-person experiences require an additional activity-specific assessment, consent and emergency arrangements; this website registration is not permission for a camp, trip or event.

This policy and its implementation must be reviewed after a material incident, significant service change and at least annually. Any unresolved safeguarding readiness items must be completed before the affected activity starts.

Questions? highfive@jpclub.org