Civil Service Tennis Club

i Good Practice for Coaches cont’d


giving enthusiastic and constructive feedback, encouraging achievements rather than negative criticism

recognising the developmental needs and capacity of children/ young people, including those with a disability . avoiding excessive training or competition and not pushing them against their will

securing parental consent in writing to act in loco parentis, if the need arises to give permission for the administration of emergency first aid and / or other medical treatment

keeping a written record of any injury that occurs, along with the details of any treatment given

requesting written parental consent if club officials are required to transport young people in their cars and best practice is not to do so without the presence of a second adult

keep a written record of any inappropriate body contact with a child

immediately report any accusations made against you or your colleagues

avoid spending any time alone with children/ young people away from others

never take children/ young people to your home

acquiring pre-employment checks on all coaches/ sports leaders

maintaining records on individuals in line with advice from the data protection agency i.e. only holds records on individuals that they have a justifiable reason for holding.


Practices never to be sanctioned

The following should never be sanctioned. You should never:

engage in rough, physical or sexually provocative games, including horseplay

share a room/ tent/ changing room/ bath or shower with a child/ young person

allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching

allow children/ young people to use foul, sexualised or discriminatory language unchallenged

make sexually suggestive comments to a child/ young person, even in fun

reduce a child/ young person to tears as a form of control

allow allegations made by a child to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon

undertake personal care for children/ young people. Ensure that a parent or carer is responsible for personal care

invite or allow children to stay with you at your home.


For further information and copies of the codes of conduct please see Fact Sheets 11 to 14.