This has been an incredibly serious and busy week, pretty much all along the lines of safeguarding.
A multi sports meeting around the topic of safeguarding and wellbeing. I find these kinds of meetings fascinating, frustrating and inspiring if they are my sport, multi sport or work related. You have the opinions about titles – safeguarding, welfare, child protection officers ……… and many more.
The debate about what is expected of those who take up such roles and does this vary depending on where within structure – club, county, regional, national levels. Are expectations varied depending upon if you are paid or a volunteer?
Then we enter the debate about who is responsible for safeguarding! Just those with the job title, wider committee, dare I say it? EVERYONE!
Then how do we deal with things, take details and hand it off and walk away, stay and help, support ……
Is a safeguarding course enough or should there be continuous CPD?
These meetings can take hours of unmanaged and at some point I usually feel my temper triggered. However I always come away equally inspired to have usually found others, who like me, take it incredibly seriously and one of, if not the most important topics we deal with.
Many of us who volunteer in these roles also work in something similar or connected to the issues we deal with and as such we take it incredibly seriously, the understanding of what matters left undealt with can lead too in the long term. We also understand why it’s vital those of us in these roles have a supportive network to turn to.
Anyhow it was, as always, a productive evening with links created.
Some virtual catch ups for me with a couple of archers who I have been supporting for a long time, great to catch up, see how they are getting on, discuss a couple of worries and create a plan for going forward.
Then a huge crash as something happened that threatened my feeling of safety and the work I have done to look after me. Thankfully I have people who reached out.
Some news that prompted some reviews of big issues that I have been dealing with for some time and firm decisions that I have made around who I now involve in these to further issues that are just not being resolved. Ultimately I need to know I did every to keep everyone safe and sometimes that requires more than 1 agency.
Risk assessments for young people at work and as always the disappointment that opportunities were missed for these and help that might have been sought sooner, that could have made a massive difference and reduction in trauma sorrowfully missed and now we look at how best to support recovery. This just makes the conversations around sport more focussed as I fully understand the damage of things left undealt with can do.
Last night dealing with a raid traffic accident outside of work for several hours and wondering how the gentleman is today, his prognosis and recovery and his family, hopefully they are all ok and being supported now and through the states of whatever happens. The crew for police interceptors was on scene so maybe I might find out in some months when that airs but I am fairly confident I managed to avoid being in shot, I am well practised in avoiding them when out with the roads policing officers and when they are in the officers trying to get footage when I have been at work 🤔🙃 No desire to pop up in tv shows 🫣
So apologies if you are waiting on something, I have been a tad busy with other stuff, I will get there in the next few days.
Hope you are all well and enjoying your weekend. See you all soon I am sure ❤️🏹
Remember – if those of us who care join together we can change things 🫶
