The Maritime Youth Group

Registered Charity 522978​

How do we keep Members safe?

The Maritime Youth Group offers fun, adventure and challenges to our Members. We know that young people thrive in safe surroundings, so the Maritime Youth Group takes the safety of young people very seriously, providing a safe environment for Members to enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities.

We have very clear safety guidelines, which all our Volunteers follow.

We also have our own qualifications and continual training. We carry out a full scale of recruitment checks, on all the Volunteers who work directly with our Members. This includes criminal record disclosure checks (DBS), two checked references, and an informal discussion with a Senior Instructor – the member responsible for the management of adults involved in the Group.

Volunteer qualifications and training

All our adult Volunteers and Assistants undertake internal training, which includes a section covering all aspects of safety. They are also encouraged to undertake other training, such as First Aid and Child Protection Awareness on a regular basis.

Out and about

We undertake a risk assessment for all training, trips and events, and ensure that all adventurous activities are run by suitably experienced Instructors, to ensure that the young Members stay safe whilst having fun!

We also have guidance regarding the ratio of adults to members when going outside the unit:

• Drakes: one adult to five Members
• Hawkes: one adult to eight Members
• Vikings & Spartan Sections: one adult to twelve Members.

Ensuring that Parents are kept informed and data is kept safe

So that the Group can keep Parents informed of all the exciting opportunities available to our young Members, Parents are asked to complete an Enrolment Form which gathers some very basic data that is stored within the Unit. All the information provided on this form will be stored securely, destroyed in line with the Data Protection Act 1998, and protected against unlawful or unauthorised use.

It is the policy of Maritime Youth Group that all personal information, such as names and contact details, will only be used for Group purposes and never be passed to a third party.

Concerns or Compliments

All of our Volunteers give their time freely, and continually ensure that our young Members have fun while enjoying the opportunities that we offer. Being an adult Member of the Maritime Youth Group is hugely rewarding, but hearing from Parents how much their children are enjoying themselves is very rewarding too, so please feel free to leave compliments, as they will be very gratefully received.

It is also the Groups' policy to deal with all questions, concerns and complaints, in an open and fair manner. If for some reason you are ever unhappy with your child’s participation, please talk it through with a member of Staff, so that the situation can be resolved as quickly and effectively as possible. If you feel you cannot do this, you can talk to, or inform a member of the Maritime Youth Group Committee.

Online Safety

No message is posted on our message or chat boards without being reviewed by an adult first. We remove any personal information, such as email addresses, submitted by young people that could put them at risk. This also includes our Facebook group, where all posts are closely monitored.

Members' full names are not included on websites, or in any publications, and photos are not shown or used without their Parents' consent. We also take the time and care to inform our Members and Volunteers about how to stay safe generally, whilst online.

It is the policy of The Maritime Youth Group to safeguard the welfare of all Members by protecting them from neglect and from physical, sexual and emotional harm.

We are committed to:

Taking the interests and well-being of young people into account, in all our considerations, training and activities.

Respecting the rights, wishes and feelings of the young people with whom we work.

Taking all reasonable practicable steps to protect them from neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

Promoting the welfare of young people and their protection within a position of trust.

All members of the Maritime Youth Group, including members of relevant committees who wish to work with young people, are responsible for putting this policy into practice at all times.

An adult volunteer in the Maritime Youth Group has a responsibility to ensure that young people are protected from harm. It is the responsibility of each adult to ensure that:

Their behaviour is appropriate at all times.

They observe the rules established for the safety and security of young people.

They follow the procedures following suspicion, disclosure or allegation of child abuse.

They recognise the position of trust in which they have been placed.

In every respect, the relationships they form with the young people under their care are appropriate.

Should you have any concerns or wish to discuss something confidentially please do not hesitate to contact us.