Safeguarding in Ringing

BTO is committed to creating an inclusive environment. Our activities and events are open to anyone interested in our work, regardless of age, nationality, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality and socio-economic status. Read our full inclusivity statement and code of conduct.

• Inspiring and developing people is a priority for BTO and critical for the future health of the Ringing Scheme
• The more informed our ringing network is, the less likely there is to be a problem. Abuse thrives on secrecy, and abusers are known to seek opportunities where their activities will go unnoticed or unchallenged.
• All ringers, whether professionals or amateurs, and whether directly involved in training young people or not, should have an understanding of safeguarding, the measures that are in place, and the role all can play in keeping people that come into contact with BTO safe from harm and abuse.

‘Young people’ or ‘children’ are used in this policy; both refer to those under the age of 18 for which there are clear rules, systems and expectations in place if your work will involve contact with them.

*There may be different considerations for younger children (under 13) compared to older children (13+). However, this may be affected by individual needs and so you are encouraged to think about this on a case-by-case basis.

‘Adults’ refers to those that are 18 and over.

‘Volunteer’, for the purposes of this policy and according to DBS, is defined as “any person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit some third party and not a close relative.”

‘Regulated activity’ is activity which occurs once a week or more, or on 4 or more days in 30, or overnight

‘The ringer in charge’ refers to the ringer in charge of the ringing session, which may or may not be the trainer. It also might vary from session to session

Working with children requires additional care to ensure that they are kept safe. In addition to thinking carefully about health-and-safety issues, we must also follow procedures to keep children and young people safe from those who would wish them harm. We recognise that many ringers would like to help develop the skills of young people. With effective systems in place, the benefits associated with ringing can be enjoyed safely by young people.

Read BTO’s Safeguarding Children Policy (to follow).

This policy mainly covers issues relating to the safeguarding of children. However, adults at risk may be members of the ringing community, including trainers, trainees, attendees at events, and members of the public. As such you should be aware of how adults may be at risk of harm or abuse and how they may require additional care or steps in the course of activities or interactions. Adults may be at risk of harm or abuse if they:

• have an illness affecting their mental or physical health
• have a learning disability
• suffer from drug or alcohol problems
• are frail.

Read BTO’s Safeguarding Adults at Risk Policy (to follow).

1. To act as the named trainer of a child you require a Young Persons’ Training Endorsement (YPTE) in advance of signing the young person up as a trainee. This requires an enhanced criminal record check and barred list check as the work has been assessed as meeting the criteria for ‘regulated activity.’ The specific check required will depend upon the rules in pace in the country where the activity is taking place – you can find out more about this in our Vetting Procedures Policy (below).
2. You must ensure that there is more than one adult present (within sight or hearing) during all activities with a child, this is part of BTO’s approach to safe practice. This point applies whether or not you hold a YPTE or have completed vetting procedures. From this, it follows that training of a child by a single adult trainer, or any adult in isolation, should not take place. If there is no suitable group for the training to take place within, then it is recommended that the young person’s parent/carer be asked to attend the training sessions also. This point applies equally to driving a young person to/from a ringing session.
3. All ringers (not just ringing trainers) must not work regularly with children (defined as once a week or more, or on 4 or more days in 30 or overnight) without completing the vetting procedures required by law in the country of work.
4. If you are the named trainer of someone under the age of 18 then should ensure that other ringers regularly working with that young person are aware of and are following the requirements set out here. You must notify the BTO if another person will regularly be involved in their training and therefore meets the definition of a volunteer and will undertake regulated activity, i.e. attending sessions with a young person once a week or more, or on 4 or more days in 30, or overnight. Notify the ringing team who will assess the role and carry out the necessary checks.

Note that none of the above rules applies when the child is a close relative (e.g. child, sibling, grandchild etc)

The automated BTO ‘Find a Trainer’ system asks if someone is under 18. If they answer ‘yes’ they are asked to contact ringing.licensing [at] bto.org to arrange training.

Upon receipt of a request from a child or young person (or their parent/ carer) to find a trainer, BTO will contact ringers in the area to identify a suitable trainer. Once a suitable trainer has been identified, we will seek permission from the parent or carer to pass contact details to this ringer. Prior to this, all enquiries will be made without revealing contact details or identities to the ringers:

• If the request has come from the parent or carer we will pass this information on.
• If the request is from a child under the age of 13 we ask that the parent/ carer is the main contact
• If the request is from a child who is 13 or over they can be the main contact, but in all cases, it is advised that parents/ carers are copied into communications about ringing training, irrespective of age. This follows the same principle as 1 or more adults in sight or hearing.

If you, as a ringer, are contacted directly by a young person with respect to training (either online or in person) and you do not hold a YTPE you must pass the request to BTO staff (ringing.licensing [at] bto.org). If you are willing to consider the request to train the young person we will help you through the steps.  

In the event that there is an agreement to train a young person without BTO’s involvement, upon receipt of a T-permit (training permit) application form from a young person, ringing staff will be alerted to the need to carry out necessary checks. 

Trainers agreeing to take on trainees under the age of 18 will be passed through the relevant checks in advance and issued an YPTE. We are not able to pass Trainers through the checking process in a speculative manner as this contravenes the checking rules; checks will only occur when trainers have agreed to take on a named trainee.

Training cannot commence until the necessary checks are completed and the YTPE is issued.  The exception to this is if you are carrying out a taster session; then a parent/ carer must be present for this.

Once a trainer has agreed to train a young person, and after a successful taster session but before starting to train the young person, the trainer must obtain a signed consent form from the parent/carer.

We encourage you to make us aware of any convictions that may be returned from these checks so that we can talk to you about this. It does not automatically mean that you won’t be issued with a YPTE; any decision about suitability will be made on a case-by-case basis, based upon a balanced judgement where the welfare of the child or young person is the priority. You can read more about our approach and your rights, in our recruiting ex-offenders policy (to follow).

Your YPTE will expire after 3 years. If you are still the named trainer for a young person at that time you will need a new check, or a review of your existing check, before it can be renewed. You cannot continue to train a child or young person if the YPTE expires.

If you are in England and Wales you should join the DBS update service.BTO can carry out a review of your check every 3 years (if you are still a named trainer or a ringer meeting the criteria for regulated activity) without the need to reapply.

In all other countries, you will be asked to reapply if you are still a named trainer or you are still regularly working with a young person.

• If you have concerns about another ringer, or if anyone else accuses you of inappropriate conduct, you must act.
• Nothing in this policy should stand in the way of you contacting the police or social services if necessary.
• Any person accused of inappropriate conduct should be removed from the situation and not have further contact with any young people until the matter has been investigated and resolved.
• Where possible keep other young people away from any incident.
• Make sure the ringer in charge is made aware.
• If the emergency services or any other agency are involved, make sure you know what follow-up is expected, if any.

Any breaches of this policy must be reported to BTO’s Safeguarding Leads:

• Andrew Scott (01842 750050 andrew.scott [at] bto.org),
• Sian Knott (01842 750050 sian.knott [at] bto.org).

All allegations have to be investigated by BTO and potentially also by the police and other agencies.  It should be remembered that allegations can cause extreme stress for the individuals involved. Discretion is paramount except for those with a need to know.

Training to ring can result in healthy relationships between generations. One result of this is that a young person may disclose a safeguarding incident from another part of their life to you as a trusted adult. 

If a young person wants to talk and discloses something of concern, never promise to keep a secret and always report it to an appropriate professional. Any such disclosures should not become salacious gossip and the individual should be treated with dignity. 

Investigating a safeguarding significant concern is not your responsibility. The NSPCC offers a free advice line at 0808 800 5000 for adults in this situation.

You should always feel enabled to go directly to the police or social services with any concerns you have.

Volunteers and staff must report all concerns or allegations of abuse to the BTO’s Safeguarding Leads:

• Andrew Scott (01842 750050 andrew.scott [at] bto.org),
• Sian Knott (01842 750050 sian.knott [at] bto.org).

• Andrew Scott (01842 750050 andrew.scott [at] bto.org),
• Sian Knott (01842 750050 sian.knott [at] bto.org).

If you have a complaint about the behaviour of any BTO volunteer or staff member you have come into contact with, you can raise a complaint via our Compliments, Comments and Complaints policy.