Reporting Lower-Level Concerns or Poor Practice

This document has been produced in collaboration with Sport Wales, Ann Craft Trust (ACT) and the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU)

What is safeguarding? 

Safeguarding is structures and systems to prevent people coming to harm; Preventing and protecting children and adults from abuse or neglect and educating those around them to recognise the signs and dangers. 

It is a set of behaviours and practices that protect a person's right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.

What is poor practice or a ‘lower-level’ concern?

Poor practice or ‘lower-level’ concern refers to the behaviour of an individual or person in a position of responsibility falling below the organisation’s required standard, usually as described in the organisation’s code of conduct or code or practice.

The behaviour may not be immediately dangerous or intentionally harmful, but it is likely to set a poor example. Often a poor practice issue is seen as a lower-level concern, but it still needs to be responded to appropriately by the organisation or club.

Poor practice takes place whenever staff or volunteers fail to provide a good standard of care and support. It occurs when staff ignore the rights of service users or deny them the chance to enjoy an ordinary life. Poor practice which is allowed to continue can cause harm and can become abuse. 

Why is it important to report and record poor practice / a ‘lower-level’ concern? 

It is essential that those involved in sport and physical activities understand that all concerns need to be challenged as soon as possible to correct the behaviour and educate individuals.

The risk of an organisation not receiving reports of poor practice or failing to manage them appropriately is that lower-level concerns cannot be addressed as soon as possible. This can adversely impact on those involved and can allow a situation to escalate.

You can read more about poor practice and lower-level concerns on the CPSU Website. 

Sector Guidance 

The CPSU offers guidance on the following: 

• Sharing of information - how to share safeguarding concerns and information safely which includes what information to share, who to share it with and offer some helpful tips to take away and implement within an organisation.
• Child abuse in sports settings - the types of abuse that can occur and what signs to look out for in a sporting environment.
• Poor Practice/Lower-level concerns - what poor practice is, the risks of not managing poor practice and supporting resources including; template incident reporting forms, sample Codes of Conduct and guidance on safer recruitment.

ACT recommends the following guidance:  

• Home Office National Support Framework – guidance on delivering safer and confident communities and advice on sharing for community safety
• Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) – Sharing Information: supporting implementation of the Care Act 2014

Examples of poor practice / ‘lower-level’ concerns 

Poor practice / lower-level concerns may include:

• inadvertent or thoughtless behaviour that can raise doubts about the person's motivation or skill to work with young people (or adults) such as;
  • being consistently late to a coaching session they are responsible for leaving children waiting and at risk
  • constantly using a mobile device during a coaching activity and not giving the participants the full attention required
  • allowing children to use inappropriate language unchallenged
  • using pet names such as ‘love’, ‘darling’, ‘sweetie’ or ‘babe’
  • talking directly to carers/support workers/family members about the person while the person is present - not addressing the person initially regardless of care/support need.
• behaviour that might be considered inappropriate depending on the circumstances such as;
  • touching a child to position them during a coaching session when it could be done through verbal instruction or demonstration
• behaviour which breaches the organisation's code of conduct but does not meet the threshold for statutory investigation, such as;
  • coaching, officiating and / or volunteering with alcohol on the breath
  • smoking or swearing in front of children
  • not paying due care and attention to all participants
  • showing favouritism
  • shouting aggressively

Why diversity matters in safeguarding

The links between equality, inclusion and safeguarding

Safeguarding concerns related to diversity can be categorised as ‘lower-level’ or ‘higher-level’ depending on the severity of the risk. Lower-level safeguarding concerns generally involve behaviours, attitudes, or practices that may be unintentionally discriminatory or exclusionary but do not pose an immediate threat of harm. Some examples of low-level safeguarding concerns related to diversity may include:

• Microaggressions
• Lack of Representation
• Insensitive Language
• Stereotyping

Overall, lower-level safeguarding concerns related to diversity may not be as immediately alarming as higher-level concerns like physical abuse or harassment. However, they can still contribute to a culture of discrimination and exclusion that can have serious long-term consequences. It is essential to address these concerns proactively and create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone.

Examples of safeguarding and inclusion/exclusion 

Safeguarding

• Background checks: Sports organisations often require coaches, officials, and volunteers to undergo background checks to ensure they have no history of criminal activity or misconduct that could pose a risk to participants.
• Codes of conduct: Establishing and enforcing codes of conduct for athletes, coaches, and staff helps promote appropriate behaviour and prevent abusive or harmful actions within the sporting environment.
• Child protection policies: Sports organisations often implement comprehensive child protection policies that outline procedures for identifying, reporting, and responding to instances of child abuse or neglect.
• Education and training: Providing education and training programs for coaches, officials, and volunteers helps increase awareness of safeguarding issues and equips individuals with the knowledge and skills to prevent and respond to potential risks.

Inclusion/Exclusion: 

• Anti-discrimination policies: Sports organisations enforce strict policies against discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability, or sexual orientation, ensuring fair and equal treatment for all participants.
• Accessible facilities: Ensuring sports facilities are accessible to individuals with disabilities by incorporating ramps, elevators, accessible bathrooms, and designated seating areas allows everyone to participate and enjoy sporting events.
• Gender inclusion: Promoting gender inclusivity in sports involves providing equal opportunities for female athletes, addressing gender-based disparities, and challenging stereotypes and biases.
• Adaptive sports: Offering adaptive sports programs and competitions allows individuals with disabilities to engage in sports activities specifically designed to accommodate their needs, promoting inclusivity, and enhancing their physical and mental well-being.

GDPR and Data Protection

There is a fair amount of myth and misinformation around the use of personal information for safeguarding and how it fits into data protection. Many sporting organisations Sport Wales has worked with believe that GDPR prevents them recording safeguarding personal information for the purpose of safeguarding, or worse still, think they may end up being prosecuted. 

The General Data Protection Regulations came into effect in 2018 and set out how personal data must be used within law. The law sets out two types of personal information types; that of ‘normal’ and ‘special category’ data, of which both types are likely to be used in safeguarding issues.  

To understand how data protection impacts safeguarding record keeping, it is important to understand both types of data.  

So why do we need to know about normal and special category data?  

GDPR sets out a number of reasons (called ‘lawful conditions’) by which an organisation can use personal information. These reasons differ as to whether it is normal or special category data. Without these reasons, no organisation can record, store or process personal information.  

Can we record personal information for lower-level safeguarding concerns?  

The short answer is yes, as long as you follow sensible precautions and defensible decision-making processes:  

1. Identify the lawful condition that allows you to record and use personal information. 

You will need to ensure you have a lawful condition that allows you to record, store and use personal information.  

• For normal category information, you will be relying on the lawful condition of ‘processing is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person’ (or Article 6.1.(d) to give it its proper title).
• For special category information, you will be relying on the lawful condition of ‘processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law’ (or Article 9.2.(b) to give it its proper title).

These lawful conditions should be included in your Record of Processing Activity.  

2. Can the people whose information I’m storing for safeguarding see it?  

If you are holding information about a person in relation to safeguarding, they have several rights they can exercise. These are:  

• The right to access the information
• The right to have inaccuracies corrected - this can be complicated in relation to safeguarding, as an individual may contest information held on them, particularly if information is anecdotal or unsubstantiated. If you are requested to change information, it is recommended you contact ACT or NSPCC for advice.

3. How should I keep records or notes to comply with GDPR? And how long? 

It is important that when keeping notes in relation to safeguarding, they are stored somewhere safe and secure. Only those people who need the information should be able to access. For organisations using Microsoft Office, applying a password to the document ensures you have control over who can access it. 

Documents relating to safeguarding should not be kept in shared folders or drives. Instead, they should be kept in secure areas that cannot be accessed by others.  

For smaller organisations that use personal devices rather than ‘corporate’ owned devices, you should ensure that there is password or other security features in place to prevent others being able to locate and open the notes.  

Your organisation should have a retention schedule which sets out how long you should keep all types of personal information for. When deciding (and documenting) how long you should keep safeguarding information for, you will want to factor in the fact that low level safeguarding issues can take a while to work through. A retention period of seven years may be useful.   

Further Contact

If you would like to discuss lower-level concerns further and what support may be available to your organisation, or have a specific question around data protection and GDPR, please feel free to contact: 

Phil Stevens - Sport Wales Data Protection Officer

[javascript protected email address](In relation to Concerns and Data Protection)

Clare Skidmore - Governance Development Officer

[javascript protected email address](In relation to Safeguarding and Governance)