Child Safety Policy

Our commitment

Zero tolerance of child abuse and harm

VECL Chennai is committed to the safety and wellbeing of every child and young person in the league. We have zero tolerance of child abuse and harm, in any form, by anyone. In this policy a child is anyone under 18.

Every adult involved with the league shares this responsibility: staff, coaches, selectors, umpires, scorers, club staff, volunteers, contractors, and parents and spectators at our grounds. If you are worried about a child, you are expected to act, and this policy tells you how.

VECL Chennai is run by Elite Cricket Academy and Sports Gear Private Limited, Medavakkam, Chennai. It is part of the Victorian Elite Cricket League, whose own Child Safety Policy applies in Australia; the two are written to work together.

Who and what

Who this policy covers, and where

People: Everyone who works or volunteers for the league, paid or unpaid; staff of the four clubs (Sholinganallur Falcons, Medavakkam Eagles, Velachery Warriors and Perungudi Panthers); selectors visiting from the Melbourne league; contractors such as umpires, scorers, photographers and streaming crews; and parents and spectators, as far as the conduct section of our Policies applies to them.
Activities: Team selection days, the Season 1 matches and any training, presentations, travel to Melbourne with the league, and any online contact connected with the league, including WhatsApp groups and social media.

What we mean by harm

Abuse and harm take many forms

Physical: Hitting, slapping, shaking or any use of force that injures or could injure a child, including corporal punishment of any kind and punishment through excessive running or training.
Sexual abuse and grooming: Any sexual activity with a child, any sexual comment, contact, gesture or image, and any behaviour that builds a relationship with a child or their family in order to abuse them. These are offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO).
Emotional: Bullying, humiliation, threats, persistent shouting or belittling, including about a child's performance, caste, religion, language, gender, body or family.
Neglect: Failing to give a child the care, supervision, water, rest, shade or medical attention they need while in our care. In Chennai's heat this matters every Sunday.
Online: Inappropriate messages, images or contact through phones, WhatsApp or social media.
From other children: Harm can come from adults or from other children, including ragging and bullying between players. Both are covered.

The code for adults

What every adult working with children agrees to

Every adult in a role with players signs this code before they start. Breaching it can end their involvement with the league, and anything that may be an offence is reported to the police.

Work in the open: Stay where other adults can see and hear you. Follow the two-adult rule: never be alone and out of sight with a single child. If a one-to-one moment cannot be avoided — an injury, a medical issue, a distressed child — stay in view of others and tell another adult straight away.
Physical contact: Explain any contact a coaching point needs before you make it, keep it to what the skill needs, and stop if the child is uncomfortable.
Changing and toilets: Adults do not use changing areas or toilets at the same time as children. Nobody takes a phone into them, and nobody photographs or films there.
Messages: Never contact a player privately by phone, text, WhatsApp, direct message or social media. League messages go to the parent's number on the registration, or to a group that includes parents.
Transport: Never give a child a lift alone. League staff do not transport players.
Never: Use corporal punishment, humiliate or threaten a child; make sexual comments or jokes; give one child gifts or special treatment or ask them to keep a secret; supply or allow alcohol, tobacco, gutka, vapes or drugs, or be affected by them while responsible for children.
Photographs: Photograph or film a child only as the Photography and Media Policy allows, and never keep images of players on a personal device beyond what it allows.
Report: Report any concern, however small, using the steps below.

Suitable people

Who can work with children, and how we check

India has no single working-with-children card, so the league checks every adult in a role with players itself, before they start:

Identity: Identity is verified and recorded. As with players, we sight the document and record that it was checked; we do not keep a copy.
Police verification: A police verification or police clearance certificate, no more than two years old, for every adult aged 18 or over in a role with players: coaches, team managers, selectors, umpires, scorers, photographers and anyone who travels with players. Staff from the Melbourne league hold a verified Victorian Working with Children Check instead.
References and interview: At least one referee, preferably from earlier work with children, and an interview that includes questions about child safety.
The code and a briefing: They sign the code above and are briefed on this policy before they start, and again at the start of every season.

We stop a person's involvement immediately if we learn of anything that makes them unsuitable to work with children.

The people responsible

Who to tell

Chennai child safety contact: The League Director, VECL Chennai · info@elitecricketacademy.co.in with "Child safety" in the subject · +91 93846 63776
League Child Safety Officer: Dhana Murugavel, Director, Victorian Elite Cricket League · info@vecl.au. Use this contact as well if the concern is about anyone in Chennai, including the League Director.
On the day: Any coach or official at the ground will take you to the person in charge.

The Chennai child safety contact receives concerns, makes sure reports go where they must, keeps the records and the screening register, and reports every concern to the league's Child Safety Officer.

If you are worried

What to do

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112. For a child who needs care or protection, call Childline 1098, free, day or night.

1. Make the child safe: Separate them from the person causing harm if you can do so safely. Get medical help if they need it.
2. Listen, don't investigate: If a child tells you something, stay calm, believe them and let them talk. Don't ask leading questions, don't promise to keep it secret, and don't confront the person they name.
3. Write it down the same day: Use the child's own words where you can. Note the date, time, place, who was there and what you saw or heard.
4. Report it: Under POCSO section 19, anyone who knows of, or suspects, a sexual offence against a child must report it to the local police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit, and failing to report is itself an offence. You can also report to Childline 1098 or the POCSO e-Box of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. In every case, tell the Chennai child safety contact the same day.
5. Keep it confidential: Share it only with the people who need to know to keep the child safe. Never name a child who may be a victim of a sexual offence, on social media or anywhere else; POCSO forbids it.

You do not need proof to report, and you will not be in trouble for reporting in good faith.

What the league does

When a concern is raised

Safety first: The child is made safe, and the police or Childline are told where the law requires or the child needs it. The league makes any report the law requires; it is never weighed against the league's reputation.
Stand down: If the concern is about an adult in the league, that person is stood down from all contact with children while it is dealt with. Standing down is not a finding of guilt.
Tell the family: Unless the police advise us not to, or telling them could put the child at risk.
Don't get in the way: We do not run our own investigation into possible criminal conduct unless the police say we may.
Decide fairly: For conduct that is not criminal, such as a breach of the code, the league decides what happens, gives the person a fair chance to respond, and records the decision and the reasons.
Timeframes: A concern about immediate safety is acted on straight away. Any other concern is acknowledged within one working day, and the person who raised it is told the outcome as far as privacy allows.
Learn: After every concern we ask what could have prevented it, and change our practice or this policy if needed.

Records

Records and privacy

Every concern is recorded: what was reported, by whom, what we did and why. Records are kept securely, separate from registration records, and seen only by the Chennai child safety contact, the league's Child Safety Officer and the directors. Records of abuse or allegations of abuse are kept for at least 45 years, the same standard the league follows in Australia.

Travelling with the league

Players who go to Melbourne

Players who travel to Melbourne with the league do so under the International Travel Terms, and the league's Australian Child Safety Policy applies in full while they are there: at least one adult for every ten players and never fewer than two, staff who hold a Working with Children Check, rooms shared only with players of the same gender and a similar age, and a nightly room check.

Review

Keeping this policy right

The league reviews this policy at least once a year, after any serious incident, and whenever the law changes. We ask players, families and staff what would make them feel safer.

For players

You have the right to be safe

No adult should hurt you, scare you, touch you in a way that feels wrong, or ask you to keep a secret.
Coaches and staff message your parent, not you on your own.
If something makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, tell someone you trust: a parent, a coach you trust, or the people named on this page. You won't be in trouble.
You can call Childline on 1098 any time, day or night. It's free.
If you are in danger right now, call 112.